9/11: Utah Remembers - Former Senators say Legislators need to come back together

9/11: Utah Remembers - Former Senators say Legislators need to come back together


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SALT LAKE CITY -- It was the searing event that was to unify the nation: America under attack. It was a time of unity. Ten years later, that unity has dissolved into political divisiveness.

"See, candidate Obama didn't have a record while in office, but President Obama certainly does, and that's why we're here today," Sarah Palin said.

While Pres. Obama said, "We're going to see if congressional Republicans want to put country before party."

Americans today seem to just want the back and forth to stop.

Former Senator Jake Garn, a Republican who served in Congress from 1974 to 1993 -- through six presidents, including former President and Democrat Jimmy Carter--remembers it wasn't always like this.

"President Carter called me down to the White House for a meeting. It was just me, and I said, "What can I do for you Mr. President?' He said, 'Well, I'm an old military man like you, but I'm not up to date.' He said, 'I would just like your personal views on what's going on in the military and the budget and so on.' So I was very impressed with his openness and candor."

Garn believes there is a clear lack of civility in politics today. In his day, he recalls, even the fiercest political rivals would come together as friends, such as Hubert Humphrey and Barry Goldwater.

"You could not find a more political opposite than Hubert and Barry. They would have a debate on the Senate floor, then go down into the Senate dining room and have a drink together and laugh about who won the debate," Garn said.

Former Senator Bob Bennett picked up where Senator Garn's term left off. Bennett spent 18 years there, including the day of September 11, 2001.

"That was very easy for everyone to be united, but when you got down to the legislation that had nothing to do with 9/11, then the old regional differences came out again," he said, "the ideological differences, the partisan differences."

Bennett blames the continual need for lawmakers to campaign, raise money and manage their base as the main reason politics has turned so political.

"When my father was in, you didn't think about the campaign until the last two years before the election," Bennett said. "Now, you think about your next election the day you walk in."

Bennett and Garn both know relationships are key in a body of only 100. They say to get anything done, compromise is critical and working together is crucial.

Bennett described working with Dianne Fienstein, the liberal Senator from California."She was the lead Democrat and I was the lead Republican, and we worked seamlessly together, got along just fine," he said.

Joe Biden he called "a very dear friend." And Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat? "We could have never passed the Washington County Land Use bill without Harry," Bennett said.

According to both these former lawmakers, the saying that all politics is local applies here. Voters will have to demand that politicians stop the bickering.

"I don't have much hope until more of the American people get involved," Garn said. "Such a relative small percentage even get involved in elections and vote."

Bennett acknowledges that and he says his former colleagues often do too, to pander to their base.

E-mail: lprichard@ksl.com

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