{"id":574757,"date":"2010-05-21T12:00:53","date_gmt":"2010-05-21T16:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/washingtonindependent.com\/?p=85366"},"modified":"2010-05-21T12:00:53","modified_gmt":"2010-05-21T16:00:53","slug":"meet-the-tea-party-activists-who-defeated-bob-bennett","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/574757","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Tea Party Activists Who Defeated Bob Bennett"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_85367\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 490px\"><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/bennett.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-85367\" title=\"Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah) (EPA\/ZUMAPRESS.com)\" src=\"http:\/\/washingtonindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/bennett-480x321.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"321\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah) (EPA\/ZUMAPRESS.com)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>From Pennsylvania to Arizona, incumbent Republican senators are  increasingly under siege from their right flanks, where Tea Party  activists have mobilized to challenge every establishment candidate  within charging distance. Tea Partiers rightfully took credit for Rand  Paul&#8217;s recent upending of the Republican establishment in Kentucky. And  they&#8217;re not done yet. Next on the list: longtime Sen. Orrin Hatch  (R-Utah).<\/p>\n<p><div id=\"attachment_27450\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"width: 140px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-27450\" title=\"elephant\" src=\"http:\/\/washingtonindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/elephant.jpg\" alt=\"Image by: Matt Mahurin\" width=\"130\" height=\"130\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image by: Matt Mahurin<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"floatButtons\">\n<div style=\"float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/digg.com\/tools\/diggthis.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div style=\"float: left; margin-bottom: 10px;\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\"\n\tsrc=\"http:\/\/d.yimg.com\/ds\/badge2.js\"\n\tbadgetype=\"square\">\n\t<?php the_permalink(); ?><\/script><\/div>\n<div style=\"float: left; margin-right: 10px;\">\n\t<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\ntweetmeme_source = \"TWI_news\";\ntweetmeme_service = \"bit.ly\";\n<\/script> <script src=\"http:\/\/tweetmeme.com\/i\/scripts\/button.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\"><\/script>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"float: left;\"><a name=\"fb_share\" type=\"box_count\" href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php\">Share<\/a><script src=\"http:\/\/static.ak.fbcdn.net\/connect.php\/js\/FB.Share\" type=\"text\/javascript\"><\/script><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> The first electoral jolt signifying that times  have changed came at the state Republican convention in Salt Lake City  on May 8, where three-term senator Bob Bennett was forcefully knocked  off the November ballot in two rounds of voting. So too were a number of  other Republican incumbents deemed too moderate in style or substance  by the convention\u2019s 3,500 delegates.<\/p>\n<p>Press accounts of Bennett\u2019s  defeat have generally focused on the state\u2019s peculiar nominating system,  in which an otherwise popular candidacy can be derailed at  precinct-level caucuses that elect delegates to the closed party  convention, from which only the top two candidates survive to face the  voting public.<\/p>\n<p>The state\u2019s caucus-and-convention system,  however, tells only half the story. Bennett and his fellow GOP  casualties did not fall victim to Utah\u2019s election system alone. Nor were  they felled simply by some vague anti-incumbent mood. Rather, they were  victims of a well-organized and increasingly dominant Tea Party  coalition that over the last year has established a tightening grip on  Utah\u2019s Republican Party\u2014and that has big plans for the rest of the  country as well.<\/p>\n<p>At the vanguard of this Beehive State  conservative revolt is a states\u2019 rights organization called the Patrick  Henry Caucus (PHC). Along with better-known groups such as the 9.12  Project and Eagle Forum, the PHC mobilized enough activists at the  precinct level to deny Bennett and a handful of others another election.  Now they are preparing to do the same with Hatch.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Patrick  Henry Caucus is leading the groups now dominating the conventions and  determining who will run for the state legislature and national  offices,\u201d says Troy Williams, director of political programming at KRCL,  a radio station in Salt Lake City. \u201cThey have effective control of the  direction of the state party, and have a Mormon missionary zeal when it  comes to spreading the gospel of states\u2019 rights around the country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The  Caucus was founded in May 2009 by five Republican state legislators  united by their opposition to what they consider unconstitutional  federal power as embodied in everything from the Department of Education  to affirmative action laws. Since announcing itself to the world with a  promotional <a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=U5legitZhpo\">video<\/a> that looks like it was shot by an ex-intern of Jerry Bruckheimer, the  group has emerged as a powerful force in Utah politics. Between 60 and  70 Utah government officials and representatives have signed up with the  Caucus. The governor and attorney general, meanwhile, have attended  meetings and spoken at Caucus-sponsored events. At the recent party  convention, between one-third to one-half of delegates were PHC members.