In Defense of Senator Bennett

I respect Mark Shurtleff for being an effective attorney general for the State of Utah. Yet my overall opinion of the man has suffered since he decided to run for Sen. Bennett's senate seat.

First, it seems to me that Mr. Shurtleff is a political novice. While he has a great deal of experience in the courtroom and limited experience in state and local politics, he lacks national perspective and polish.

I follow Mr. Shurtleff on Twitter, and I notice how often he conjures up the words of Ronald Reagan and other pillars of the conservative movement. He has no problem calling himself a "real conservative," all the while casting doubt upon the incumbent's conservative credentials. While such rhetoric is commonly found among most GOP candidates these days, Shurtleff isn't displaying any substantive promise as a candidate for the Senate. Instead, like too many Republicans today, Shurtleff appears to be a political opportunist. He is comfortably riding the tide of populist outrage which is burning throughout the state, offering little more to Utahns than the generic TEA party dialogue which is becoming tiresome.

Of course, he is trying to harness the anger of the masses against Utah's own, Senator Bennett, who represents an older, and much more refined brand of Republican. Indeed, Bennett comes off to me as an "old-school" Republican, someone who "came of age" during the days of President Nixon and other Republican moderates. And while Bennett should be identified as a conservative, his version of the movement is much more pragmatic than idealistic; an indiscreet contrast to all the disorganized hoopla of today.

To be honest, pragmatic and principled are two words which I think best describe Utah's junior senator. In fact, I worked for the man last summer and became very familiar with his personality and political style. As for his pragmatism, Senator Bennett works arduously to achieve compromise with members of both parties. Some Americans find such cooperation to be a sign of weakness (a display of their political ignorance), yet this senator is able to enact positive changes because of this spirit of compromise; something which the Founding Fathers respected as they envisioned the American system of government. His pragmatism is also apparent in the way in which he votes. While he undeniably values the desires of his constituents, Bennett also understands that he has been entrusted with the confidence of the people to make decisions wisely, even if such decisions are occasionally unpopular. As he once told our group of interns, while he was elected to represent the general will of his constituents, he is constantly expected to use his experience and judgment as a rational human being. Perhaps this serves as an example of both his pragmatism and principle.

As mentioned before, the Senator is man of principle. From experience, I can say that he is tirelessly devoted to researching each issue which he votes on. While most Members of Congress rely upon the expertise of their staff, Senator Bennett always writes his own words and develops his own points. This is extremely impressive from a staffer's point-of-view. He also has a kindly demeanor towards friends and foes, which may at times, impair his effectiveness as a campaigner. While he enjoys vigorous debate, I have never witnessed this Senator demean or humiliate a political opponent as so many politicians do these days. And finally, Bennett has a profound knowledge of the Constitution and the history of this country. Anyone who has listened to him speak about the Founders and/or the background of a particular piece of legislation immediately knows that he is a deep thinker and studies out issues extensively.

Of course I have my own disagreements with the Senator on certain issues. And yet, from my personal time with Bennett, I realize that he is a valuable asset to the State and represents Utahns well at the national level. As I have said many times before, Senator Bennett is not just a politician, he is a statesman.

For these reasons, I cannot join forces with the angry crowds of "wanna-be-conservatives," who have little else to offer than rehashed talking-points from the Goldwater and Reagan era. For while the slogans and platitudes also stir my inner-conservative to action, they don't compel me to sign onto the directionless griping and fear-mongering of the populists. And again, while I respect Mark Shurtleff as an attorney general and hope he will enjoy national prominence at a later date, I cannot join him in his repudiation of Senator Bennett for not being a "true conservative," for if anyone is to keep "true" conservatism alive as a substantive political force, it's Senator Bennett.

I should also add, when the Senator stood and applauded the President for denouncing the death-panel scare tactics, he was affirming his support for the intellectual side of the conservative movement- a characteristic which is consistently being ignored by both friends and foes on the Left and the Right; conservatives can develop plenty of intellectual arguments against Obamacare without delving into dishonest portrayals and assumptions. We should all be glad that we have intellectual firepower to combat the President's rapid expansion of government, and not just convenient slogans and rehashed talking-points.