Eerily familiar AP story in this morning's Standard-Examiner, reporting on something that's now becoming an annual
• Buttars loses committee positionSen. Buttars' most recent problems arise as a result of some ill-considered remarks made during an earlier-taped KTVX Channel 4 interview, which is reportedly expected to be aired some time down the road. Although we couldn't find the full interview footage (after some considerable googling this morning,) here's the gist, via YouTube. The title is most appropriate, we'll add (with a slight snarky chuckle):
• Utah Senator Chris Buttars: Bigmouth Strikes AgainIronic isn't it? As Utah business leaders and elected government officials struggle to bring the image of Utah into the twenty-first century... and to and reach out to the world community to spend their tourist dollars here... this senate buffoon (Buttars) becomes becomes Utah's most notorious and prominent pitch man/cultural icon/Utah Crazy.
About that mouth of yours, Senator Buttars: Zip it please. We understand that you can't control what goes on in that warped mind of yours, but if you're the "grown man" you claim to be, at least you can control your mouth. When you reach the point where even certified GOP wingnuts like Mike Waddoups (R-Loony Bin) are clamping down on you hard, you have to know you've gone WAY over the edge.
Just a helpful tip from yer ole pal Rudi.
Well...? Is there anyone amongst our highly diverse readership who'd like to step up and defend this senate cretin? How about a few words from the anti-numbskull "torches and pitchforks" crowd?
The global blogosphere eagerly awaits our readers' ever-savvy comments on this subject.
If the above material doesn't work to stir up a few reader comments... we'll anticipatorily announce that we're taking the rest of the day off... so consider this to be a weekend kickoff open topic thread.
34 comments:
Rudi:
I'm sorry, there's just no way to defend Sen. Buttars' remarks.
I strenuously defend his right to say the stupidest things imaginable, but I can't in any way endorse the content of what he has said.
If, in fact, the gay rights movement is "the greatest threat to America" (source), then think of all the money we've wasted fighting Al Qaida. Buttars is complicit in allowing Utah National Guard troops to fight, and die, in a foreign country when the "greatest threat to America" is right here in Utah.
A Modest Proposal (for those who are satire-impaired, please click on this link before you pillory me):
We're not using Camp Topaz. Heck, look at how that worked out the first time. We locked up all those dirty traitors in our midst, and we won the war. If we want to win this culture war, Sen. Buttars, we need to lock up gays. And the intellectuals, college professors first. And anyone who believes in evolution. And blacks, because you hate the NAACP. And cult members, including anyone who tithes the LDS Church, because in most parts of this America you're so worried about, a majority of the population thinks the LDS Church is a cult. And people who look a little funny. And anyone who defends the civil rights of any of the above. And we need to disinter and rebury in Camp Topaz remains of the guys who wrote the 14th Amendment, which caused all this trouble in the first place.
That'll keep us all safe.
Senator Buttars speaks for a lot of people in Utah. He has a constituency that is much bigger than any one wants to admit.
I have always gotten a certain perverse pleasure from the fact that Sen. Buttars' name is almost the same as that of the South Park character, Butters. [Warning - This IS South Park]
Chris Buttars = Closet Case
Ozboy:
I know you're right. At least 50.1% of the people in South Jordan, for example. Which is why I live in Ogden.
This is disturbing to me for two different reasons.
1. Again the local news world is talking about Chris Buttars. Which will do nothing but divide. The news should be talking about where all our money is being spent!
2. It is really quite disturbing to hear/see how this man really feels. I'm surprised to see that others still de-humanize others in this way - Scary!
Sen. Buttars has exercised, yet again, his constitutionally protected right to make it clear to the sane world that he is a bigoted Eagle Forum foaming at the mouth right-wing Froot Loop blithering idiot. And that his paranoid perspective on the world represents the majority view in his district and his state party, the leadership of which after last year's making-headlines-coast-to-coast display of Buttars' racism, placed him back in charge of the powerful senate judiciary committee.
