Hickman unleashed
Retiring state Sen. Bill Hickman is making one of those dramatic exits from the job we all have fantasized about -- letting it all out.
In an incendiary op-ed piece today with the headline Utah voters have been betrayed Hickman gives both barrels to Utah's congressional delegation and specifically Sens. Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett.
"I want my money back. I want my vote back," he laments.
He says Congress has failed to rein in spending, committed other gross economic sins and abandoned its responsibility on the war and other weighty matters. He calls the behavior "anti-Republican and pretty damn un-America."
This, remember, is a Republican senator going after the incumbent Republican U.S. senators.
He accuses Congress members of breaking trust with Utahns, adding "I'm looking at you, Sen. Hatch." He goes on to say that Bennett and Hatch are "not our A-Team. We can do better."
So, one has to ask, why the McClellan imitation? Why bring this up now after keeping it zipped during 16 long years in the Legislature?
And Hickman, soon to be retired and facing no election this year, answers pretty honestly: "A man with nothing to lose is sometimes inclined to speak the truth," he writes.
-- Dan Harrie
In an incendiary op-ed piece today with the headline Utah voters have been betrayed Hickman gives both barrels to Utah's congressional delegation and specifically Sens. Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett.
"I want my money back. I want my vote back," he laments.
He says Congress has failed to rein in spending, committed other gross economic sins and abandoned its responsibility on the war and other weighty matters. He calls the behavior "anti-Republican and pretty damn un-America."
This, remember, is a Republican senator going after the incumbent Republican U.S. senators.
He accuses Congress members of breaking trust with Utahns, adding "I'm looking at you, Sen. Hatch." He goes on to say that Bennett and Hatch are "not our A-Team. We can do better."
So, one has to ask, why the McClellan imitation? Why bring this up now after keeping it zipped during 16 long years in the Legislature?
And Hickman, soon to be retired and facing no election this year, answers pretty honestly: "A man with nothing to lose is sometimes inclined to speak the truth," he writes.
-- Dan Harrie
11:04 AM
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13 Comments:
With the US Constitution hanging by a thread, here comes Orrin with the scissors.
Hickman for US Senate!
This is not new. It's just new that Sen. Hickman had it published in a newspaper. He has said it many times in public. And, in 2004, in a senate caucus meeting, he said the same thing directly to Sen. Hatch.
I thought that Hickman's article was awesome. Sure, he waited to do a post-mortem like McLellan, but hey, at least he's saying it.
Somebody's got to...
Perhaps there is a personal reason to stay quiet for 16 years that involves benefits that may have otherwise been lost. Brave to tell the truth now? Yes, but would it not have been more honest to tell the truth before the voters put Hatch back in office two years ago?
Hickman and others in the legislature have been open about their concerns with Sen Hatch and out other Congressman. This is not news, but it's nice to see the Trib finally cover it.
I totally agree with Senator Hickman - time to START OVER. I'm doing it by voting for Jason Chaffetz on June 24th. Chris Cannon has been selling us down the river for a good long while and I'm tired of NO representation. Go Jason!
At least Hatch writes back to emails and letters. Cannon doesn't do that anymore. When someone no longer listens to those he or she represents, it is time to get someone else. Vote for Jason Chaffetz.
I totally agree with the last two commenters. We need people in the government who are willing to do what's right. And that's why I'm also voting for Jason Chaffetz on June 24.
For the most part Cannon is relatively conservative. He votes along with the conservative people when it suits him then, like some of the previous posts indicate, he just stops listening to his constituents.
I think it's time that we seriously consider replacing them all. Let's put in some people who actually ARE conservative. I'm not particularly happy with what Congress has given us and particularly unhappy with Cannon's position on illegal immigration.
Clean sweep! Let's send a message to congress.
Everything Jason Chaffetz says or does is consistent with what Senator Hickman asks for. This is a real opportunity for the 3rd District to get a representative who understands who his constituents are (not P.A.C.'s, etc), what the Constitution says and means, what the proper role of government is, and has proven that he can be fiscally prudent even under the pressure of running against someone who has cronies with bottomless pockets. Go Jason!
I too am ready for a change. I am disillusioned by a ballooning deficit and the proposed amnesty of illegal aliens. Chris Cannon does e-mail me occasionally, but I'm sure that's due to the fact that I have written him many times on these issues. Nonetheless, I am looking for change in Jason Chaffetz. He is running his campaign on a balanced budget and is vehemently opposed to amnesty. We need a candidate who will stick to his guns on these issues.
If we truly want changes in Washington, we need to send new people there. I'm voting for Jason.
Sadly, too many Republicans in D.C. these days have strayed rather far from our party's conservative base. Bush and his ilk desperately need to be held accountable for (among other things) the sort of borrow-and-spend "socialism lite" that they've been steadily advancing in our nation's capital. And, unfortunately, some of our own state's Republicans in Congress need to be held accountable for repeatedly disappointing their conservative base, as well. I'll be voting for Chaffetz over Cannon on June 24th and I hope that others will choose to join me. Meanwhile, Hatch and Bennett will have to wait their turn.
Has anyone ever indicated what he feels about legals that harbor illegals, because they are family or for any other reason?
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