GOP convention agenda includes two anti-Bennett items

SALT LAKE CITY — The current bashing of Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, by some GOP state delegates apparently will be part of the official Republican state convention agenda Saturday.

As Republicans gather in the Salt Palace Convention Center to decide Bennett's fate, on the agenda is a resolution slamming Bennett's health care reform bill.

In addition, there is a tough anti-illegal immigration platform amendment co-sponsored by three of his challengers.

A Deseret News/KSL-TV GOP delegate poll conducted two weeks ago shows Bennett, an 18-year incumbent, could well be kicked from office Saturday.

He must get at least 40 percent of the vote of the 3,500 state delegates to stay alive for a June 22 closed Republican Party primary.

But various scenarios by pollster Dan Jones & Associates compiled from the survey, which was also sponsored by the Utah Foundation and Hinckley Institute of Politics, found that Bennett will be hard pressed to get that 40 percent support.

Challenger Mike Lee had the most delegate support, Bennett finished second and Tim Bridgewater finished third, Jones found.

While Bennett strongly opposed the recent health care reform bill in the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate, he co-sponsored a health reform measure last year with Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon.

Bennett denies that the Wyden-Bennett bill is like "Obamacare," as it's called by detractors and referred to in the resolution.

But the resolution says both plans would mandate Americans buy health insurance, and it goes on to say that requirement, among others, is unconstitutional.

If passed, the resolution would instruct Utah GOP federal officeholders to oppose both "Obamacare" and the Wyden-Bennett bill.

State delegate Larry S. Jensen filed the resolution and said he did so "on principle" and not to harm Bennett's convention chances.

But, Jensen said, he also recognizes that "some could see it as a swipe at Bennett. It would be naive not to think so."

"It's hypocritical to oppose Obamacare" and not recognize that some Republicans also want to impose some of that law's "unconstitutional" elements, such as requiring Americans to buy health insurance, said Jensen, who is a three-time state GOP delegate.

Jensen said he does not support Bennett's re-election. He says he was not asked to run his resolution by any opposing camp and did so on his own.

Robert Wren, chairman of Utahns for Immigration Reform and Enforcement, said he was not taking out after Bennett in his proposed GOP state platform amendment. Wren has run basically the same amendment in 2006 and 2008 GOP conventions but never even got a convention vote on them as so many delegates left the meetings when resolutions/platform amendments came up there was no quorum.