Comments about ‘Bennett losing delegate support in re-election bid?’

I am not a delegate, so I don't have a dog in this fight. I have followed the Senate race closely, and I can understand why delegates may choose another candidate. That is their right, and I hope they choose the best candidate, which may still be Bennett. I haven't met them all, so I don't know who the best one is.

I do know however, that Bennett gets unfairly attacked in these forums. Vicious, mean, and downright false statements have been made about him. You can attack his politics, but don't attack the man personally. Remember that he has given 18 years of his life to the state of Utah. That service demands respect and civility. If you don't like his record, fine. But please refrain from maligning him personally. No matter what you think of his record, he is a man of integrity (I have known him for many years, going back to his pre-Senate days) and honor who has worked tirelessly for Utah. Please respect that service and think twice before you attack his character and his integrity. He has earned that and deserves it.

of his constituents, who know that he voted to deregulate the banks, leading to the current economic crisis, and that he also voted to deregulate the credit card industry. Sen. Bennett represents big business but not the people of Utah. We need to elect someone who will represent us.

It bothers me when the media says that Bob Bennett is about as conservative as they come. The media is quick to forget that Bennett voted for the bailouts, Geitner, and Cass Sunstein. Only 2 Republican Senators voted for Sunstein, and they happen to both be from our "Conservative" state of Utah. They media may have forgotten Bennett's voting record, but the voters haven't.

Well, here's a clue for you, Mr. Bernick. Bailout Bob voted for a gross violation of principle, which has opened the door to all kinds of other mischief. TARP led to AIG, which led to GM, etc. "Too big to fail" has turned into nationalization of banking and industry. Acts of panic in Washington prolong and deepen the recession, while proper remedies are studiously avoided.

Bailout Bob has demonstrated that he doesn't understand the proper role of government.

So he's fired.

Bennett conservative? Are you kidding? He came up with a health care plan that is worse than Obamas if that is possible. He voted for TARP and every other big spending bill he could find. He supports illegal alien amnesty every chance he gets. Most of all if you have ever contacted him you know that he doesn't care one bit what you or any other constituent thinks about anything.

Also, having that (R) behind your name catches all the straight-ticket voters. And everyone who is sad they can't see R-rated movies so they vote for R-rated politicians instead (and it seems we have plenty of them recently).

of all big spenders. nuf said.

I think that in Utah when we think conservative, we think social conservative. This means being conservative on three main issues: abortion, marriage and immigration. Bennett is right where he needs to be on two of three of these issues. But Utahans do not seem to grasp that conservative means conservative governance.

Outside of Utah, you can not rake in millions in earmarks and call yourself a conservative, as Bennett has. You can not vote for a program like TARP and call yourself a conservative, as Bennett has. Bennett and Hatch talk about bringing home the bacon for Utah taxpayers. But a real conservative would be prouder about letting Americans keeping more of their own bacon at home.

Real conservatives are all about smaller, less intrusive and more efficient government. Not everything that Bennett has voted for in the last 18 years has led to this goal.

Whether Mr. Bennett is 'a good guy' or not has nothing to do with his office in the Senate. He was elected to represent the State of Utah. He has not done that.

He does not understand his job description. Congress is authorized to perform only a small number of duties. Mr. Bennett ignored that authorization and submitted a health-care bill that greatly increased the authority of Congress. He simply does not respect the Constitution, the document that he took and oath to support, protect and defend.

We don't need an independent thinker in Congress. If he can't abide the limits that we, THE PEOPLE, placed on Congress, he has no business being there.

The republican party is falling apart.
They are starting to turn on each other.
Now is the time for a democratic senator from Utah.
The way things are going, it would be in our states interest.
I have a feeling that we are going to have a democratic president and congress for a long time.
Being that the republican party is holding their breath and throwing temper tantrums.
It would be better to have a senator that can do some things for our state and work with our new democratic president.

