Readers' forum: Voter will may be ignored

Some people have expressed distaste with what happened at the 2010 Utah State Republican Convention. It's about to happen again.

Recenlty, journalist Kirk Johnson wrote an article in the New York Times which included an interview of Sen. Orrin Hatch's campaign manager ("Caucuses Buzz in Utah as Hatch Rallies Allies," March 17).

Two excerpts from the article: "Dave Hansen, Hatch's campaign manager, said that he was cheered by the early results, which he said at the very least appeared to have seated enough pro-Hatch delegates to wage a hard fight at the convention. The campaign's goal before the caucuses was to enlist 5,000 Hatch supporters willing to run as delegates, with the working premise that even if half of them lost, 2,500 wins would approach a key threshold — 60 percent of the convention votes — which would automatically bestow the nomination without a primary." Another excerpt said, "'One thing pretty sure is that he is not going to be eliminated at the convention,' Mr. Hansen said, referring to Mr. Hatch."

We need a Republican primary election to find out the actual will of the Republican voters of Utah. If Hatch's 2,500 "robots" get their way at the 2012 State Convention, the will of the voters may be ignored.

Marc Cooper

Kaysville