Senator Robert Bennett

Most voters pay little attention to the political process except during campaign season. They react, every 2 to 4 years, to the key phrases and slogans of their favorite spin doctors and walk into the voting booth armed with full rights and a grossly incomplete canvas. "I voted," says the sticker. My how easy this representative democracy is! Go about your life, listen to a spin or two from your favorite spider, join the prevailing crusade, win.

The United States of America must be in God's hands because we often get so much better than we deserve in Washington. I know that goes against the prevailing thought that every problem from pollution to terrorism could be solved if we simply got rid of all incumbents in Washington. So be it! I care nothing for the phantom that now controls the Republican Party in Utah and so many other states.

Senator Bennett has done more for Utah and the nation than most Utah voters now realize. His record of accomplishments includes such notable items as health flexible spending plans resulting from his sponsorship of a bill amending the rigid 1986 Internal Revenue Code. Any of you workers supporting families ever heard of that? He championed the idea of contractor accountability for our armed forces. The military outsources much of its work to contractors. These contractors had virtually no accountability for their actions. In a few cases, active duty military personnel were injured or killed by negligent actions of contractors. It was Utah's Senator Bennett who co-sponsored the Act that makes contractors responsible for their actions. In 2009, Senator Bennett fought hard for small businesses to be considered for contract work with government agencies (e.g. federal highways, etc.). As is, the process is so over-regulated that small businesses don't have a chance in the bidding. Specifically contracts are often given to large and even foreign businesses for no other reason than they employed a certain percentage of minorities. These were based on national standards rather than Utah demographics. Thus, Utah based companies bidding for contracts have no chance. Sadly, Senator Bennett lost this battle in a Democratic Party controlled Senate. However, he managed to gain some support from the other side. Oh, how much he could have done with his influence in the slightly more balanced Senate.

There are still Utahns who think that Bennett voted for Obama's stimulus package. Of course, these were lies perpetrated by his opponents elsewhere in the party. He did, however, introduce legislation (Main Street Revitalization Act of 2010) that would have cut taxes and reduced regulations on businesses. No true Republican can deny that this would have jump started the dying economy much faster and without the long-term ill affects of Obama's horrifying stimulus. This legislation needs the support of only a few Democrats to pass the Senate now. Good luck Lee, here's looking at you!

Utah is losing one of the great legislators. That is what we are supposed to elect, legislators, not "no voters". Many don't realize that Senator Bennett's father was also a senator from Utah. One of Senator Wallace Bennett's aides, Neal A. Maxwell, praised him for his unselfish service as a senator never worrying about praise or the press. (A More Excellent Way, 136) The same can be said of Robert Bennett. He has never been much of a media hound. He simply went about quietly doing his job with integrity--perhaps too quietly. Ezra Klein of the Washington Post (with whom I disagree on nearly everything else) said back in April, "Bennett is not in trouble because he is a liberal. He's in trouble because he's a legislator." Utah voters won't have to wait long to miss Bennett.