JakeStarkey
Diamond Member
- Aug 10, 2009
- 168,037
- 16,520
- 2,165
- Banned
- #1
Utah paralleled the voting nationally: many more voted against Trump than for him. The ONLY reason Trump won was that Clinton was even more unacceptable.
Utahns no more mistake the meaning of the election than the great majority of Americans: Trump must prove himself worth to be President and he must shake of the questions of his undesirability. Chaffetz must do his job and have his committee thoroughly investigate Trump.
Jason Kent, a hard nevertrumper and conservative force from Utah County and a voice of hard right Utahns, speaks to the problem well in the Deseret News:
"Chaffetz won re-election by over 130,000 votes, a 3:1 margin. Meanwhile, in Utah Donald Trump received 39,148 fewer votes than Hillary Clinton and Evan McMullin combined. Mirroring the national results, Trump won Utah’s electoral votes while losing the popular vote. Utah voters apparently have a much higher opinion of Chaffetz than they do of Trump.
Utah’s electorate has never been monolithically Republican, but the predominance of that party in recent decades has permitted the illusion that it is. Perhaps the first post-Trump presidential election will find Utah once again safely and predictably red, but in the meantime an ideologically diverse plurality of Utah voters opposes the Republican president-elect.
This changed political landscape presents Chaffetz with a new challenge as an elected representative. If he remains reluctant to stand up to Trump, he risks alienating the #neverTrump majority. At the same time, though, he cannot afford to resist Trump in ways that alienate the currently fractured conservative majority. Chaffetz’s office has been deluged with calls (including mine) urging him to investigate the president-elect’s conflicts of interest, yet his responses thus far have been cagey. He declined to comment on two letters on the issue from the Oversight Committee Democrats; he insists (inaccurately) that Trump cannot be investigated before the inauguration; most recently, he has pledged to watch Trump’s announcements on the matter closely. His timidity here contrasts with his eagerness to reopen the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails days before the election.
I believe investigating Trump’s conflicts of interest has the potential to please his new constituency. The conservative majority detested the possibility that the Clinton Foundation might have been the vehicle for a pay-to-play scheme, and Chaffetz investigated accordingly. The same principle applies to Trump. What conservative would sign on for a president making foreign-policy decisions based on his private business interests, or allowing foreign powers to use those interests for leverage against him? Chaffetz stands to gain the favor of his constituents by informing the president-elect that unsatisfactory resolution of such conflicts during the transition will prompt investigations during the presidency.
In the meantime, we of the #neverTrump majority must do our part to hold Chaffetz accountable. We are his constituents, and we should make our voices heard. We should urge local news outlets to cover his actions more thoroughly. We should call his offices to express our views, and to learn his. We should attend town-hall meetings when he holds them. We, too, have let the notion of a politically monolithic Utah make us complacent.
Furthermore, if Chaffetz does investigate Trump, he will need us. Trump’s treatment of those who oppose him, as Mitt Romney did, creates a powerful incentive for Chaffetz not to step out of line. We who have the power to re-elect him have the responsibility to be the backbone he needs." [read the comment section to the listed article]
Jason Kerr: Chaffetz can, and should, hold Trump accountable
Utahns no more mistake the meaning of the election than the great majority of Americans: Trump must prove himself worth to be President and he must shake of the questions of his undesirability. Chaffetz must do his job and have his committee thoroughly investigate Trump.
Jason Kent, a hard nevertrumper and conservative force from Utah County and a voice of hard right Utahns, speaks to the problem well in the Deseret News:
"Chaffetz won re-election by over 130,000 votes, a 3:1 margin. Meanwhile, in Utah Donald Trump received 39,148 fewer votes than Hillary Clinton and Evan McMullin combined. Mirroring the national results, Trump won Utah’s electoral votes while losing the popular vote. Utah voters apparently have a much higher opinion of Chaffetz than they do of Trump.
Utah’s electorate has never been monolithically Republican, but the predominance of that party in recent decades has permitted the illusion that it is. Perhaps the first post-Trump presidential election will find Utah once again safely and predictably red, but in the meantime an ideologically diverse plurality of Utah voters opposes the Republican president-elect.
This changed political landscape presents Chaffetz with a new challenge as an elected representative. If he remains reluctant to stand up to Trump, he risks alienating the #neverTrump majority. At the same time, though, he cannot afford to resist Trump in ways that alienate the currently fractured conservative majority. Chaffetz’s office has been deluged with calls (including mine) urging him to investigate the president-elect’s conflicts of interest, yet his responses thus far have been cagey. He declined to comment on two letters on the issue from the Oversight Committee Democrats; he insists (inaccurately) that Trump cannot be investigated before the inauguration; most recently, he has pledged to watch Trump’s announcements on the matter closely. His timidity here contrasts with his eagerness to reopen the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails days before the election.
I believe investigating Trump’s conflicts of interest has the potential to please his new constituency. The conservative majority detested the possibility that the Clinton Foundation might have been the vehicle for a pay-to-play scheme, and Chaffetz investigated accordingly. The same principle applies to Trump. What conservative would sign on for a president making foreign-policy decisions based on his private business interests, or allowing foreign powers to use those interests for leverage against him? Chaffetz stands to gain the favor of his constituents by informing the president-elect that unsatisfactory resolution of such conflicts during the transition will prompt investigations during the presidency.
In the meantime, we of the #neverTrump majority must do our part to hold Chaffetz accountable. We are his constituents, and we should make our voices heard. We should urge local news outlets to cover his actions more thoroughly. We should call his offices to express our views, and to learn his. We should attend town-hall meetings when he holds them. We, too, have let the notion of a politically monolithic Utah make us complacent.
Furthermore, if Chaffetz does investigate Trump, he will need us. Trump’s treatment of those who oppose him, as Mitt Romney did, creates a powerful incentive for Chaffetz not to step out of line. We who have the power to re-elect him have the responsibility to be the backbone he needs." [read the comment section to the listed article]
Jason Kerr: Chaffetz can, and should, hold Trump accountable