Voters are sick and tired of Washiington elites and their big spending good old boy network. I have seen no passion from Bennett in opposition to the Obama agenda. We The People are angry at the usurpation of our rights and liberty. Bennett's support of amnesty ("immigration reform") is enough reason to vote him out. I hope it happens at the convention, but if not, it will at the primary.

is the fact that in Utah they (repubs) believe we want someone more conservative more ridged, I hope they run with that it will help any other party running against this foolishness that has become the republican party of late
Being a republican for more than 20 years I have become very disgusted by what they consider political games I guess.
Enough is enough...It's time to do ALL of the peoples work not just the loudest peoples.

Unfortunately some are blurring Sen. Bennett's policies with personality. But the voting record does demonstrate a pattern of not being in touch with Utah's core conservative values. Utah needs a new generation of leadership-Tim Bridgewater. He can fill this void and restore fiscal discipline to our nation's capital and uphold the values of our Constitution.

"jump off the right edge of the flat earth?" I don't get it. Bennett voted to confirm Progressive Radicals like Eric Holder and Cass Sunstein. That's why I can't vote for him again.

Several posters have tried to infer that because Utah Republicans are sick and tired of Mr. Bennett's liberal tendencies, that we would accept a liberal Democrat as his replacement.

What grade level did they attain in our public schools? Don't they realize that if we're going to throw out Mr. Bennett for being too liberal, that we would never accept a liberal Democrat as his replacement?

Let's make it plain for the Democrats: Mr. Bennett is too far left for the people of Utah. YOU and your liberal Democrat candidates are even further to the left than Mr. Bennett. We have rejected him. We will reject you.

Mike Utah is like Sodom and Gomorrah with benefit of having Lott. I'm using these in the rabbinical sense. Those who wrote this tale teach that the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah were greed and hospitality. The Bible had to be spun to make Sodom and Gomorrah a gay issue.

The longer people "serve" in Washington, the more they lose touch with the "folks back home." Our current senators are no exception. They have adopted Washington's ways, and it appears that they have forgotten Utah's core conservative values. Tim Bridgewater fills the current void, and will be the one to restore some fiscal order to the nation's capital. He's not a simple academic - he has the business experience and common sense to serve Utah's, and the nation's, needs.

@11:05,

What is your point? Do you promote sodomy in Utah? Good luck! If there is one State in this federated union that opposes sodomy, it is Utah.

However you spin the Bible, sodomy is not an accepted practice in Utah, nor will it ever be as long as God-loving, God-fearing people live here.


Mr. Bennett has never, to my knowledge, promoted sodomy. He has never, to my knowledge, promoted the gay agenda. To use him as an excuse to bring up the subject is foreign to this thread. He is an honorable man, even if he is a failure as a Senator. I don't believe, for even an instant, that he would abandon his faith to win votes from those that believe in sodomy.

I AM a Democrat, but haven't found a Democratic candidate I could vote for and still sleep at night for 15+ years.

I'm very afraid that we have written ourselves out of history by compromising with and catering to the lunatic fringe in order to build a "winning" coalition of fruits, nuts, and cynical crypto-communists.

If we've decided we no longer care to represent the values of the common man, we DESERVE to follow our party leadership over the cliff.

I understand that blogs are mainly people's opinions, but few are well grounded. Senator Bennett has done an excellent job representing Utah as a "conservative" Republican Senator. The list is so long, let me just take one, TARP.

The first TARP was primarily targeted at financial institutions. GM and Chrysler came in under Obama. The government just announced the sale of there 27% stake in Citi Group making an $8 billion profit for taxpayers. Once smaller regional banks are able to repay their capital infusions, it looks like taxpayers will have a full recovery from financial institutions. However GM and Chrysler will probably never be able to repay the full amount owed to us. The total tab will end up costing about $100 billion.

The original financial bailout worked and saved taxpayers billions of dollars, and millions of jobs. It was an intrusion into our market economy but a temporary and necessary one. It was not a permanent shift towards a socialist economy.

Rather than paint every action with an angry and emotional broad brush, perhaps we should make careful distinctions based on facts and reason.