Tag: senate

  • Marionette Bob Bennett

    photo credit: © Giorgio While candidate Mike Lee acted like a senator on the issue of confirming Ben Bernanke for another term as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, Bob Bennett acted like a marionette under the control of the mystical wizard of Washington D.C. With a short press release and a predictable vote, our…

  • Bob Lonsberry Contradicts Himself on Term Limits

    It’s not really fair to expect everyone to have an up or down opinion on a candidate within a week of their campaign being announced. For that reason there should be nothing surprising about the fact that Bob Lonsberry is not sold on Mike Lee (yet). As he aired his minor reservations with our latest…

  • 2074 Pages of Loopholes

    With Thanksgiving weekend behind us all politically interested people can look forward to the Senate opening work on the healthcare bill. According to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid: . . . senators {will} work on weekends if necessary to hammer out compromises on thorny issues like a government-run insurance plan, abortion coverage and holding down…

  • Constituent Communication Can Innoculate Against Insiderism

    When I wrote about a legislator’s role as an information analyst the comments initially centered on Sen. Bob Bennett because of a quote I had used despite my desire to not single anyone out. Later in the comments on that post I made this statement that deserves to be elevated to its own post here:…

  • Fundraising Tells Us a Story

    The third quarter just ended which means its time that the public can start learning how candidates have done on fundraising for the last quarter. The fundraising reports are pretty dry and generally boring. They always result in reports about which opponents in any given race are getting the most cash such as Bennett outpaces…

  • Senator Ted Kennedy

    After a constant barrage of news coverage and a few questions from my own acquaintances asking about my views on Ted Kennedy I thought it appropriate to pay this tribute to The Lion of the Senate. Few men have likely done more to earn the title of “Senator” in the history of our nation. I…

  • The Trick to Choosing Elected Officials

    In a letter to the Salt Lake Tribune Jeff Hammond offered this profound bit of insight: As some politicians age, they grow into statesmen, like Barry Goldwater; others shrivel into petty party hacks. Sens. Hatch and Bob Bennett aren’t growing. He’s right about Hatch and Bennett which is why it’s time to replace them. He’s…

  • Bad Year for Liberty

    photo credit: Leo Reynolds I consider 1913 to be a very bad year for liberty because in that year the 16th and 17th amendments were both passed. Each of these amendments is a lever that loosened the moorings that had limited the power of the federal government for 126 years to that point. It’s true…

  • Constitutional Amendment 17

    Following close on the heels of the sixteenth amendment (both in terms of time and impact) comes what may well be the second most fundamental alteration to the public perception and operation of our government through the Seventeenth Amendment. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two senators from each State, elected…

  • Why Bob Bennett?

    I went to the organizing convention for the Utah Republican Party on Saturday. While I was there in the nidst of hundreds of people campaigning for candidates and causes among the state delegates I made a point to talk to a variety of people sporting Bob Bennett t-shirts. With four primary challengers at present it…