Crazy Pills
Utah's leadership is taking crazy pills over this 4th seat. They need to listen to Senator Bennett.
A perfect example of the craziness is LaVarr Webb's treatment of the topic in Friday's Utah Policy.
After pointing out all the reasons this is a crap idea (he makes great points, by the way), he closes out his essay with an endorsement of the current actions.
None of this makes any sense.
posted by Ethan at 11/18/2006 11:15:00 AM
5 Comments:
I love Senator Bob Bennett. So often, he is the voice of reason.
As for LaVarr Webb, I like him too.
I think he is simply saying that it would be better if we didn't go in with DC. But, if DC is going to get their seat, the damage is already done and we might as well get our seat too.
As an idealist, I know that you would prefer him to say, "Give me liberty or give me death!" But, the older one gets, the more pragmatic one becomes. And, well, LaVarr is not exactly a spring chicken.
This makes perfect sense. Since Hatch and Bennett will be in the U.S. Senate until Christ returns (they are two of the three Nephites), other Utah politicians are running out of patience. The line is long: Urquhart, Bramble, Curtis, Hughes, Valentine...
Oh, don't forget Towner and Ridgway (giggle).
If the election is held in 2007, sitting legislators could run for Congress and still keep their legislative seat if they lose.
If may not make sense for Utah and the rest of the country, but it does make sense for the people running the Legislature.
Hey great cornholio-
I think your correct.
Read my Anonymous comment under "Constitution".
From the Senate Site blog:
Anonymous said...
Many people seem to assume that if we don't get the fourth seat for Utah then DC won't get their (likely Democratic) seat either. I don't believe that is true any longer. A Democratic controlled congress and Senate w/a President who won't veto this...as he's going to want his other "more important" agenda items supported...will result in DC getting their seat with or without Utah...Utah might as well try and get the fourth seat now.
That is an interesting point, but if Utah is taken out of the mix then the compromise falls apart. The conservative Republicans in congress would then be free to vote their conscience and oppose the legislation on constitutional grounds.
And, however much the President may want to work with the Democrats, most pundits I have heard say that he really has no hope of passing anything of consequence that he would want anyway. Like it or not, his legacy will be the War in Iraq. Look for him to focus his energies upon that above all else.
Now, as for the President fearing to alienate the Democrats by vetoing this bad piece of legislation, I believe he would actually have more to fear from alienating his conservative base by signing it. The Democrats that passionately support this bill are quite few compared to the Republicans who passionately oppose it.
The President needs his base (the people who love him) more than he needs to pander to the Democrats (the people who hate him). Someone will surely remind him of that.
Interestingly, the same holds true for any local leader who hopes to gain the newly created fourth seat. If he is seen as having trampled the Constitution in order to serve his personal political ambitions then he essentially will have cut his own throat. It will come up in convention, where the conservatives dominate, and he will lose.
In short, it would be a mistake for anyone who depends upon the Republican conservative base to underestimate the passionate feelings possessed by those who appose this dreadful piece of legislation. Hopefully the wise will take note and do the right thing.
Mmmmmmm.... Crazy pills....
Post a Comment
<< Home