I witnessed two balloting events, Saturday, one in Orem at the URA event, the other in Tremonton at the Box Elder County Lincoln Day Dinner.

In Orem, where Cherilyn Eagar won handily, there was a large contingent of Mike Lee volunteers on one side of the gym, separated from the main body of the audience. When Mike spoke, there was a great deal of applause from the area of his supporters, the rest of the hall was essentially silent.

When Cherilyn spoke, the applause from all over the gym was widespread, frequent and sustained, except from the knot of Mike Lee supporters.

There was a smaller group of Tim Bridgewater supporters. Overall applause when he spoke was tepid. Neither James Williams, nor Senator Bennett were present.

When the time came to count the votes at the most valid period, Cherilyn received almost twice as many as Mike Lee and a smattering of what was left went to Tim Bridgewater, who trounced the number received by James Williams. A person who voted for James said he did so because James is a nice guy and he didn’t want James to be embarrassed by getting no votes. James is a nice guy. I hope he found consultation in that he got more votes than Bennett, who I recall got none.

No one was paid, overtly, to vote at the URA event. Each person eligible to vote had to pay their URA dues for themselves OTOH, almost, it seemed, everyone was paid to vote at the Box Elder County dinner. The result of the vote was a poll of how many seats corporate sponsors can generate. There was almost a direct correspondence between the number of dinner plates bought by the first and second place straw poll winners and the vote count. The exceptions were James Williams’ and Cherilyn Eagar’s results. Cherilyn is said to have arrived with a team of four committed volunteers, casual observation suggests the same number for James Williams. So, in unbiased voting, James garnered two more than he came with and Cherilyn won thirty-five more. Given the size of the room, there may well have been quite a few who ate Bennett’s steak dinner but who didn’t vote for him. That would not be unprecedented.

At the last State Convention, in Layton, at the Davis County Convention Center, it seemed as if, Senator Bennett, rented an entire wing of the hotel facilities. Food, SWAG and entertainment was plentifully supplied by the Senator. Then came the time for him to give a speech.

To paraphrase his comments, he stood at the lectern and said, “Some people are hoping that I would announce that I’m not running for re-election …” He might have said something else. He may have been trying for ironic humor. I don’t know because, at that point, he got a standing ovation and applause that drown out further comments! I don’t think that was part of his plan.

It seems clear that when Utahns are presented with the choice of the clear and present danger of returning a Progressive in R.I.N.O. clothing to Washington, versus a potential ingrained with the taint of possible overt conflict of interest or moral hazard for conflict of interest in being beholden to a corporation trying to run rough shod over Utah environmental concerns candidate, versus a woman who has proven Conservative credentials that span almost as much time as the candidates, other than Bennett, have been alive, and, spans, as long as, Senator Hatch has been a Senator, the people choose to go with proven a Conservative candidate, who brings, to the Senate chamber, the added benefit of being a woman with the credentials to silence Progressive female retorts simply by showing up – Cherilyn Eagar.

Repeatedly, in this current contest, we have been told the superiority of Mike Lee is that he is a Constitutional scholar. I note that he, as does another, who is an incumbent Executive officer, is prone to give speeches that more seem to be lectures to the ignorant masses. We remember, to our trepidation that Barack Obama is a Constitutional scholar and professor. So, too, was the fascist, Woodrow Wilson.

Cherilyn Eagar is a student of the Constitution. She may not give lectures on its details, but she lives its letter and spirit with every fiber of her body, and has done so, with every act of her adult life, for over thirty years.

Progressives, historically, rule counter to popular will. A tactic of theirs is to play one hyphenated faction against another. Their tactic has been to support two straw dog candidates, either of whom wins, they win.

We should rally around the banner of one candidate to insure that at the convention our standard bearer is nominated our Republican candidate on the first ballot. Our unified, unhyphenated, goal must be to defeat Progressivism. We must strive to defeat it in all of its guises. We must not elect those we fear have an aura of doubt about them because we are uncertain where their loyalties lie. We must not elect those who seek a way to reconcile the evil of Progressivism, and the policies of Barack Obama, with the family values of Utah. We must not elect those who have not repudiated the R.I.N.O. politics of Republican reproachment as of a John McCain, and we must defeat Bob Bennett!

In this contest, time after time, in situations where the outcome is truly a contest settled by the will of the people, not the size of the corporate sponsorship, there is only one candidate who fulfills the criteria of that which our goals ought to be, and, who is propelled forward by the will of the people. That candidate is Cherilyn Eagar.