GOP moderates' influence under siege in Utah state Legislature

SALT LAKE CITY — What a difference two years can make.

In the 2008 elections, moderates in the Utah House and Senate, along with pro-teacher/pro-education supporters, hoped to take out some of the hard-line Republicans in the Legislature, mainly over their votes in favor of the controversial private school voucher law.

Now, 24 months later, the number of moderate legislative Republicans has dwindled.

And the few left are being driven to the wall politically by tea partyers, 9.12ers and an arch-conservative movement this election year.

"It's a shame when you have one party so dominant — you need to have all the voices of that party," says Rep. Sheryl Allen, R-Bountiful.

Allen, one of the founders and leaders of the so-called Reagan Caucus (the moderates) in the Utah House, didn't seek re-election this year.

Just last month, she agreed to be the lieutenant governor candidate with Democratic gubernatorial nominee and Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon.

The GOP-controlled House and Senate "are not nearly as friendly, the atmosphere is not as accepting, as in the past," said Allen, who has served 16 years in the House.

Several House GOP moderates, who asked not to be named, said that when the moderates got together in the 2010 Legislature to organize opposition to further cuts in "constitutional" programs, such as public safety and the courts, they were told by the current GOP House leadership not to meet like that again, that the moderates' concerns would be taken care of.

"But the Conservative Caucus still meets, doesn't it?" said one moderate.

An open door closes

In 2008, the moderates were fresh off a 2007 popular repeal of the much-hated (among moderates, Democrats and independents) private school voucher law.

A number of conservative GOP voucher supporters were cowering after looking at the referendum tabulation that showed voters in their districts had rejected the voucher law, in some cases by overwhelming numbers.

While moderate Republicans didn't figure conservative incumbents would be beaten in GOP convention or primary fights — delegates and primary voters were likely too far to the right for that — moderates thought some conservatives would fall in the final election and that they could make gains in open legislative seats.