I’ve reported this week that all is not well for Sen. Bob Bennett, Utah Republican, according to the anecdotes of turnout and preference at Republican caucus meetings this week. A couple of readers have asked what’s fueling the anti-Bennett insurgency.

Erick Erickson of RedState has been one of the conservative bloggers leading the charge to replace Bennett, and he lays out his case here. High on his list is the senator’s support of an alternative health-care bill with Oregon Democrat Ron Wyden, “which funds abortion, has an individual mandate, and which the Heritage Foundation and a host of conservatives point out is a terrible and unworkable bill.” He points to other votes, some going back to the 1990s, on guns, the courts, gay rights, and abortion.

One of his rivals, Mike Lee, suggests that the three-term incumbent is part of the problem on spending: “Congress has created a monster through its seniority system. It’s a bring-home-the-bacon problem. It’s part of the ‘I’ve got seniority so you need to re-elect me’ problem. The longer they’re in, the more they have an opportunity to say, ‘You can’t replace me.’ ”

This morning, a comment from Utah’s Republican governor,. Gary Herbert, seems to be dismissing the senator with faint praise: “Sen. Bennett is a good friend of mine. I think he’s served us well. But I know the other contestants, too. They’re all good friends. They all have strengths, and they all have weaknesses. I’ll let that play out without taking a hand in it.”