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EDITOR OF REDSTATE

Pay Attention to Dan Liljenquist in Utah

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  November 21st, 2011 at 12:45 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

There aren’t a whole lot of Senate races to get excited about this year. Adam Hasner in Florida, Josh Mandel in Ohio, Don Stenberg in Nebraska, Ted Cruz in Texas, and Jeff Flake in Arizona are about it for me right now. But I do want to beat Heather Wilson in New Mexico and Tommy Thompson in Wisconsin.

One race where I’ve sat back a while is Utah. Senator Orrin Hatch is a decent enough guy and very likable, but I get the sense from the grassroots in Utah that they are ready for a change. And I think while Orrin Hatch has done a remarkable job moving right in the past year, I don’t have confidence he’ll stay there once he has another six year term. If past performance is the best indicator of future performance, I think we’ll see a “centrist” Hatch the moment election season ends.

So I’m excited to Dan Liljenquist enter the Utah Senate race. I like this guy. I’m excited about this guy and his potential. The grassroots in Utah have high hopes for him and I do too. The buzz is pretty strong he is getting in.

That’s good news.

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  • theredrider

    nt

  • lucasblack

    I had been supporting Hasner, but with Mack entering the race, I will now be voting for him in the primary. I’m quite excited about Mack. His father was a great guy and I think he’s also our best shot at taking the seat. I liked Hasner, but he was simply not getting any traction. I hope he drops and goes for a different race and perhaps gets picked to replace Rubio when he becomes VP.

  • mcjolley

    Dan Liljenquist would be an excellent addition to the U.S. Senate. His pension and Medicaid reforms are already the model for the nation.

  • romeg

    Bob,

    Thank you for your kind remarks and support. I can assure you that I
    plan on standing up to Obama. The Republicans are positioned to retake
    the Senate, because I am the ranking Republican of the Finance
    Committee, I would become chairman. This will put me in the unique
    position to defund Obama-care. This is an important step in
    getting rid of it all together.

    Thank you for your email. I am sorry for the delayed response.

    Sincerely,
    Senator Orrin Hatch

    On Fri, Jul 1, 2011 at 8:13 AM, Bob Stovall wrote:
    > Dear Senator Hatch,
    > Can I count on you to work tirelessly to not only unwind the Obama Socialist
    > Agenda but to work as hard for his defeat in November 2012 as you will for
    > your re-election at that same time?
    > You have long been something of a role model for me. Even though I am a
    > Baptist, I greatly admire you for the strength of your faith commitment and
    > how that has obviously shaped and informed your public life. However, I have
    > been deeply disappointed by your recent efforts to “reach across the aisle”
    > to support Senators who are not so reciprocal in their feelings and efforts
    > on behalf of The American People. Your actions have made you vulnerable to a
    > primary challenge in your upcoming race for the Senate. I’d like to see you
    > continue your work and leadership for at least another 6 years.
    > Please give us all a reason to believe that you haven’t become a RINO, that
    > you are truly conservative and that you will support and defend the
    > Constitution against the attacks contained in the Obama Socialist Agenda.
    > Give me that sign and I will support your candidacy and your efforts to
    > defeat Obama and his Socialist Agenda.
    > Warmest regards,
    > Bob Stovall

  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

    .

  • Justin Spagnolo (standardcandle)

    no text.

  • Justin Spagnolo (standardcandle)

    Since the election of Mike Lee, Orrin Hatch has been attempting with ALL of his might to engage the T.E.A. Party faction in Utah. He’s done all he can with all the opportunities he’s had to prove that he can be conservative once again…

    He just might fall short… but he really has been trying.

    There is 1 thing that we have to convince Utah Voters regarding Orrin Hatch…

    Orrin’s finance committee seniority. He’s going to try to hang his whole re-election on the fact that should Utahns send him back one more time, he’ll have seniority on the Senate Finance committee as well as the Senate Judiciary Committees… that he would have great pull in the Senate with what gets tabled and what goes through with a Republican majority.

    Sen. Hatch has attempted to latch his sincerity in espousing the BBA that Mike Lee has drafted… and Sen. Hatch will spend a good deal of money reminding people how close he was in 2007 to getting a BBA in 1997.

    Dan would be the right person at this time to unseat Sen. Hatch. I’m just worried that the T.E.A. Party is possibly getting too cozy with Mr. Hatch… They need to be reminded of TARP, and Hatch’s Judiciary votes… They need to be reminded often by helping Dan raise money against Hatch… Hatch will have no problem getting the money he needs to out advertise, out promote, and claim his conservative cred.

  • oneconservative

    Tommy will have a tough time winning. There are at least two people that are running to the right of RINO Tommy. While Tommy remains a pretty popular ex-governor who was “cutting edge” in the 1990s, Mark Newman and Jeff Fitzgerald are both more conservative.

    Newman is the former Congressman who had Paul Ryan’s seat. He has a good conservative record; however, he has lost a couple of state wide races already to Russ Feingold (2004?) and Scott Walker in last year’s primary for the governor’s seat. Newman is wealthy and able to self-fund a lot of his own campaign.

    Fitzgerald is a strong conservative who “carried the water” along with Scott Walker and the Republicans that have taken the state from the edge of becoming ILL ANNOY to a state that is providing a great example of Conservatism for all to see. He is a great candidate too.

    Overall, Tommy will not likely win the seat. Quite frankly, I am not sure why he is planning to run at this point. He is almost 70 and is making some big dollars in the private sector.

  • Mayhem

    As a loyal RedState reader and great fan of yours, might I posit a critique of your 2012 Senate coverage thus far?

