More Utah caucus meeting reports, where a revolt against incumbent Republican senator Bob Bennett appears to be in full swing:
I attended our caucus meeting in Spanish Fork. This is a fairly conservative area (okay, very conservative area where the Constitution Party and American Party have lots of supporters). We are in Chaffetz ® third district, and aside from his lack of understanding the military and Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, there is no opposition to him. As for Bob Bennett, the one man who had been a state rep for 18 of the last twenty years did the standard song and dance of “we need to listen to all of the candidates and be open-minded.” I made a point that we knew where Bob Bennett was coming from already. The first state delegate elected of the two brought up a Bennett quote about the Constitution being out of date. She easily won on the second ballot, 38 of 55. I won the second spot on the second go ballot for that one 33 of 55 (I’m not as photogenic). Mr. Open Minded 18 years experience received no more than 10 votes on any ballot, even though the bottom vote getter is dropped for the next round. Bob is in trouble in Utah County.
And elsewhere in the state:
I live in a voting precinct on the east side of Provo. It may one of the most Republican precincts in the country. A record 140 people attended our caucus and elected me and two other Mike Lee supporters as delegates to the state convention. After the voting was finished, people wanted a straw poll taken by the raise of hand. Of the 140, only four supported the three-term incumbent Bob Bennett and most supported Mike Lee.
After the straw poll, a BYU philosophy professor said the staunch opposition to Bennett demonstrated just how perilous the times are in which we live.
Jim, there is a Mormon tradition about the U.S. Constitution that dates back to the 19th Century when some Church leaders said there may come a time when the U.S. Constitution would hang by a thread and the members of the Church would step forward to help save it. The phrase “hanging by a thread” was repeated many times by many different speakers at the caucus yesterday.
Mike is appealing because he is a constitutional scholar. He was legal counsel to Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, He clerked for Justice Samuel Alito. His father was Rex Lee, Dean of the BYU Law School, President of BYU, and Reagan’s Solicitor General.
At lunch a few months ago, Mike told me he wants to get up every morning as a U.S. Senator with this question on his mind? “How can I defend the Constitution today?”
If Mike wins, it will be a shot heard ‘round the nation and the world. People will say that Utah has elected a U.S. Senator who is willing to do everything in his power every day to defend the Constitution. Mike’s a brilliant and vigorous young man. He’ll devote his vast knowledge and energies to fight for our freedom.
I’ve contacted friends and relatives who attended 15 other caucuses last evening. Not one person has told me that a delegate was elected who openly advocated Bennett.