This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Re "Bennett backs DREAM Act; Hatch skips vote" (Tribune, Dec. 19):
Sen. Orrin Hatch undoubtedly planned to attend his grandson's graduation because he assumed Congress would be on Christmas recess. But Congress was in session last Saturday, voting on important bills, and Utah's senator was absent.
If it's important enough for Congress to stay in session, it's important enough for Hatch to stay, too, and do what we elected him to do. Hatch said he would have voted against the DREAM Act because it was a ploy by Democrats to gain favor with their base voters. That is one of the most cynical political statements by Utah's too-senior senator.
The DREAM Act is prudent compassion, as Hatch, a previous advocate of it, said even earlier this year. His vote against it (had he actually been there) had nothing to do with Democrats and everything to do with his base voters. He's just blowing smoke in our eyes by saying the opposite of the truth.
And what if the bill was a ploy? That has nothing to do with whether it's right, and Hatch clearly knows it was. He's become a groveling, craven politician, and he should go.
Sam Campbell
Salt Lake City