How Very Ironic

When I attended the breakfast meeting with Senator Bennett, he mentioned Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe, and Arlen Specter – the three Republicans to support the Obama bailout bill – as "the three predictable crossover voters." I found it very ironic to read the results of a poll of Democratic Senators:

In fact, Hatch ranks No. 3 among Republicans whom Democrats say are the least partisan and most enjoyable to work with — behind only Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine (liberal Republicans who were among the few GOP members who supported Obama’s stimulus package), that newspaper reported.

Apparently Senator Bennett didn’t want to remind attendees that our conservative state is represented by some not-so-conservative senators. He got Collins and Snowe right, but Specter is not #3 on the list. While Bennett was not among the easiest Republicans to work with according to the overall poll results, he was listed as being among the easiest to work with by four of his Democratic colleagues – I’m sure another term or two can finish softening him up.

The results also confirmed what I had concluded – that Hatch was once conservative:

That is a big change from Hatch’s early career, when he was seen as one of the most conservative and pugnacious Senate Republicans. Now, Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., told The Hill, for example, that Hatch is among those who "want to get something done, and they’re not necessarily driven by ideology."

I have come to appreciate the fact that Hatch was conservative in the early part of his career and I am not opposed to having a politician who knows when to compromise. I do have serious issues with elected officials who just "want to get something done." They do the nation and their constituents no end of disservice when they take action for no reason other than to appear active. I also have serious issues with any politician who does not seem to know when to hold their ground and stand on principle – a skill that Hatch has lost if he ever really understood the proper line.

Posted

2009-04-22

State

David

Tags:

2010, Bob Bennett, compromise, Orrin Hatch, parties, senate

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4 responses to “How Very Ironic”

Reach Upward

2009-04-23

When a politician from one party says that a politician from another party is among “the least partisan and most enjoyable to work with,” that is code for, “Agrees with my party’s line.” Judging by our senators and our governors for five terms in a row, I must surmise that Utahans pretty much like liberal Republicans, regardless of the rhetoric that is tossed around in the state. Look at the evidence, not the words.

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1. David
  
  2009-04-24
  
  Yes. Sadly too many in this state seem to confuse religious and political authority. I don’t mean that bishops abuse their power – I mean that voters seem to think that their elected officials are always right because they share the same religious beliefs. The result is that they accept and even expect their political leaders in the state and in our federal contingent to do things that are beyond the scope of government. The only truly conservative thing about Utah voters is in the social arena. Beyond that – Hatch knows best because he has been called (long ago, like an apostle). [/rant]
  
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Reach Upward

2009-04-24

There is also an element of party loyalty tied into that as well. Democrat Wayne Owens served 4 terms in Congress from the 2nd Congressional District; a district that has an ever evolving but somewhat close split between Republicans and Democrats. Owens was a faithful Latter-Day Saint and served as a mission president between his first and second terms.

Voters in the 2nd district have had no problem voting for Mormon Democrats. But Owens was never viable as a statewide candidate. He could never muster much support outside of his congressional district both times that he ran for the U.S. Senate and when he ran for governor.

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David

2009-04-24

Admittedly party loyalty plays a part as well. Unfortunately the Republican party has the same crossover of voters blindly deferring to the party because it is run by fellow members. If (in some alternate reality) Rep. Owens had been running for statewide office against a republican who was not a member of the LDS church he would have had a decent chance of winning I suspect.

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How Very Ironic

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4 responses to “How Very Ironic”

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