Letter: Caucuses are about control by a minority

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Brandon Beckham ("Education shows caucus-convention advantages," June 8) would have us believe that Utah's rightly maligned caucus system is really just an extension of Boston's American Revolutionary caucuses.

What he forgot to tell his readers, as he was wrapping the caucus system in the flag, was that rebellious minorities, who did not initially represent the views of the majority of Americans, controlled the caucuses of Adams and others.

In Utah, caucuses are used now by a minority of people to control party nominees or by the majority party on Capital hill to keep the people's business from the people.

A caucus system that promotes control by a minority or allows the majority to keep secret the public's business is not what Americans or Utahns need for open, honest and responsive government.

Gordon LaFleur

Murray