Max Hall hates you. And you. Yes, you. There is no doubt that people say stupid things when they are riled up, or in Hall’s case, bitter about a win. Granted he apologized, but there’s no excuse.
Anyone who has a national audience should know better. Another such blunder was made last week by another Utahn who is too old to be doing what he’s doing.
Speaking on Fox News’ “Fox and Friends,” Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch made a number of good points regarding the most recent health care bill. He emphasized that taxpayers should not be saddled with the responsibility of paying for abortions. Further, he spoke about the length and overall complexity of the bill.
Unfortunately, at the end of his comments, he let emotions get the better of him and finished with the line “I hope the American people rebel.”
This is almost as priceless as Rush Limbaugh proclaiming that he hopes President Barack Obama, and thus America, will fail. The difference is that Limbaugh is paid to be an idiot. Hatch is not.
Now I’m sure Hatch didn’t really mean that he wants Americans to gather their 200 million guns and take to the streets, but this well might have confused many regular Fox News viewers. Regardless, what Hatch, Hall and every other representative of our fine state must realize is that when you say something on television, it had better not be ignorant or driven purely by emotion, because it will never go away. YouTube, Facebook and Google ensure that any gaffe made in front of a national audience will forever haunt the person who said it. Just ask Miss Teen South Carolina.
Another such example exists in Chris Buttars, the delightful Utah senator from Senate District 10. During a debate on the floor of the State Senate in February, he infamously described a bill thusly: “This baby is black, I’ll tell you. This is a dark, ugly thing.”
When he was attacked for his comments, he called his attackers a “lynch mob,” further raising the ire of offended racial groups. Although he is just a state senator, his ultra-conservative agenda has garnered him national attention8212;most of it negative and embarrassing.
Other blunders include his off-color comments about homosexuality and his proposition to force the words “Merry Christmas” upon Christians and non-Christians alike in Utah. The latter earned him the title of “Worst Person in the World” on Keith Olbermann’s national news program on MSNBC.
Hatch simply displayed poor word choice and didn’t go as far as professing his undying hatred for an institution of thousands of people, but he did screw up. Our state has the image of being ass-backward enough without Utahns getting on television and promulgating more demonstrations of our ignorance. If we are ever to be seen as a progressive and intelligent state, our representatives need to think twice before staining our image.
