Webb: The late Wayne Owens, a precocious politician who never met a political race he could resist entering, used to say, "When I hear those whisperings in my ear it sounds like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing the Hallelujah Chorus!"

Rep. Stephen Urquhart, a Republican legislator from St. George, is hearing a lot of whisperings in his ear right now, and if it's not the MoTabs, it's at least a chorus of people who have "Orrin fatigue."

A smart and tenacious 40-year-old lawyer, Urquhart is very seriously thinking the unthinkable: He may take on one of the most powerful, entrenched and senior members of the U.S. Senate, the stern 71-year-old champion of all that is good in America, Orrin G. Hatch, a guy who is as close to political royalty as you get in Utah. And he writes music, to boot.

But Urquhart should not be dismissed as another fringe candidate angling to get his name in the paper. He's smart enough to have sensed some real chinks in the venerable Hatch's armor. He thinks Hatch's support is a mile wide but an inch deep; that Republican activists like Hatch but think 30 years for one guy is long enough; that the real go-to senator for Utah is Bob Bennett, not Hatch; that Hatch doesn't have strong personal relationships with very many local leaders because he doesn't listen well; and Hatch has lost touch with Utah as he's become a creature of Washington.

If Hatch is so powerful, Urquhart asks, why did Bennett, with far less seniority, quickly surpass him in leadership? Why is the Judiciary Committee, which Hatch chaired for many years, basically dysfunctional?

Dave Hansen, Hatch's campaign manager, dismisses those charges as silly. He notes Hatch has $1.7 million in the bank, demonstrating solid support. Hatch has been very active in the campaign's early days, barnstorming the state and meeting with local leaders and political activists.

Urquhart thinks he would have the support of most state legislators and local leaders, but Hansen says those "whisperings in the ear" won't hold up when Urquhart asks for signed endorsements and permission to use names publicly.

Both sides understand this is a convention battle. If Urquhart can't defeat Hatch in convention, then the senator's big money comes into play in a primary and Urquhart can't compete. A decent convention battle can be run for $300,000 to $500,000, and Urquhart thinks he can raise that amount.