I know that this is completely unrelated to anything on my blog, but some things just need to be said. One of the best ways for me to get my emotions out is to write it out and after hearing about how much support there was for Hatch at the Davis county republican caucuses as compared to Dan Liljenquist, I knew I had to let my voice be heard. So here it is. My ode to Dan.
I remember my first time meeting Orrin Hatch. I was a senior in high school and was fortunate enough to fly to Washington DC with the Bountiful City Youth Council. DC was a beautiful city and I was intrigued by everything about it. I was there with the Utah League of Cities and Towns convention and one of the meetings on our agenda was to have breakfast with the Congressman from Utah. Seriously? I was going to be able to meet our state representatives and have the opportunity to eat breakfast with them. This was a dream come true! For the past seven months in school we had been studying the US government in my AP Gov class. I had been taught about how our National and State government worked and all about our Federal Senators and Representatives. I couldn’t wait for my return home to brag to my teacher and our class about meeting all of them—especially the prestigious Orrin Hatch. He was so cool! He had been in for 33 years and had fought his way to the top to become a senior senator and was in all of the best committees in Congress. He had some powerful influence in DC. To say the least, I was proud to claim that he represented me from the state of Utah.
So there I was: a seventeen year old kid just waiting for the opportunity to shake his hand. Maybe he would compliment me on my interest in politics. Maybe he would congratulate me for being so ambitious. Maybe he would even ask me to become an intern for him once I graduated. Maybe when I turned 30 he would endorse me when I ran for a seat in the Senate. I felt like I had waited for this moment my whole life and I was finally getting the chance.
Hatch and the other congressmen were sitting in the banquet room when we entered. We listened to a “question and answer” that was followed by a breakfast. I scarfed down my food and anxiously waited for my chance to meet Hatch. As soon as I noticed others moving to his table I jumped up and took my chance. The butterflies in my stomach were enormous as I extended my hand to Hatch. Then something happened that I didn’t expect. Hatch also extended his hand, shook it, and began to speak to another man. Hatch did not even make eye contact with me. I was shocked. I hesitated for a second before walking away because I thought that he may turn his attention to me once he had finished with this other man but he didn’t. I left feeling extremely put off and very disappointed. I respected this man so much and he did not even acknowledge my presence.
Looking back years later after this experience, I am proud to say that I support Dan in his campaign against Hatch. And to clarify, my support is no longer with Hatch just because of what happened when I was seventeen, but it is because I believe that 36 years in the senate is too long. I strongly believe in the grass roots movement—I am not necessarily a tea-partier, but I believe that a senator should know who he is representing. And to me, Hatch no longer knows who he is representing.
My sister and brother-in-law moved to DC the summer after I graduated from high school. I loved that city so much that I moved in with them for a month. During my time there I was constantly amazed by the beauty of the city. Don’t get me wrong, I believe SLC is beautiful too, but compared to DC, I could see why Hatch could forget about SLC for the grandeur of DC. The capitol truly is the closest thing that America will have to a castle. If you worked in a castle, it would be easy to see yourself “above” others and thinking that you know best for them. I believe that Orin Hatch sees himself in that way and if Hatch is representing me and thinking like that, he just transformed from my Senator into my King. And if Hatch is my King, I no longer believe that he can truly represent me and should no longer be in office.
The republican caucus meetings recently were interesting. My mother and father are both active members in politics and didn’t just vote, but also ran as delegates. Since I am away at Brigham Young University, my mother reported from my hometown of Bountiful that the majority of delegates were older and were supporting Hatch. Why Hatch? Looking around at my peers, there are so many of us that support Dan. Comparing that to Hatch, I am not seeing hardly any support for him from people my age. If people are claiming that they want what is best for the youth, why aren’t they listening to us? We want Dan! We want someone who represents us! Who connects with us! Who listens to us! Who truly wants what is best for us!
My first time meeting Dan was an excellent experience. It was long before his candidacy for US Senate. I was a junior in high school and was attending Day with the Legislation with the Bountiful City Youth Council. Dan took time from his busy schedule to meet up with our group and shake each of our hands individually. When it was my turn to shake his hand, he looked me in the eyes and told me that he was glad for the opportunity to meet me. Those few simple words speak wonders to me. They let me know that there are still some legislatures out there who care for their people—especially their youth.
Dan is someone that you can trust. I believe that he is true to his word when he says that if elected he will go into Congress, fix what he promised and then come home to Utah. I believe that the whole time he is in DC he will be carrying a picture of his people in Utah close to his heart. I don’t believe that he will ever forget about us.
The delegates of Utah: you want to do what is best for the future? Then listen to the youth. The youth want Dan. The youth want someone to believe in—not someone who won’t even look us in the eye. Dan Liljenquist is what is best for the youth. Dan has my support and I would love to see him in office.
