Message of Utah resounds nationwide

Journalist H.L. Mencken reminisced that his favorite political convention was a mix of "the belch and bellow of oratory, a balmy but stimulating climate and a whiff of patriotism."

That is an apt description of what went down among the 3,452 delegates at the May 8 Republican convention in Utah, where U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett became this year's first victim of a wave of voter anger toward Washington that should send shock waves through every congressional incumbent regardless of party affiliation.

The Salt Lake City Tribune reports that when Bennett was denied his party's nomination for re-election in a three-way race, "a huge ovation swept through the convention hall and there were hoots and shouts of, 'He's gone! He's gone!' Other delegates hugged and Tea Party members waved their yellow 'Do Not Tread on Me' flags."

Bennett knew beforehand he was in serious trouble, saying "it is very clear some of the votes I have cast have added to the toxic environment." Opposing candidates Tim Bridgewater and Mike Lee pasted him for supporting bank bailouts, pushing costly earmarks, turning a blind eye to the recklessness of the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage lenders and co-sponsoring legislation forcing people to buy insurance.

The convention's anti-incumbent fervor was fueled by energized small-government Tea Party activists and $200,000 worth of advertising by the free enterprise-promoting Club for Growth.

Indeed, every American-- whether Republican, Democrat or independent-- ought to be upset. Utah just wasn't about "conservatives ousting someone who wasn't conservative enough," as the media and the national Democrat chairman attempted to spin it. After all, almost everyone knows government spending -- both federal and state -- is out of control. Federal spending is rapidly increasing because of bailouts, stimulus spending and aid to banks and state governments. And, with a growing number of retirees, Medicare and Social Security costs will only go higher.

The interest payments on our debt alone will soar as much as $800 billion a year by the end of the decade, taking 16 percent of the total budget. Then, too, the rate of savings is very low for our people -- and Americans' per capita debt has never been higher.

Economist Gary Schilling calculates that 58 percent of the population now is dependent on the government for "major parts of their income" -- including teachers, soldiers, government workers, welfare and Social Security recipients, pensioners, public housing beneficiaries and people who work for government contractors. That's incredible. Who would have thought that government would play such an outsized and controlling role in our economy?

To underscore the growing mess this nation is in, reflect on the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center's research that roughly 47 percent of households, or 71 million people, will not pay any federal income tax. Some of those people will even receive additional money from Washington because they qualify for refundable tax credits!

A growing number of Republicans, Democrats and independents realize that our country faces a huge and historic crisis. The stakes not only involve restoring our financial integrity, but defending our constitutional rule of law, implementing tighter border security and waging a more aggressive war against radical Islamic terrorism.

What can one person do about these looming challenges? Our Founding Fathers gave us the ballot box to affect policy change, and Utah's convention underscores what can happen when voters feel politicians are tone deaf. It follows what voters in liberal Massachusetts did earlier this year by electing a center-right GOP candidate, Scott Brown, to the seat long held by ultraliberal Sen. Edward Kennedy.

The Utah revolt reminds us there are activities we can all do together:

-- Keep up with current events, be politically aware and try to inform yourself and others about what your members of Congress are voting on -- especially as they relate to taxing and spending.

-- Change the U.S. Congress to one that slams the brakes on spending, and stops the new health care law that raises taxes and insurance premiums while destroying the traditional doctor-patient relationship.

-- Urge members of Congress to create a national commission to recommend a plan that reins in Social Security and Medicare spending, the two of which are set to bankrupt this country.

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction," President Ronald Reagan reminded his countrymen. If the federal government is allowed to destroy our economic freedom through the takeover of banks and car companies, reckless spending, higher taxes and the piling on of debt, the loss of our freedoms will accelerate.

Polls reflect deep voter anger over the country's direction. That rising sentiment is what fueled Brown's victory in Massachusetts, what sparked the Utah rebellion and what will defeat many congressional incumbents this November.

J.C. Watts (JCWatts01@jcwatts.com) is chairman of J.C. Watts Companies, a business consulting group. He is former chairman of the Republican Conference of the U.S. House, where he served as an Oklahoma representative from 1995 to 2002. He writes twice monthly for the Review-Journal.