This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Utah's superpartisan, headline-seeking Jason Chaffetz just keeps stepping in it.
The "Benghazi, Benghazi, Benghazi" Republican congressman already has made a fool of himself in the national media for failing to recognize the flaws in a bogus chart he used to try to humiliate national Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards during a hearing before his House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
He repeated his buffoonlike caricature more recently during a hearing on the Flint, Mich., water crisis by screaming at the Environmental Protection Agency director that the lead-poisoned water was all her and the Obama administration's fault, while anyone paying attention knows the blame rests with Republican Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder's team.
In February, Chaffetz was poised to probe the security of government records, focusing on Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton as a culprit in security breaches when she was secretary of state.
That plan was shut down by House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who feared it would look like the GOP-led House was waging a witch hunt against Clinton, which Chaffetz was.
Now, the Utahn's partisan ambition almost tripped up a key Republican strategy in the Supreme Court nominating process.
Seeing a chance to embarrass Merrick Garland, President Barack Obama's pick for the vacant seat on the court, Chaffetz wanted to interview Garland, the chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, about recently publicized allegations that the chief judge of the D.C. District Court raped a 16-year-old Utah girl when he was a federal prosecutor in 1981, according to an article last week in Politico.
Garland recused himself from a judicial oversight investigation when the allegations emerged earlier this month. But Chaffetz saw an opportunity to hoist himself into the story and cast doubt on the president's nominee.
Roll Call's Jonathan Allen pointed out in a column titled "Cleanup in Aisle Chaffetz," the congressman's questioning of Garland would undermine the GOP argument that the nomination should be ignored so the next president can fill the court vacancy.
So Chaffetz was called on the carpet by GOP leaders — again.
—
Getting no respect • I mentioned last week that the northern Utah city of Wellsville included with utility bills mailed to residents a flier giving all the details to attend the Republican Party caucuses — and only the Republican Party caucuses.
Here is an addendum:
The utah.gov website had a link before caucus night where people could learn the location of their party gatherings. The parties were tallied in order, each with its own listing for its caucus locations.
The site lists the Republican Party first. No surprise there.
Then came the Constitution Party, followed by the American Independent Party. Last in order was the Democratic Party — the Rodney Dangerfield of Utah politics.
—
Mailing it in • Several instances of confusion in the Democratic caucuses have been chronicled since the turnout last week, which was much greater than anyone had anticipated.
Here's one more:
Jill Gearhart was a Democratic precinct chairwoman in her Sandy district in 2014. But after she stood in a long line to vote in her caucus at Altara Elementary and presented her voter ID card and her driver license, she was informed she was not on the list and couldn't vote. She was directed to a "troubleshooting line" to sort it out.
Her husband, an unaffiliated voter who until recently had been a registered Republican, was on the list and was able to vote at the Democratic caucus.
While in the troubleshooting line, Gearhart met a man who has been a regular Democratic Party voter who was not on the list. But his ex-wife, who has been dead for five years, was on it — apparently able to vote in absentia.
—
What's in a name? • An 88-year-old West Valley City man filled out the form necessary to qualify to vote online in his Republican caucus, since he has a medical condition that makes it hard to get out.
When he called to find out his public identification number (PIN), he was told he was not on the list and that it was too late to add him. He was further told there must have been a problem in the way he filled out the application, even though he is a registered Republican.
Perhaps it was his name: Dean Trump.