The Winds of Change ...

[Politics] Apparently, John Valentine is living in fear for his Utah Senate presidency.

The Trib's Robert Gehrke reports that, according to a member of the Utah Bar Commission, Valentine's response to one of Sen. Chris Buttars' inappropriate acts may have cost Valentine political points, leaving him on the verge of vulnerability.

(Since it may be difficult for readers to remember exactly which of Buttars' myriad slip-ups led to exactly which fucked-up state of affairs, we propose the Buttarsflap indexing system: "Buttarsflap 2008-1(b)" denotes the one where Buttars wrote an imperious letter to a judge for ruling against his developer buddy.)

Valentine punished Buttars for this lapse of decorum merely by removing Buttars as chairman of a Senate committee--which was not exactly draconian. Buttars was even allowed to remain on the committee. If this kind of self-regulation is what merits "a political hit" against Valentine in the Utah GOP, it's no wonder the party elite are so afraid to clean up fellow Republicans' ethical problems. The fact that it took place during the fallout from Buttarsflap 2008-2(a)--the black baby remark--should have no bearing on the matter.

But, there's always a bright side. If Valentine loses his post, Sen. Mike Waddoups might become Senate president.

In other words, a Republican from West Jordan might replace a Republican from Orem because of another Republican from West Jordan. And what a breath of fresh air that will be. (Brandon Burt)