What is up with Sen. Bob Bennett?

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Senator Bob Bennett’s hold on President Obama’s nominee for Deputy Secretary of the Department of Interior, David Hayes, is obstructionism pure and simple. Sen. Bennett readily admits the hold he has placed on the nomination has nothing to do with Hayes’ qualifications and everything to do with Bennett’s demand that the Department of Interior explain itself on the controversial matter of the withdrawal of the Bush administration 11th hour oil and gas leases that are located in sensitive lands near national treasures like Arches National Park and Dinosaur National Monument. Unfortunately, this has much more to do with what’s wrong with today’s politics and has little to do with what is best for our nation.

Many of you may not know that Interior Secretary Salazar has committed to send Hayes to Utah within 10 days of his approval by the U.S. Senate to discuss the Interior Department’s reasoning on this matter and to listen to Sen. Bennett and others’ concerns. Denying Secretary Salazar his needed staff only delays the very action Sen. Bennett is demanding before an up or down vote on the Hayes nomination takes place. Using the Hayes nomination as a means of extorting from the Obama administration answers to Sen. Bennett’s question seems, frankly, a wee bit childish considering the serious state of our country. Especially given the fact that Secretary Salazar has made clear having Hayes on board would provide additional resources at Interior needed to respond to Bennett’s concerns and other issues facing the department.

As President Obama has demonstrated with the nomination of Governor Huntsman to serve as ambassador to China, Bob Gates’ continued service as Secretary of Defense, and former Congressman Ray LaHood’s appointment as Secretary of Transportation, that President Obama is willing to reach across the aisle if that is where the most qualified person for the position can be found. It is refreshing, given the past two decades of extreme partisanship that has harmed our nation, that our current president is deeply committed to finding the best and brightest to serve our nation in this time of great historical consequence. To have Sen. Bennett admit that Hayes is eminently qualified for the position he has been nominated for, it would be better for the Department of Interior in particular and the country as a whole if he took the same attitude and dropped his hold on Hayes’ nomination.

The year 2010 is coming up fast and Utah voters will not only have several choices from the GOP camp, but they will have even a better choice from our Democratic nominee. Utah Democrats already have popular Salt Lake businessman Sam Granato stating that he will announce his candidacy next month, and in a recent Salt Lake Tribune poll Granato beat all three GOP contenders Bennett, Shurtleff, and Bridgewater by double digits. There is also the possibility that other candidates may come forward.

But, with that said, let me state that our Democratic candidates can give you something the GOP candidates cannot. They can be themselves.

When President Obama announced that Gov. Jon Huntsman was a public servant who moved passed the old ideologies and stale debates that all too often bring progress to a standstill my first thought was that's what Utah's Democratic Party has been searching for in their candidates. How do I know? I helped recruit most of them.