This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
I appreciate Sen. Mike Lee's change of heart but am not buying it. When I voted to put him in office, I mistakenly thought that someone with his education and background would understand that once elected he'd represent all of Utah. I mistakenly thought he'd realize that as an elected leader we were paying him to make the country a better place and to represent our state on a national stage.
I mistakenly thought that he'd support our conservative interests by working to reinforce our perspectives of a more effective government, of fiscal prudence and restraint, and of business-led improvements to our economic well-being.
Instead he turned out to be a freshman senator who took personal responsibility for telling the country how it should be run. He made it clear from the beginning that he was the one with all the answers and decided that it would be far better to do nothing than to accomplish anything. He shut down the government to make a nonsensical point and set the economic recovery back by months.
Actions have consequences. We'll be waiting at the polls to provide Lee with feedback on his early performance.
Jeffrey C. Carleton
Salt Lake City