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA large number of the delegates at convention belonged  [to the Caucus],\u201d says Stephen E. Sandstrom, a Utah state  representative and founding member of the PHC. \u201cMany others were  sympathetic and have since joined. Our information booth was one of the  most popular at the convention.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gayle Ruzicka, President of  Eagle Forum Utah, predicts that \u201cwell over half\u201d of the state  legislature will be made up of PHC members by 2012.<\/p>\n<p>With just  $60,000 in the bank and occasional profile-boosting appearances on  &#8220;Glenn Beck,&#8221; the group has established a national network of likeminded  state legislators and activists. In September, the PHC will host a  national states\u2019 rights convention in Salt Lake City. \u201cWe\u2019re inviting a  broad spectrum of people and aiming for 20,000 participants,\u201d says Carl  Wimmer, a Utah state representative and PHC founder.<\/p>\n<p>Many of the  attendees will come from other Western states, eager to learn from Utah  conservatives on the issue of attempting to wrest federal lands from  Washington\u2019s control.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe get a lot of calls from groups in  western states seeking advice about taking back our federal land through  eminent domain,\u201d says Wimmer. \u201cIn Utah, we have a long history of  challenging the federal government, which owns 70 percent of state  territory.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In their first year, PHC-affiliated state legislators  have emerged as the leading lights of the burgeoning states\u2019 rights  scene. Ken Ivory, a Utah PHC candidate who knocked out a long-time  Republican state representative at the recent GOP convention, was a  keynote speaker at first annual Tenth Amendment Summit in Atlanta.  Through such events, the PHC has established working contacts with state  legislators in 30 states, from North Dakota to New York.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe  goal has always been to organize states\u2019 sovereignty activists  nationwide. If we only fought health care and gun laws here in Utah,  people would just dismiss us as \u2018Oh, that\u2019s just rightwing Utah,\u2019\u201d says  Sandstrom, the Utah state representative and PHC founding member. \u201cBut  if we get it done nationally, coordinating with like-minded people  across the spectrum, we can truly have a huge impact.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Some  observers say the group is digging its own grave, and will not have a  lasting impact, in Utah or anywhere else.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe [Patrick  Henry] Caucus is promoting leadership that is about banging its chest  and pounding the desk,\u201d says David Litvack, a five-term Democratic state  representative from Salt Lake City. \u201cThere\u2019s a huge disconnect. The  further they push politics to the right, the more people are going to be  looking to the Democrats as the mainstream party and the moderate  option. They\u2019re already creating divisiveness among Utah conservatives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For  the founders of the Caucus\u2014known among their local supporters as the  \u201cfab five\u201d\u2014the future is a busy one, full of promise.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe number  one goal for our second year is to become more organized nationwide,\u201d  says Wimmer. \u201cYou\u2019ll probably see us going around the nation shoring up  some of the Patrick Henry Caucus groups in other states. With so much  success in such a short amount of time, we have to be careful about a  letdown, especially after such a big victory as defeating Bob Bennett.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Alexander Zaitchik is a freelance journalist in Brooklyn and the  author of the new book <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0470557397\/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&amp;pf_rd_s=center-2&amp;pf_rd_r=141DC6D1Z777EBEFHGA1&amp;pf_rd_t=101&amp;pf_rd_p=470938631&amp;pf_rd_i=507846\">&#8220;Common Nonsense: Glenn Beck and the Triumph  of Ignorance.&#8221;<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah) (EPA\/ZUMAPRESS.com) From Pennsylvania to Arizona, incumbent Republican senators are increasingly under siege from their right flanks, where Tea Party activists have mobilized to challenge every establishment candidate within charging distance. Tea Partiers rightfully took credit for Rand Paul&#8217;s recent upending of the Republican establishment in Kentucky. And they&#8217;re not done yet. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-574757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/574757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=574757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/574757\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=574757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=574757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=574757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}