Longing for “Watergate”.

I was only 12 when the Watergate break-in happened, 14 when President Richard Nixon resigned.  I was disgusted, embarrassed and convinced he would go down in history as the worst American politician, ever.

40 years and our last president later, Nixon seems more pathetic than criminal.  He was a victim of his own paranoia.  He pretty much had the election locked up, with or without knowledge of the Democrat’s battle plan.  And at least he had the common courtesy to resign so that a country torn apart by his misdeeds could start to heal.

Not so much with Utah Attorney General John Swallow.  He is swimming in allegations of ethical violations, power brokering, bribery and strong-arming.  There are several ongoing investigations into Swallow’s misdeeds, Federal and State.   Whether true or not, these accusations are compromising the ability of his office to do it’s job.

Personally, I don’t trust the guy any further than I could throw him, and I’m convinced that, at best, he’s guilty of unethical political dealings.  I wouldn’t be surprised if he was guilty of some criminal endeavors also, and I definitely believe he should resign.  Even though I don’t know all the details and am in no way a political “insider”, I do know enough about Utah politics to see the writing on the wall.

WRITINGS ON THE WALL:

1. In a political “old-boys” network that recently gave a standing ovation to a legislator that came clean and resigned after it was alleged he had gone hot-tubbing with a teenage girl, several members of the Utah House have sent out emails discussing starting impeachment proceedings against Swallow, who belongs to the same party.
2. Our conservative Republican Governor has publically stated that if it were in his power, he would have already fired conservative Republican Attorney General John Swallow.
3. Paul Mero, President of the Sutherland Institute, a conservative “think” tank here in Salt Lake City, has publically advised Swallow to resign.

John Swallow’s response to all this?

"Why would you step down from a duly elected office when two-thirds of the people in Utah elected you because of your vision and your platform just because of allegations from questionable sources?”

"I’ve looked at the ethics statutes … and don’t see anything I’ve done that gets close to the line."

"I don’t like sweaters,"

Swallow said he asked for a federal investigation into the allegations against him, even though it’s "like putting a fire hose up your nose and turning it on full blast" because he is certain he will be cleared.

"It takes a lot of courage to stand strong in the face of fire, knowing your convictions and knowing what you did or didn’t do,"

I am not a crook.

Worked for Nixon, right?