    Sometimes I find it frustrating that you refrain from telling us *why* you don’t support certain candidates. At times, you just completely ignore covering entire states because no one seems to excite you there (last year you said hardly anything about Rob Portman in Ohio, but, as I recall, you never really gave us a reason for why you didn’t endorse him). I take your analysis seriously, and when you say something, I usually take it to be credible. But just throwing out broad “nobody excites me” statements about Senate races is, frankly, a cop out in my opinion.

    I read RedState every day, and I don’t recall reading much on the Missouri, Michigan, or Minnesota Senate races, for example. Could you tell us *why* you don’t like Mark Neumann, or Pete Hoekstra, or Todd Akin the way you like Ted Cruz, Adam Hasner, and Jeff Flake? Give us your real analysis of these candidates, even if you don’t end up endorsing them. Critique them for us, at least, so that we can add your two cents into our own decision making process for next year. Again, just implying that there isn’t anyone exciting in Michigan doesn’t help me very much. That may be the case, but afford us an explanation.

    You’re a major figure in the conservative movement. I just think you could be painting us a better picture of what’s actually going on in these key Senate races. I feel (so far) like you’ve been giving us “trust me on this” statements on some of them. Shouldn’t there be more intellectual honesty on the Right than that?

    A faithful supporter and loyal reader,

    Ben
    Indiana

  • gawken

    is exactly that is would be their LAST term. There is no longer ANY vestige of accountability to the electorate..they can do whatever thewy want, stray as far from the conservative positions as they choose.

    The GOP will win the senate next year, picking up 5-7 seats. Sadly, as we’ve learned, equally as important,( if not more so), than the SIZE of the majority is in fact just how conservative the caucus is.

    If we are indeed fortunate to elect the 5 that Erick mentions at the start of his diary, then at WORST Mitch McConnel will have to be on his best behavior. At BEST, with those 5, and maybe replacements for Hatch, and Lugar, tis possible that we’ll see DeMint challenge McConnell for majority leader.

    I’ve addressed this in an earlier diary ( and will try to find it and post a link) but if not in 2012, most definitely in 2014…we’ll have the Senate the country needs..

  • Whacker77

    Adam Hasner will not be the Rubio of 2012. He’s gained the backing of many in the Tea Party, but he’s gotten zero, and I mean zero, traction in the polls.

    Honestly, what’s wrong with Mack? Maybe he’s not hardline on immigration, but he’s been pretty darn good on everything else. Most importantly since this is an election, he has the name ID and background to actually win the state.

    I respect the work Erick does, but I’m not sure why there is such a rush to support supposed “Tea Party” candidates just because they claim to be Tea Party people. Radtke is the perfect example. We must balance pure conservatism againt the ability of the candidate to win.

  • lucasblack

    I am so appalled at the thought of Tammy Baldwin in the Senate, that I am actually rooting for TT as the more electable candidate.

  • red_oakster

    Hatch is solid supply sider and will be an ally of Ryan and Sessions in moving things through the Budget committee. Olympia Snowe would be a disaster. Opposing Hatch is very poor strategic advice in my opinion.

  • Justin Spagnolo (standardcandle)

    at the same time… I’m a let the dice roll kind of person… i’d rather new blood, rather than old blood… chair issues are secondary to having good solid conservative votes.

  • theredrider

    He wants so badly to see a small group of energized Tea Partiers take control of the party. The trouble with that motivation is that the Tea Party wing of the party is disorganized, perhaps intentionally so.

    We are now living in an age where candidates like Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, and Rick Perry can’t hide their past. Perhaps former presidents like JFK and LBJ would not have made it to the White House in today’s environment, given their pasts.

    Anyway, keep up the great work, Neil. Your success in making Perry the front-runner speaks for itself.

  • theredrider

    …

  • http://www.erickerickson.org Erick Erickson

    I am trying to find the most conservative candidates who can win in Republican states and push the Senate right. I don’t see anything to get excited about with Todd Akin and Pete Hoekstra because I don’t see them actually moving the Senate right.

    Sure, they’ll move the Senate to the GOP. But that doesn’t mean they’ll move it right.

  • http://www.erickerickson.org Erick Erickson

    to do a more detailed post on this comment tomorrow morning!

  • gawken

    I tried posting a link..wouldn’t work for me..

  • red_oakster

    If new blood here completely derails the prospects for tax reform, it’s bad strategy.

  • murphysdad

    Erick. please, please, please reconsider your thoughts on the Michigan race. Almost anyone would be to the Right of
    Carl Levin. I have the double curse of Carl in the Senate and his brother Sander in Congress. I and thousands of other Michiganders have NO representation or voice in the Nation’s capitol.

  • Justin Spagnolo (standardcandle)

    Just because you’re the most senior on a committee doesn’t mean that you’re automatically made the chair. If she was not elected, she’d be the ranking member on the committee… but not the chair. This is also assuming that the GOP wins the majority.

    Which is why i’m willing to roll the ‘loaded dice’ as you put it… on all counts…

    I’m not currently residing in Utah… so I won’t be able to vote on this one… if I was, I’d vote for Dan on principle… and then wait to see how determined the senate GOP is willing to vote Olympia Snowe in as chair of the finance committee.

  • celador2

    If Dan is another Sharron Angle the only Repub whom Reid could defeat or a Christine Mc Donnell in Deleware I hope Hatch wins primary.

    Voters may turn to the Demcorat if the Republican lacks what Hatch has offered,.

    Also, WIS Tommy Thompson has moved right and can win the retiring Kohl Senate seat or stands a good chance over all others in the race.

  • red_oakster

    Snowe is going to win and if the GOP takes the Senate she would be the chairman. And if for some reason Snowe is ranking minority member, she’s much more likely to capitulate to an Obama “compromise” aka tax hike.

    Opposing Hatch is a fool’s errand. That’s why Mark Levin supports Hatch.