Utah Red

Since I started this blog, my main focus has been on national politics. Some pretty interesting things have also been happening here in Utah though, so I figured it was about time for me to voice my opinion on the matter.

First on the agenda is Senator Bob Bennett’s reelection campaign. The grandson of a president of the Mormon church and son of a four-term senator, Bennett is conservative enough to have earned an A grade from the National Rifle Association, a 98 percent rating from the Chamber of Commerce, and 84 percent from the American Conservative Union (ACU). For the nation’s most Republican state it seems odd that such a man would be considered the nation’s most vulnerable Republican Senator!

Despite being endorsed by local hero Mitt Romney, he didn't even it make it to the party primary. Apparently he’s not conservative enough for Utah’s Tea Partiers, who are all things anti-Wasington and anti-incumbents and have hijacked the State GOP Convention. Thanks to Utah’s wacky political system, which allows only about 1,000 state delegates to choose the GOP’s candidate, Bennett won’t be back to Washington. Most of these delegates are Tea Partiers, as far-right as they come on the ideological spectrum, as opposed to the rest of Utah whose favorite Governor was Hunstman, a moderate Republican. Not to mention Salt Lake City, who elected a Democrat mayor.

I initially thought Bennett was too old and has been in too long (18 years), and thought it was time for a change anyway. What I am against were the delegates' motives. Bennett is sort of an endangered species of politicians – one willing to reach across the aisle and engage in bipartisanship to accomplish some good for the country. But because of this, and their strong anti-incumbency feelings, the hardcore right-wingers wanted him out. They want nothing at all to do with Washington, even if it means voting out a politician with a lot of influence. And after watching him get very emotional during his concession speech, I realized that Utah is losing a great, dedicated man. One of few politicians who is not self-interested, and who actually does care about his state and his country. I feel bad for Bennett, and worse for Utah who is about to contribute one more politician to "The Party of No".


Added 5/10/10 - From Newsweek:

"The truth is, Bennett would not have lost anywhere other than Utah. For starters, it's the reddest state in the nation, so what's considered "conservative enough" there is a little further to the right than what's considered conservative enough in hotbeds of liberalism like, say, Texas or Alabama (i.e., everywhere else). Secondly, a major D.C. advocacy group, the Club for Growth, decided to spend a whopping $200,000 to ensure Bennett's defeat--the kind of intraparty hit that the Club can only afford to carry out in one or two races per cycle. And thirdly--and most importantly--Utah doesn't actually let its Republican residents vote on a full slate of Republican candidates. Instead, it convenes an odd, pre-primary convention where a select group of 3,500 delegates, who tend to be even more conservative than Utah's general Republican electorate, participate in several rounds of balloting in order to narrow the field to a measly two contenders. According to a recent Dan Jones & Associates poll, Bennett leads his closest rival, Lee, by 20 points among Utah Republicans at large--meaning in a normal primary system, he probably would've won the nomination. But because the senator received 160 fewer delegates at the convention than Bridgewater--delegates who were undoubtedly swayed by the Club's expensive anti-Bennett campaign--he isn't even getting the chance to compete." 

On the total opposite end of the spectrum, I was surprised by Salt Lake County Mayor Pete Carroon’s recent announcement to have a split-ticket in his run for governor. He recently chose Republican state lawmaker Sheryl Allen as running mate.

Carroon – “I don’t think this race is about being a Democrat or a Reublican. I think it’s about leading the state of Utah into the future… We're seeing parties are leaving citizens behind. They're leaving the moderate representatives behind. That's why we believe in bipartisan government. We're going to work hand in hand."

Allen- “The voices have been a little shrill lately. We want to give a different tone to the campaign. So you’re going to hear ‘bipartisanship’ and ‘cooperation’ a lot because that’s how we feel about it…Cooperation is more important than party politics. Utah needs to come first. I hope that becomes the trend, frankly, across the nation.”

The Corroon campaign's strategy seems to be tapping into Utahns who don't feel represented by the extremes of either party right now. Corroon indicated that their priorities in office will include "getting back to basics" in order to improve education and the economy. Will the strategy pay off? It will be interesting to see! I for one remain undecided, but the idea behind the decision is a fascinating one that I think will resonate with a lot of people. After all…