The surprising thing is that this time round, Sen. Buttars' bizarre effusions so embarrassed his state, the senate and his party.... and we know from long experience that to embarrass the Utah Republican leadership, it takes something that would gag a maggot... that the leadership thought they had no choice but to do something.
I imagine what really annoyed Waddoups and the boys in the band is that all this is taking time from the important business of hiding their actions behind a gutted GRAMA law. The only possible good thing I can think of that may come from this is that Buttars' is now so toxic --- he's the sub-prime mortgage of the Utah Senate --- that his loopy "let anyone with a bachelor's degree teach in the schools" bill may be killed as s result. [Please, Ra. Please?]
And the beat goes on....
Somebody needs to tell Senator Buttars and about fifty percent or more of Utah citizens that it is politically incorrect to say "Nigger", "Black baby...very bad and black", and "Queers or gays are the greatist threat to our society".
Guess he had just seen the short clip going around on the Internet. The video shows a beautiful young and "fetching sexy" maiden, clothed in only a fig leaf, and breasts covered of course by her long blonde hair, as she gracefully strolls among the beautiful green and waterfalls of the garden of Eden.
Suddenly a handsome and studly young man appears from the lush folage, also wearing only a fig leaf.
Their eyes meet and he says,
"Oh! Hi there!" with a distinctly feminine voice and very gay gestures.
It was titled the end of civilization.
Curmugeon! I am shocked. You couldn't post about Buttars without resorting to name calling. Does this mean you have concluded that Buttars is officially just a" stupid thing"?
Now that you've expierenced the joys of just letting it fly, I trust you'll begin refering to Ogden's chief administrater with his more than well earned moniker, lying little matty gondola godfrey. If that's too many words, pinnocio will suffice.
Curm, you shocked me so much I forgot the comment I intended to make regarding Buttars. Every time I see this guy, hear him speak or the mere mention of his name, Lester Maddox comes to mind. Is this something that should concern me?
Not one Republican has called for Butters to resign.
Once again where is the Republican Standard Examiner?
The Standard Examiner is toe tapping with Republican Senator Larry Craig in the bathroom!!!!
I think Butters is a closet gay? He has been a BAD BAD BAD BOY!!!!
State Senator Butters is a fairy fine friend, that goes queer cross town, to go homo.
Rep. Parker who was a republican in the early 2000 that was caught with a male prostitute in slc. where was butters then. O he was in the other car.
All across our great state, local patriarchs of the county, the good ol boys, gather at Flying J's and Flying U's, Mavericks and Chevrons, drinking coffee at 6:30 am, after the morning chores are seen to.
Have you ever eavesdropped on these community pillars?
It would make Buttars chuckle and grab another cup o joe, before he drove his extended-cab diesel off to the local church.
We listened to the tape, twice. We are glad Buttars speaks up, and is clear about his thoughts as regards sexuality and ethnicity.
He is typical mountain-west white male over the age of fifty; right down to the hair cut.
He also is a free-speaking necessary counterweight to his exact opposite, whom I also disagree with.
We love this town.
I think Sen. Buttars represents the Utah I am familar with very properly and right on the button.
He just has the guts to say what he thinks in public instead of behind closed doors and in a whisper.
Sister Annie and others,
Then why aren't we fighting a war against the "greatest threat to America"? You would think the Defense Department would be all over that, instead of wasting all that money in the War on Terror.
Or, just possibly, might Bishop Buttars be engaging in just a wee bit of fear-mongering and hyperbole?
At times like these, I am reminded of the character of Joy Grisham, played by Deborah Winger, in the movie Shadowlands.
You can see the relevant passage in this video clip from the movie. The passage begins at 4:28 and the payoff is at 5:00:
Are you trying to be offensive, or just merely stupid?
Bill C:
You wrote: I am shocked. You couldn't post about Buttars without resorting to name calling.
