Time: Fri Dec 12 17:20:29 1997 To: From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in tool bar] Subject: SLS: The Rise and Fall of Orrin Hatch (fwd) Cc: Bcc: sls References: <snip> > >THE RISE AND FALL OF ORRIN HATCH > >Timothy C. Rollins > >In November of 1976, a trial lawyer and political unknown by the name of >Orrin Grant Hatch was elected to the United States Senate from the State >of Utah, defeating favored three-time incumbent Frank Moss. Hatch had >told Utahns that Moss was out of touch with the constituents back home, >and that when push came to shove, he voted with fellow Democrats over the >will of the people of Utah. He campaigned very effectively on that issue >and offered ideas that were clear, well-defined and whose time had come. > >As a freshman senator, he proved to be a uniquely bad headache for >President Jimmy Carter, opposing nominations that had no business being >sent to the Senate in the first place. He was key in sending a number of >them in the tank where they belonged. Under the tutelage of the late >Senator James Allen (D-AL), Hatch learned the rules of the Senate and >used them to masterful advantage in helping advance a course of action >that put America back to greatness under President Ronald Reagan, who >rebuilt our defenses and sent a message to the world that we don't take >crap from anybody. > >I met Orrin Hatch in 1982 while I was a student at the University of >Utah, and when he was running for his second term. Affable, highly >intelligent, concise and articulate, he generated an atmosphere of >excitement and energy. > > So impressed was I with him, I did the occasional campaign bit by >telling friends why Orrin Hatch should be returned to the Senate for a >second term. > >Which is what makes the Orrin Hatch of today unrecognizable by >comparison. The Orrin Hatch who was elected in 1976 in an upset would >have never come up with political abortions the likes of S. 10 or S. 507. > For the unfamiliar, Senate Bill 10 puts all kinds of restrictions on >guns that are unnecessary, cumbersome and time consuming which smack of >harassment of legitimate gun owners. And using the RICO statute is like >swatting a fly with a sledge hammer. Hatch's rationale is that juvenile >crime is out of control. This legislation will do NOTHING to reduce >that. What will reduce it is parents working with their children, not >running away from their responsibilities and leaving the State to take >care of them. It is that attitude that got us in to the mess we are in >now. The State has shown us how good they are at taking care of children. > >Though I do not like Hillary Clinton at all, she is right to a certain >extent when she says it takes a village to raise a child. Communities >are in place so people can help one another out. It teaches children >that problems that cannot be solved alone can be solved with cooperation >and teamwork in many cases. Now do not assume that I think it is the >only solution, as I think Hillary uses that angle to "justify" more >government control over our lives. That is wrong. And it is this >extremism that Hatch has bought into that makes him a now fallen leader. >That and the mess behind S. 507. > >Before his election to the Senate, Hatch had served as a Mormon Bishop. >Being a lay ministry such as the Mormon Church is, this was in addition >to his work as a trial lawyer. In reading one of his bios, a portrait is >painted of Hatch as a caring, compassionate man, and that shows very >clearly in the writing. He comes across in the book and in my meeting >with him as one who cares deeply for America and her people and wants >what is best for them. Yet S. 507 is a sell-out of all Americans because >it would remove existing patent protections and make them for sale to the >highest bidder, domestic or foreign. America makes the overwhelming >majority of new inventions, and this statute would rob decent >hard-working people of the advantage we have earned a right to. To add >insult to injury, in a clear case of both conflict of interest and >blatant hypocrisy, Hatch is also seeking an extension of copyright law to >extend the length of copyrights for music and recorded work, such as the >CD of religious music he produced with Janice Kapp Perry. You can't have >it both ways, Senator! > >While Hatch has fallen in a sense, he has made an invaluable contribution >to American society and should be applauded and commended for it. Yet he >also needs to wake up and take a look around, as he is falling into the >trap of more government control of which Bubba himself is the chief >architect thereof. > >Timothy Rollins 1997 > <snip>
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