OUR VIEW: Bennett's Utah GOP problem

Have you seen those frantic, desperate campaign ads for our Republican junior Sen. Bob Bennett? The one where he squares his jaw and promises Utahns that he's not going to let those Democrats ruin our health care. Bennett plays the Republican fighter; one almost expects our tall, skinny senator to lash out with a left hook to Sen. Harry Reid's jaw.

The truth is, Bennett has already spent $500,000-plus for this ubiquitous TV ad and other campaign costs a year before the election because he is scared. Americans are in a grouchy political mood. Approval ratings for Congress are abysmal. It's not popular to be an incumbent. Bennett, approaching 18 years in the Senate, is facing the unenviable task of trying to convince activists, mostly very conservative Utah Republican delegates, that he is worthy of renomination or at least a slot in a Republican primary.

Bennett faces no problem in the general election. Utah Democrats are in the process of nominating another Casper Milquetoast to offer token opposition. As mentioned, his problem is getting the GOP nod. So far, Bennett is being challenged by Cherilyn Eagar, an Eagle Forum favorite, and Utah County's Tim Bridgwater. Both, particularly Eagar, are more conservative than Bennett and not shy about advertising that fact. Eagar even had Joe the Plumber on the stump at campaign rallies last week.

Polls show only about half of voters would vote for their congressional representative. This is not good news for Democrats, who currently rule Congress, but it's also not good news for Republican incumbents who have taken middle-of-the-road, dare we even say thoughtful, positions on high-blood pressure issues such as immigration reform or efforts to fix the financial crisis.

The Republican Party is having a war between moderate-conservatives and activist base conservatives. The latter are championed through mediums such as talk radio, Fox News commentary shows and political Web sites. Bennett, despite his hyperkinetic right-wing breathing commercial, is a thoughtful moderate-conservative. He would like to go beyond demagoguery and find tough but real solutions for immigration reform. Bennett also voted last year for the first Wall Street bailouts. Bennett also is a co-sponsor with liberal Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., of an alternative health care reform plan.

These accomplishments have earned Bennett plaudits from the Washington Post and invitations to the Sunday news talk shows. But it's less likely to get the senator praise from Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck.

To us, that's not necessarily a bad thing. We'd rather our junior spend time on Meet the Press than on the stump with Joe the Plumber. But that's not the kind of pol delegates to the Republican convention seem to want to nominate.