What I'm not doing, Bill, is trying to convince people in his district during a campaign to vote for someone other than him. If I was, I wouldn't have posted as I did. The Eagle Forum loons are going to vote for him, no matter what. Those way over on the other side are going to vote against him, no matter what. The one's I'd be going after are the ones in the center, not fully committed either way. And the post I put up, during a campaign, would have been unwise and I'd not have done it. Just as the more rabid anti-Godfrey ranting here during the campaign was not wise since it was more likely to alienate than convince the only votes truly in play: those in the center.
Beyond that, I think I can defend on purely objective grounds, the general proposition that anyone who thinks gay rights activists in the US are a greater danger to the Republican than Islamic fundamentalist terrorists is a blithering idiot. [I notice even Gail. R. is shying away from that one when she defends Buttars.]
This is what I know about the degradation of America. That is when the family falls apart so does the nation. So what in the hell is all the republicans in Utah doing to stop divorce in this world? Nothing, absolutely nothing. So War on anything, what is it good for, absolutely nothing. uuuggg. So until the republican come up with a way to stop divorce in this world they are part of the problem.
Why do they pick on their own kind????????
Brent Parker (R-Wellsville, UT)
Claims to fame: Former legislator, Utah House of Representatives; former president, Cache County Board of Education; former president, Utah School Boards Association; former director, Utah Dairy Commission; former director, Western General Dairies; former board member, Intermountain Dairy Cooperatives; former director, Cache County Farm Bureau; former board member, South Cache Water Users Association; former member, Utah State Realtors Association Standards and Ethics Committee; licensed agent, Brent Parker Realty; lifelong farmer; American Farm Bureau Federation’s “Outstanding Young Farmer in the Nation,” 1973; husband; father of six; grandfather of six; pillar of the Mormon community; closet homo; would-be john
Moral apex: Busted in Salt Lake City in 2003 for soliciting sex from an undercover cop posing as a male prostitute, whom he offered twenty bucks, and then tried to fondle. The cop gave him a ticket and released him at the scene.
What happened next: He resigned from the state legislature.
What stinks: According to the police report, when Parker asked the cop if he was a cop, the cop said no.
Suggested Bible reading for Mr. Parker:
What is really sad and terrifying is not only that Buttars speaks out crazily, bigoted and scary, (and believes what he says so it apperars) but that this is also the thinking of the majority of Utahns, though most would never admit it in public or in the press such as he did. The LDS church preaches this type of bigoted teaching to their members. Ask any one of them and they are fearful and outwardly against gays and lesbians. In fact it is compared to murder and rape in their teachings. So the predominant religion already pushes the agenda of sin and condemnation against gays and lesbians. An offense so great that it leads to excommunication immediately if not treated, which in the 70s was electric shock therapy. One wonders why teen suicide of young mormon gays is so high in Utah where the church puts so much pressure against them and not any acceptance. One has to realize that being gay to a gay person is natural and normal to them. God made us all and gays have no choice but to be themselves as natural as anyones attractions. It is not a choice but how one is born.
Buttars speaks out in extreme expressing the beliefs of the majority of saints in this state. That is scary. But true. And they teach love and tolerance? Now that is hypocrisy. What would Jesus do or say to this? He loved everyone and taught to love eachother as ourselves.
How much was spent against California's effort for gay marriage from the LDS church and high level members? A lot of money to defend their marriage was spent from this church. Where is separation of church and state? Why isn't their tax exempt status revoked? Why does someone else having a piece of paper that expresses their love and happiness threaten a temple marriage?
To think that these people are descendants of polygamists just like the FLDS which are really the ancestors of the Utah mormons. They settled Utah because they were persecuted for their practices, beliefs and way of life yet now they do the same to others. What is so hard about acceptance and tolerance? Thats what they ask for, thats what we all ask for.
The rainbow flag has all colors of the spectrum, as does our world.
Curm, you seem to hold tightly to your belief that polite gentle persuassion is a winning strategy.
I suggest you re-evaluate using results of the past decades and how unsuccessful that has been.
