Sharpen the long knives
Deseret News political editor Bob Bernick says an ethic probe being demanded by Utah House members into recent Treasurer race shenanigans has the potential to explode into an ugly grudge match between Lege moderates and conservatives.Rep. Mark Walker, R-Sandy, says the probe and special prosecutor demanded by a close-knit group of Democrats and Republican moderates "is just a vindictive political cheap shot."
Walker, who lost the GOP treasurer's primary Tuesday, told Bernick:I think [the Dems/GOP moderates] are just using me as a whipping boy to get to (Republican) leaders.
His opponent Richard Ellis claims that Walker offered him a lucrative state job if he would drop out of the race. GOP conservatives, who control the Lege with knuckledusters, are agitato about where such misguided ethics fever could spread.
The Senate, of course, is still trying to brick up it's ethical skeleton, Chris Buttars, in a closet. Buttars used his position as chairman of the Senate Judicial Confirmation Committee to try to intimidate a judge who ruled against a Buttars' crony. Buttars managed to drag Senate President John Valentine into the mess.
Prediction: The ethics do-gooders will be crushed (again) like so many bugs.
3 Comments:
I wish you guys would stop calling Allen and Mascaro "moderates". They support higher taxes and oppose school choice. Where I come from -- America -- that's called liberal, not moderate.
They do not support higher taxes and you really cannot stick your head in the sand about the referendum last November and sound credible. Average, moderate Utahns voted against them by almost a 2-1 margin. Even a majority of Republicans voted against them. Opposing school subsidies for rich people is moderate. True conservatives don't support establishing a handout either.
Allen and Mascaro are Jimmy Carter republicans. Wrong back then. Wrong today.
Of course they support taxes that are higher than necessary. They believe they know best how to spend other people's money and how to control other people's lives. I call that conceit.
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