They’re all going Trumpby digby
Orrin Hatch is the most perfect example of the new congressional Trump Man. His ostentatious genuflecting to the f-ing moron over the last few months has become legendary and his willingness to sell out his own constituents to please his Dear Leader is a model for toadies everywhere.
And now, he’s taken to living in Trump’s bizarroworld as well:
In what may very well be a case of “too long, didn’t read,” Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) thanked the Salt Lake Tribune for naming him “Utahn of the Year,” seemingly unaware the same paper explained the choice wasn’t made because they thought we he was doing a good job.
In fact, the paper’s editorial board called on him to leave office.
On Christmas Day, the Tribune posted two articles on Hatch: one naming him the Utah man of the year and an editorial explaining the selection while trashing the longtime Utah lawmaker for his “lack of integrity.”
“It has everything to do with recognizing: Hatch’s part in the dramatic dismantling of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments. His role as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee in passing a major overhaul of the nation’s tax code. His utter lack of integrity that rises from his unquenchable thirst for power,” the Tribune editorial board wrote.
Within hours of the paper publishing their articles online, Hatch responded on Twitter writing: “Grateful for this great Christmas honor from the Salt Lake Tribune. For the record, I voted for @SpencerJCox and @rudygobert27. #utpol”
Notably, Hatch didn’t post a link to the stories– only including a screen-shot of the headline supposedly “lauding” him.
While Hatch seemed unaware of why he received the dubious honor, Twitter users proved to be the type of people who go beyond the headlines and mocked the GOP lawmaker for giving positive attention to a story that leads to a call for him to retire.
He’s aware. He’s just following the Trump method of creating his own reality.
There is a move afoot among Republicans like Hatch, Lindsey Graham and others to go full Trump. Keep your eye on this. Normalizing Trump as Dear Leader is a very concerning development.
If you feel like dropping a little something into the Hullabaloo kitty over this holiday period, I would be most appreciative.
Happy New Year, everybody. Together we can get through this.
cheers — digby
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