When a candidate is so polarizing as Buttars and lying little matty are, there are so few undecided, and neither Buttars or lying little matty play by your strategy, they are overly aggressive and adhere to no formal decorum. Though you yourself are uncomfortable with what we term playing dirty, negative, you're blind to the fact that it works. America has changed Mr. Curm, the loudest most aggressive recieves the most attention, and being provocative, even while being negative attracts that attention and quite possibly allows your other points to be heard and remembered by those you're trying to sway.
Another thing I'd point out is that the younger folks engage in "talking smack" and use it often as a means of judgement on issues, more delivery than content or accurracy. For instance, when lying little matty held up that bogus piece of paper stating that RDA debt was not City debt, and called Van Hooser a liar. We knew he was wrong, but alot didn't, and the gondola examiner offered nothing to inform or correct, they declared lying little matty the winner of the debate despite knowing full well he lied and lied repeatedly, and show zero politeness throughout.
I offer that the name calling and other aggressive comments on this forum may have actually been a real factor in closing the gap that resulted in such a close election, given the wide discrepancy in the financial arena. A little more and we may have won.
Just a thought.
The only reason that the Lil Lord won the last mayoral election is because his opponent didn't have the balls and competent advice to go after him on his weaknesses - which most of all have to do with his lack of integrity and the necessary business acumen to direct the spending of multi millions of public dollars.
A well directed and aggressive campaign to lay out the truth for Ogden's voters would have saved the day and saved us from four more years of this fool's arrogant and stupid direction of Ogden's affairs.
His opponent made the classic mistake of taking a knife to a gun fight. Had she been a true Ogden native she would have known better than to make this foolish mistake.
Bill C:
And you cling tirelessly to your belief that I have said that polite gentle persuasion is a winning strategy.
I said nothing of the kind. Political campaigns that are hard-hitting and aggressive not only can be, but demonstrably are, effective. Your problems is mistaking screeching "Lying little Matty is a wife-beating queer-coddling criminal dumb shit asshole" is what aggressive campaigning means. It doesn't. And it rarely works. Sometimes it does, but not often. As an example, I refer you to the last mayoral election in Ogden in which all the screeching here, all the assurances over and over that Hizzonah was a dead duck, finished, going down turned out, in the end, to have been wrong.
There is nothing particularly gentle about powerful, aggressive campaigns. But don't confuse them with blather-mouthing muck. They're not the same at all. [See Oz's comments below, which are right on the money.]
Damn. I meant Oz comments above.
Comment bumped to front page
Curm, don't practice your cognitive dissonance on me. I never refered to lying little matty as queer-coddling. That's a term Buttars would use.
Bill C:
And a charge that appears here in rants... and they are rants... against Hizzonah now and then. We were talking, Bill, about styles of campaigning [intemperate rants vs aggressive targeting of issues], not specifically your posts in particular. Pax, paisan.
Lest there be any doubt that I am happy to applaud Republican legislators when they act in the public interest --- however rarely that might be --- I offer the following: Kudoes to Republican Senator Arlen Specter [PA]. From Bob Park's science reporting site "What's New":
STIMULUS: $21 BILLION OUT OF $787 BILLION FOR SCIENCE....
Initially the bill ignored NSF completely; it wasn’t the science lobbyists that got the
numbers up, it was Republican Sen. Arlen Specter almost single handedly.
Park's full post can be found here.
Nothing, but nothing, pays bigger dividends to the nation and its economy long term than funding research. Nothing. Way to go, Sen. Specter.
Since we are mentioning the last Mayoral election, Van Hooser campaign manager is now working with "G" Train. How convienient the secret city government has strange bed fellows.
who was her campaign manager
I think Mrs Van Hooser's campaign manager was some group from SLC and or some local former small office holder? Mary Hall was her insider guru/adviser.
They all missed a great opportunity to educate the voters of Ogden about the true nature of Mr. Godfrey and his incredibly inept and dishonest administration.
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