New Rep. Jason Chaffetz says the bill is unconstitutional, and Rep. Rob Bishop, who voted present on the legislation last time, questions whether it would even help Utah since the state likely will get a fourth member anyway.Yeah I am sure he will either vote against it or do the brave thing a vote present. I would rather have a sure seat now than wait 4 years for a likely seat. Bishop is even lamer than Chaffetz, who at least is hiding behind a pluasable constitutional law argument.
"The value for Utah is well past," Bishop said Tuesday. He said he wasn't sure whether he was against the bill, but ticked off reasons why he wasn't backing it.
So why do 20% of the Utah delegation not support a bill that would increase the power of their state? Is it because they don't want competition for running for Governor or Senate when Hatch or Bennett retire/die? Do they hate D.C. that much? Are they afraid that Jim Matheson will run in the redder district and another Democrat will win the bluer seat after redistricting? Someone please explain this to me.
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Your last scenario -- two Democrats winning -- definitely will not happen. Under the four-district plan, the second district becomes even more Democratic than it is now. It includes SLC, east bench and probably Park City. It would exclude south SLCo. Rocky Anderson would beat Jim Matheson in this district.
The other three districts overall will be slightly more Republican than they are right now.
The Republican Legislature has given up on getting all three (or four) districts. Therefore, they want to make the one Democratic district as liberal as possible to make sure that the Democratic nominee is a liberal as possible, which will hurt Democrats in the rest of the state.
They (along with the rest of the country) hate DC that much.
As one of your fellow countrymen actually LIVING in DC, I can't tell you how it warms the cockles of my heart to be the undeserving target of such vitriol. No wonder the rest of the world loves the US so; with friends like these, who needs enemies?
Dear The,
My last scenerio IS possible...I believe Jim Matheson could beat Chaffetz or Bishop or could run in the newly more Republican 2nd or 4th. It might seem safer for him to run in the bluest district, but as you said, Rocky Anderson could beat him in the Rose Park to Snyderville Basin district. Let a Ralph Becker type run for that seat, and allow Jim to expand the map.
Matheson could not beat a Republican in a Utah County based district or a northern Utah based district. The straight party votes in those districts makes it a near mathematical impossibility.
In Utah County, the straight party vote typically breaks 25/30% for Republicans and 5/7% for Democrats. Davis, Cache, and Box Elder Counties are similar.
While both 1st and 3rd have pockets of Democrats -- Ogden and Spanish Fork-- the overall straight party votes are just too great for a Democrat to overcome.
That would be 40% of the Utah delegation that don't want this (2/5)
-Bob
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