I always knew my first diary would be about this sorry excuse of a man. I lived in Utah just long enough, 15 years, to know how much damage he can really do. I still have close family and friends there. One topic they are ALL upset about is Jason Chaffetz. Even the GOP acquaintenances are starting to lose their patience with him.
Several years ago, US Representative Chaffetz took a very sharp right turn when he rejected both his religion of birth AND his political party. He may now be a practicing Mormon, but his arrogance and self-serving actions in the past few weeks demonstrate that he truly does not understand the broader Mormon faith and Utah culture as much as he thinks he does. He is at great risk of a serious backlash. For the sake of our nation, this backlash it can’t come too soon!
Many articles leading up to the General Election noted that Mormons generally did not care for Trump, at least not nearly as much as many evangelical Christians did. A few weeks before the election, the Deseret News, owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, broke with an 80-year tradition and asked Trump to step down as a candidate.
While Trump did, in the end, win Utah, a Nov. 11, 2016 article in Religious News provides great insight on just how tepid that support was:
So Trump won the Mormon vote . . . but in a lukewarm fashion. His victory was not the strong four-out-of-ratio we saw with Bush and Romney; Mormon GOP voting was down to three in five. That’s a majority, certainly, but not an overwhelming one.
And in Mormon-dominated Utah, Trump didn’t achieve a majority at all, earning just under 45% of the vote. As the Salt Lake Tribune put it, that result was “barely half of Romney’s performance with the voting bloc and 30 points lower than John McCain received in 2008.”
Had Evan McMullin gotten into the race sooner, he likely would have given Trump a run for his money.
There are many reasons why many Mormons were and are still not that enthusiastic for Trump. A few examples:
- His jaded history of infidelity and sexual escapades
- His crude behavior, persistent lying and angry mannerisms
- His extreme position on immigration, which is contrary to Utah folks generally, not just Mormons
- His attacks on specific religious groups, which is upsetting to some Mormons because they have been persecuted in the past
Fast forward to February 2017. Chaffetz is catching hell in the local and national news media for his obvious blind allegiance to Trump. He is getting major bad press locally about his attacks on national parks, the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, etc. Utah folks love the outdoors and their many wonderful parks. But, I guess some wealthy donors and public officials are not so fond of them.
In the past few weeks, They don’t like reading articles like this:
Finally, it appears that a possible GOP opponent, who seems to be in the mold of Evan McMullin, is already lining up against Chaffetz. He is taking Chaffetz to task for his hypocrisy and for caring more about himself than the people of Utah. OUCH! I honestly do not see a Democrat having a prayer of a chance in Utah, but maybe others here can convince me that I am wrong. But, I do think a better option in the GOP absolutely can wipe him off the map.
One thing for sure... Chaffetz is facing an army of angry constituents and an onslaught of bad media coverage. He can pretend that protestors are outside agitators all he wants, but very few people are buying that line and feel like he has become a vindictive, arrogant man who has lost sight of basic decency.
I feel sure that we can help keep the pressure on Chaffetz, who clearly represents the absolute worst of the worst of those who sold their souls to Trump.
Friday, Feb 24, 2017 · 12:33:11 AM +00:00 · BlueNRedState
UPDATE: DKos Member MTMofo pointed me to a news item about a major convention loss for Utah due to the Governor being part of the group trying to seize public land and turn it into money-making enterprises. One outdoor enthusiast group is mad and moved their big expo out of the state. I only hope we see more such results, like we did with HB 2 in North Carolina. Read the news story here.