Posted on 11/15/2009 12:49:40 PM PST by Clintonfatigued
While were all focusing on picking Charlie Crist off in the Florida Senate Primary, I think if conservatives really want to send the GOP establishment a message, target number one a high priority should actually be Bob Bennett of Utah. Just to clarify for those of you freaking out that I said target number one should be Bennett: the Bennett race happens before the Florida race. That said, we should be targeting more than just Florida. Bennett is worth picking off because he is an incumbent troublemaker. Granted, it was a poor choice of words on my part, but I hope you get the drift picking off an incumbent has added value.
Bennett is prehaps the pettiest, vainest, and most out of touch of all Republican Senators. He, an appropriator, has never met an earmark he did not like. He is quicker than either Lindsey Graham or Olympia Snowe to cut deals with the Democrats that cut the throats of his Republican colleagues.
Bennett and several Democrats are floating a healthcare alternative that explicitly pays for abortions and is considered by the Heritage Foundation to be to the left of what the Democrats are considering right now.
In short, I have said for a while now that where the right can win, the GOP should go right. The right can win in Utah. And the way to do that is to purge Bob Bennett.
Utah will have a convention. Last year, Utah Republicans threw one member of Congress out in the convention. Next year, we should encourage them to do the same and do it to Bennett.
A well-placed Utah GOP source said the conservative movement could really have an impact in the state, especially if the Tea Party movement,
(Excerpt) Read more at redstate.com ...
I hope Bennett of Utah loses. The convention can be used to sack him.
Sixty years of Daddy Bennett and Baby Bennett holding that Senate seat!
Not quite. Wallace held it from 1951-74. Bob from 1993-onwards. The excellent Jake Garn held it in between. We need a Garn clone.
Go Utah! Bye Bye Bennett. Adios. Leave. You’ve done enough damage. Vamoose. Abhauen. Weg mit Dir. Get out.
Here’s something I heard during the 1980’s- while serving together, Garn and Hatch didn’t get along all that well. It wasn’t the worst relationship between Senators from the same state- Ted Stevens/Mike Gravel was far more bitter- but they were not the allies that people assumed they were.
Big difference between the two of them... Garn remembered why he came to DC. Hatch forgot. Hatch also has another distinction, he’s the longest serving federal politician from Utah in state history (36 years at the end of his current term in 2012). I use to marvel at that kind of service, now I tend to abhor it (especially when said person becomes a part of the problem).
I would love to see Bennett retire. I had asked him for support for our 501(c)3 last August and expected to hear from him in at least two weeks. Yesterday one of little people called to tell me that it was against the rules to support businesses by mentioning them in their own blogs or news releases.
I guess I needed to give them more money.
No more money for the GOP in Utah until they clean up their tired old RINO’s.
I heard Rex Lee’s son, Mike, is thinking about running. From what I know of him, he is a good conservative.
I don’t know about his politics. Seems like he was one of Huntsman’s folks. Hope he’s more conservative than that.
...or get your name back on the membership roster???
If you recall, when Huntsman was running the first time, he surrounded himself with conservative political types. One of them was Mike Lee. Another was Jason Chaffetz. Over the first couple of years, all the conservatives who helped him get elected were pushed to the fringes, and he brought in people who agreed with him.
If Mike is anything like his Dad was — and I have reason to think he is — he is a good conservative. My only concern is that he is very young, and Senate may be too grand a place for his first try at an election.
I hear you loud and clear. There must be a conservative that is electable without having to carry all that around as well.
If it is true that only 30-40% are truly active, possibly an apostate has a chance.
I would love to see pro-Amnesty, pro-Bailout Bennett go.
It's never too early to get the ball rolling. I'm surprised that more Utah Freepers haven't done anything about this. Sad to say my oldest daughter is the House Democrats communication coordinator. I sometimes laugh when I hear her talk about how much more conservative Utah Democrats are. She may be right in some ways. Especially when it comes to Bennett.
I can’t warm up to Cherilyn Eager, but I can’t put my finger on exactly why. I think she has some reputation problems. Mike Lee is great. His dad, Rex, was one of the greatest people it has been my privilege to know. But, Mike doesn’t have any elective experience, so I’m wondering whether the Senate is a good place to get his feet wet.
Eager spoke to the Utah Tea Party on the steps of the Capitol. She seemed quite competent and conservative. Of course neither of our esteemed Senators were there.
Jason Caffetz was there and gave a rousing speech.
Time to retire Mr.’s Hatch and Bennett. They’ve been in there so long they’ve rotted.
I'm with you on this!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.