Sen. Orrin Hatch: Will the tea party bring him down in Utah?
Two years ago, a conservative US senator in conservative Utah 鈥� three-term incumbent Bob Bennett 鈥� got the boot at the Republican state nominating convention, losing to tea party favorite Mike Lee at a time when ever having shown any signs of legislative compromise was a mark of wobbly disloyalty to the conservative cause.
This time around, Utah鈥檚 other US senator 鈥� six-term incumbent Orrin Hatch 鈥� got the same kind of scare. State Senator听Dan Liljenquist 鈥� another tea party favorite 鈥� forced Hatch into a primary election to be held this Tuesday, Hatch鈥檚 first primary challenge since he began his political career in 1976.
So is Orrin Hatch fated to receive the same kind of rough tea party treatment as Bob Bennett (or, more recently, Richard Lugar in Indiana) 鈥� relegated to retirement or life as a lobbyist?
It seems unlikely.
Hatch has spent some $10 million on his re-election bid (more than 10 times his opponent). He agreed to only one radio debate with Mr. Liljenquist who 鈥� 40 years younger than Hatch 鈥� is a literal as well as figurative fresh face and might have been seen as such on TV. He emphasizes his conservative credentials (a 90 percent lifetime rating by the American Conservative Union), and he doesn鈥檛 mention his friendly relationship with the late Sen. Ted Kennedy or the legislation they worked on together.
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Still, tea party activists and organizations have Hatch in their political gunsights.
When Liljenquist announced his candidacy in January, Matt Kibbe, president of tea party powerhouse FreedomWorks, had this to say: 鈥淪enator Orrin Hatch is a 36-year incumbent who has consistently abandoned limited government principles, authored legislation with liberal Democrats, and voted to expand the size of the federal government.鈥�
鈥淏etween his vote to create the Department of Education in 1979, to his vote for the TARP bailout in 2008, Hatch has consistently voted to expand government beyond its Constitutional limitations,鈥� Kibbe said. 鈥淎t the end of the day, our Utah activists have been asking us: Why settle for an Orrin Hatch, when you can have another Mike Lee?鈥�
That kind of thing rankles Hatch, who calls FreedomWorks 鈥渢he sleaziest bunch I鈥檝e ever seen in my life.鈥澨齌hat was at the lone pre-primary debate 10 days ago.
Hatch plays up his experience and seniority, which Liljenquist says is the problem.
鈥淒o you consider yourself responsible in any way for the national debt that has exploded in your time in Washington?鈥� he asked Hatch during their radio encounter.
鈥淭hat is fiscal child abuse and that鈥檚 what鈥檚 happened in this Congress under your watch as you鈥檝e voted over and over to raise the debt ceiling,鈥� Liljenquist said. 鈥淭hat is a tax increase, that you鈥檝e deferred on a whole generation of Americans.鈥�
The normally unflappable Hatch flapped at that. 鈥淎pparently I鈥檓 responsible for everything that鈥檚 wrong in the federal government,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 total BS and everybody knows it.鈥�
听
Going into Tuesday鈥檚 primary election, Hatch appears to have the clear advantage despite Liljenquist鈥檚 and the tea party鈥檚 efforts. He鈥檚 way ahead in the polls 鈥� 60-32 percent, according to a new Deseret News/KSL-TV poll. And he has the endorsement of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and 鈥� perhaps even more valuable 鈥� the blessing of Sarah Palin.
鈥淩epublican voters aren't quite ready to turn the old war horse out to pasture,鈥� Republican political consultant and lobbyist LaVarr Webb told the Deseret News in Salt Lake City. 鈥淎 Hatch win means that it's safe, once again, to be a mainstream Republican in Utah.鈥�
Still, one thing is certain, Wall Street Journal editorial board member Steven Moore wrote the other day: 鈥淓very incumbent Republican senator will be watching Utah with fear and trepidation on Tuesday. Elections like this keep Republicans from straying too far away from the limited-government principles that GOP voters are demanding.鈥�
