Friday, February 15, 2008

Their silence speaks volumes

Sen. Chris Buttars believes the issue is done, but his constituents have not weighed in

By Wayne Holland
Utah State Democratic Chair
From Utah State Democratic Party Blog

State Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, told the Deseret Morning News today [02/14/08] that he apologizes for using a racist description of a bill being debated in the Senate.

He said, "I stand by my apology. That's it. This issue is done as far as I'm concerned."

And apparently that is the sentiment of the elected Republican leadership of Utah – enough is enough, let it go.

Their silence speaks volumes.

Gov. Huntsman and Senate President Valentine, the issue is far from done.

Sen. Buttars’ District 10 constituents in November will have an opportunity to make a decision on their representation in the Senate - whether Buttars’ bullying, abuse of power, moral crusading, and flippant bigotry best represents their values to Utah and to the rest of the country.

We think they deserve much more than a constant embarrassment. The Democratic Party of Utah will offer them a candidate they can respect and admire, one who will work to find sensible solutions to common problems.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm willing to bet big money that even with his recent mistakes, Buttars still gets re-elected by a wide margin.

George said...

I am willing to donate mucho dinero to defeat him and support any Democrat who will take him on, true for Donnelson tambien.

Maybe it is time they focus on gardening where they can articulate their feelings toward tomato cut worms or broccoli aphids.

Go Democrats!

Anonymous said...

Amen Wayne!

Anonymous said...

The republicans have been working hard to dig up the dirt on Obama now that he is the front runner.

Chris Buttars is holding a press conference today to announce that he has it on good authority, that Obama has fathered [not one but] two black babies.

Anonymous said...

Hi Mr. Holland,

What do you expect GOP leadership to do? Deny Buttars his seat? How do you expect them to do that?

I haven't gotten the vibe of "enough is enough, let it go." Far from it. I've heard both the Governor and Senate President state that the remarks were highly offensive. I've also heard them say that Buttars will have to decide if he wants to resign, or that his constituents will have to decide to not re-elect him. I don't consider that to be "silence." I also do not consider the phrase "its his decision" to equal "let it go."

You should read Lisa Riley-Roche's (sp?) piece in the Des News if you want a glimpse about what is going on behind the scenes.

I think it is a rather cheap political move to make Buttars' comments a political issue.

Anonymous said...

You are absolutely wrong on this one Publius. The Dems haven't done enough to bring out Buttars and the GOP's legislative leadership's bigotry. I can't believe what they did to Henry's law, or what they are trying to do to Sheriff Winder, or how they are using legislation to force counties and municipalities to obey their will. Gerrymandering. Vouchers. Punishing children. Killing bills in committee so they won't look more foolish than they already are. They're even trying to pull power from the executive branch. When does it end?

I'm grateful that the Democrats are pushing forward, but I also think they need to push harder. Much harder. Our "Pretty Great State" isn't looking to great and we are certainly in need of a changing of the guard.