U.S. Rep Jim Matheson, ?-Utah
The 2nd District congressman from Utah, Jim Matheson, has often been attacked for being a DINO -- Democrat in Name Only -- based on such matters as his vote to eliminate the federal estate tax and his support for measures banning same-sex marriage.
The Realpolitik excuse offered by observers -- though never by the congressman himself -- is that ever since his Salt Lake County-only congressional district was shamelessly gerrymandered by the Republican Legislature to include scads of red-state voters in red-rock country, Matheson has had to scamper to his right to keep his job.
Now, as part of a political deal to gain Utah the fourth seat in the House that it was rooked out of after the 2000 Census, the state's Republican leaders are basically promising to gerrymander Matheson into a safe seat. They've come up with a tentative map that gives Matheson all of Salt Lake City and its nearest suburbs, plus Robert Redford country up in Park City.
That should be a good bet to stay Democratic, something that party wants assurances of before it opens the can of worms of reapportionment.
Democratic, yes. But Matheson's?
As solidly liberal as the new district stands to be, and as many conservative votes and statements as Matheson has made over the past few years, it would be entirely possible that he'd be vulnerable to a challenger from the left, making Congress a little bit more liberal, if not officially more Democratic.
The Republicans may have outsmarted themselves on this deal.
They say Rocky Anderson's looking for a job.
-- George Pyle
The Realpolitik excuse offered by observers -- though never by the congressman himself -- is that ever since his Salt Lake County-only congressional district was shamelessly gerrymandered by the Republican Legislature to include scads of red-state voters in red-rock country, Matheson has had to scamper to his right to keep his job.
Now, as part of a political deal to gain Utah the fourth seat in the House that it was rooked out of after the 2000 Census, the state's Republican leaders are basically promising to gerrymander Matheson into a safe seat. They've come up with a tentative map that gives Matheson all of Salt Lake City and its nearest suburbs, plus Robert Redford country up in Park City.
That should be a good bet to stay Democratic, something that party wants assurances of before it opens the can of worms of reapportionment.
Democratic, yes. But Matheson's?
As solidly liberal as the new district stands to be, and as many conservative votes and statements as Matheson has made over the past few years, it would be entirely possible that he'd be vulnerable to a challenger from the left, making Congress a little bit more liberal, if not officially more Democratic.
The Republicans may have outsmarted themselves on this deal.
They say Rocky Anderson's looking for a job.
-- George Pyle
4 Comments:
I agree with your remarks about the missing Democrat. I have seen his Republican votes on many issues, and I'm not surprised. He has no principles. No strength. No courage. He's a limp-wristed wimp who has no allies among congressional Democrats. He covers his elected behind by appealing to the Republican base in his territory.
Thus, he gets Republican votes because he's seen as "safe" to the GOP and right-wingers, and thinks he's assured of Democratic votes because he claims he's in the Democratic party.
I'm a Democrat. Matheson is not. He is, as one of your posters recently said, a sheep in sheep's clothing.
He shouldn't have it both ways. I say get rid of this do-nothing (mirroring the likes of Hatch, Bennett, Bishop and Cannon) pretender and replace him with someone with a backbone.
Rocky would be a superior congressman.
Now if we can just get Matheson to move to St. George. It would be great to have two "democratic" votes coming from Utah.
I just can't say enough bad about this guy, he mades me so mad. He mouths platitudes about being a Democrat but all he's doing is draining funding away from real Democrats. His vote for torture and against the Constitution is just the latest outrage from this DINO, Democrat in name only. Why should Utah Dems care if LaVar Christensen beats him, since Matheson votes the way Bush and the Repubs want all the time anyway. In fact I hope he does lose, just to get him out of our faces so we can try to find some real Democratic candidates. I've held my nose and voted for him before, but never again.
Can Matheson sink any lower? First he votes to make us the torture capitol and to suspend the Constitution because we're all so afraid, now he excuses Speaker Hastert for covering up a pedophile scandal! I'm about ready to start campaigning for Lavar Christensen, because Matheson is such a loser. What good is having a Democrat in office if all he does is wimper and roll over whenever a Republican gives him a mean look?
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