Time: Fri Dec 12 17:20:29 1997
To: 
From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in tool bar]
Subject: SLS: The Rise and Fall of Orrin Hatch (fwd)
Cc: 
Bcc: sls
References: 

<snip>
>
>THE RISE AND FALL OF ORRIN HATCH
>
>Timothy C. Rollins
>
>In November of 1976, a trial lawyer and political unknown by the name of 
>Orrin Grant Hatch was elected to the United States Senate from the State 
>of Utah, defeating favored three-time incumbent Frank Moss.  Hatch had 
>told Utahns that Moss was out of touch with the constituents back home, 
>and that when push came to shove, he voted with fellow Democrats over the 
>will of the people of Utah.  He campaigned very effectively on that issue 
>and offered ideas that were clear, well-defined and whose time had come.
>
>As a freshman senator, he proved to be a uniquely bad headache for 
>President Jimmy Carter, opposing nominations that had no business being 
>sent to the Senate in the first place.  He was key in sending a number of 
>them in the tank where they belonged.  Under the tutelage of the late 
>Senator James Allen (D-AL), Hatch learned the rules of the Senate and 
>used them to masterful advantage in helping advance a course of action 
>that put America back to greatness under President Ronald Reagan, who 
>rebuilt our defenses and sent a message to the world that we don't take 
>crap from anybody.
>
>I met Orrin Hatch in 1982 while I was a student at the University of 
>Utah, and when he was running for his second term.  Affable, highly 
>intelligent, concise and articulate, he generated an atmosphere of 
>excitement and energy.
>
> So impressed was I with him, I did the occasional campaign bit by 
>telling friends why Orrin Hatch should be returned to the Senate for a 
>second term.
>
>Which is what makes the Orrin Hatch of today unrecognizable by 
>comparison.  The Orrin Hatch who was elected in 1976 in an upset would 
>have never come up with political abortions the likes of S. 10 or S. 507. 
> For the unfamiliar, Senate Bill 10 puts all kinds of restrictions on 
>guns that are unnecessary, cumbersome and time consuming which smack of 
>harassment of legitimate gun owners.  And using the RICO statute is like 
>swatting a fly with a sledge hammer.  Hatch's rationale is that juvenile 
>crime is out of control.  This legislation will do NOTHING to reduce 
>that.  What will reduce it is parents working with their children, not 
>running away from their responsibilities and leaving the State to take 
>care of them.  It is that attitude that got us in to the mess we are in 
>now.  The State has shown us how good they are at taking care of children.
>
>Though I do not like Hillary Clinton at all, she is right to a certain 
>extent when she says it takes a village to raise a child.  Communities 
>are in place so people can help one another out.  It teaches children 
>that problems that cannot be solved alone can be solved with cooperation 
>and teamwork in many cases.  Now do not assume that I think it is the 
>only solution, as I think Hillary uses that angle to "justify" more 
>government control over our lives. That is wrong.  And it is this 
>extremism that Hatch has bought into that makes him a now fallen leader.  
>That and the mess behind S. 507.
>
>Before his election to the Senate, Hatch had served as a Mormon Bishop.  
>Being a lay ministry such as the Mormon Church is, this was in addition 
>to his work as a trial lawyer.  In reading one of his bios, a portrait is 
>painted of Hatch as a caring, compassionate man, and that shows very 
>clearly in the writing.  He comes across in the book and in my meeting 
>with him as one who cares deeply for America and her people and wants 
>what is best for them.  Yet S. 507 is a sell-out of all Americans because 
>it would remove existing patent protections and make them for sale to the 
>highest bidder, domestic or foreign.  America makes the overwhelming 
>majority of new inventions, and this statute would rob decent 
>hard-working people of the advantage we have earned a right to.  To add 
>insult to injury, in a clear case of both conflict of interest and 
>blatant hypocrisy, Hatch is also seeking an extension of copyright law to 
>extend the length of copyrights for music and recorded work, such as the 
>CD of religious music he produced with Janice Kapp Perry.  You can't have 
>it both ways, Senator!
>
>While Hatch has fallen in a sense, he has made an invaluable contribution 
>to American society and should be applauded and commended for it.  Yet he 
>also needs to wake up and take a look around, as he is falling into the 
>trap of more government control of which Bubba himself is the chief 
>architect thereof. 
>
>Timothy Rollins  1997
>
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