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Show People, Politics & Policy If Matheson takes on Hatch for senate seat By E. MARK BEZZANT One of the interesting things about politics is how much things can change in a very short time. One year we vote for the great society and the next year we vote for Richard Nixon. One year we j vote for Jimmy Carter and the next j year we vote for Ronald Reagan. ' Looming in the future might be one of the more interesting elections in recent years. Scott Matheson might decide to take on Orrin Hatch, for one of Utah's senate seats. Hatch on the one hand represents the Reagan right and Matheson on the other hand represents what the Democrats are calling a Utah Democrat. No one who was a part of the first Hatch campaign will ever forget that he did the impossible. He beat Frank Moss, who at the time was a powerful incumbant Senator. Hatch n ot only came from nowhere as a dark horse in the Republican Party to beat all foes there. He pleaded with the people to give him the chance to go in the lions den and take on Moss himself. People called "political hacks" throughout that Hatch did not have a ghost's chance. Matheson on the other hand has turned out to be a very popular political figure in the state of Utah, even among some died in the Wool Republicans. Independants have really taken a liking to Matheson. While a number of Republicans are nervous about the thoughts of taking on Matheson, a senator named Orrin Hatch is not. Hatch knows the system too well. The far left in Washington does not particularly need, or want an independent in-dependent Democrat on capital hill. The fact is that they will take what they can get and in Utah they won't get a liberal Democrat elected. The people in Utah are just too conservative. con-servative. The Democrats in the OUR ltWN East would love to get rid of Orrin Hatch. He has been more than a thorn in their side since day one. At times Hatch has almost single handedly stopped liberal legislation that he felt would not be good for the country. Democrats know that it would take millions to beat Hatch in a tough race even if the Democrats had a good candidate like Matheson. This is not going to be a race for the country fair. We are talking about one of the most powerful and effective senators in the United States. Matheson will have to decide if he wants to raise that kind of money at his age, and then on top of that, fight the toughest campaign of his life. The alternatives are to hope that a democrat picks up the presidency and he would then get a cabinet post. No fund raising. No campaign, at least not like the one that he' would face taking on Hatch. The other option is to hope that Hatch gets appointed to the Supreme Court or runs for a higher office and then go for the Senate seat. Now that would be more to any democrats liking, except of course those of the liberal persuasion. per-suasion. Decisions, decisions, decisions. One things for sure and that is that a battle between the two men would be a classic test of just how good Hatch and Matheson are. It would be far from the token opposition that Garn faced from the Democrats. Local Democrats would be both happy and sad. If Matheson runs, they would be happy because they would like his coattails and the further influence he would have if elected. They would be sad if he runs and loses.The loss could mean that another pillar of the crumbling Democratic party has fallen. To a struggling party that would be devastating. t CAU TOEFiRE DEPTA... j5 I THAT LAST EDfTORfAL -C "PEOPLE , POLITICS $ pDLfCY" h V WHS REALLY FULL OF 'flB HOT AIR |