Our legislature continues to swim in a vacuum it seems. In action yesterday on the hill and reported in today's Trib we have Rep. Donnelson assuring us that police all across the state support his bill to empower local cops to act with ICE authority. Salt Lake's top cop, Chief Chris Burbank, spoke against the bill. Not a single law enforcement representative spoke in favor of the bill. Donnelson told the committee that he's spoken with officers statewide who support his proposal. In an interview with the media Donnelson could not provide the names of any law enforcement groups that back his bill. The bill passed committee on straight party lines, 7 to 3, and now moves to the full House. He told the Trib reporter his bill was not about racism.
One has to wonder are there any constituencies in this state who support anything that goes on among House Republicans? It is clear who Representative Donnelson constituency is. There are kudos to him with expressions of gratitude from the Utah Minutemen Project. These are the vigilante nut jobs that get their hunting rifles and ride their ATV's along the US Mexican border looking for saboteurs, members of al Qaeda, and hungry families looking for a better life in the US.
