Utah Senator Mike Lee, along with Ted Cruz, has been one of the vocal ringleaders of the government shutdown strategy that almost led to a United States default when they also tried to use the debt ceiling as leverage. Lee has been unapologetic about his role, but now his approval rating is plummeting in Utah. Also, consistent with what we’re hearing from business leaders around the country, the backlash against Lee’s tactics are extending to the business community in Utah as many of his former fundraisers and supporters seem determined to have Lee replaced.
The Post quoted A. Scott Anderson, the president of a prominent Utah bank who raised money for Lee’s successful 2010 campaign.
“If things are to happen, you can’t just stick to your principles. You have to make things work. . . . You’ve got to be practical,” Anderson said, as quoted by the Post.
And then there was Utah native Spencer Zwick, the finance chairman for Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign, branding Lee a “show horse” and vowing to campaign against the senator.
“Business leaders that I talk to, many of whom supported him, would never support his reelection and in fact will work against him, myself included,” Zwick told the Post.
The Journal, meanwhile, caught up with Quin Monson, a pollster for Brigham Young University who said that Lee may have set himself for a tough re-election campaign.
“Lee looks vulnerable to a challenge from within his party, but the real danger could be a challenge in a general election from the right kind of moderate Democrat,” Monson told the Journal.
We’ll see if this attitude persists. Lee has basically said he doesn’t care what people think, as he’s determined to go with his notion of “principle” over compromise. Business leaders are talking tough now against the Tea Party, but will they follow through next year?
But there are numerous reports indicating that the money is drying up. People who work on Wall Street are realizing that many in the Tea Party hold them in contempt and could care less if the country defaults on its debt. Many are saying they will look for more moderate Republicans who respect business to support.
We’ll see what happens.
