Meet Sheldon Killpack, head of the Utah Senate. Technically the 2nd most powerful man in Utah politics, which by the way, is run by a very corrupt group of Republican politicians. That being said, I am not recommending the Democrats to Utah unless they want more of the same.
According to KSL news in Utah:
"SALT LAKE CITY -- A powerful state lawmaker was arrested in Salt Lake City on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. It came following a fundraiser for another lawmaker, attended by top Republican legislators and a large group of lobbyists.
Just after midnight Friday, a Utah Highway Patrol DUI squad trooper stopped a vehicle driving suspiciously near 3300 South and 700 East. When he pulled the driver over, the trooper noticed a strong odor of alcohol."
The article does not state where the fundraiser was held. Only licensed Clubs can serve alcohol to patrons in Utah. If the alcohol was served in a location that does not have the required licensing, it could raise a whole bunch of questions. But, that issue aside, Killpack was a strong supporter of tough DUI laws, and professed to be a Mormon in good standing. Good Mormons, if you didn't already know, retain "good standing" by not drinking alcoholic beverages. No beer, no wine, no whiskey, nada, nothing.
Beside the obvious questions, I am curious how many other Mormon politicians in "good standing" were also imbibing in the free flowing liquor at this party that was attended by so many.
So, in spite of the incredible hypocrisy of making one set of laws, and then openly flaunting them, I am left to wonder why none of the Senate Leader's fellow Republicans offered to be his designated driver? The guy was obviously obliterated and not one of his colleagues noticed he was too drunk to drive? How many of them were used to seeing this guy get drunk and/or were drinking along with him?
Yet, I predict this guy will get a pass, keep his job and continue to pass tough DUI legislation without even thinking about abstaining because of a "conflict of interest." He will also avoid felony prosecution for his crime, serve no jail time and plea guilty to a slight misdemeanor, if he doesn't get off on a technicality.
There will be no ethics investigation because he is on the Ethics panel in the Senate. No hearings on drunk politicians and what we can do to stop them. No, Utah politics is no different than New Orleans politics. I'll be surprised if the arresting officer is still around 3 months from now. Maybe, like they did with me, a fatal or near fatal accident will be arranged.
And the good people that profess to be "Good Mormons" will do absolutely nothing to force this guy out of office right now.
Why you might ask? Well, the Utah Republican "spin machine" is now set on "whitewash, as the following comments on the news story will attest:
"And I'm not sure the guy is a hypocrite at this point. There is a difference between a mistake, even a very serious mistake for which punishments must be imposed, and being a hypocrite. Contrary to the usual liberal misuse of the word, "hypocrite" does not mean merely failing to uphold one's expressed standards. It does not mean making a mistake. If it turns out Killpack has some long history of drinking to excess while preaching against it, then yes, he is a hypocrite."
I am sure the above political hack will let us know when Kilpack does actually become a hypocrite. The writer tries to call this a "simple mistake" that could happen to anyone of us. Heck, who knows which one of us will enact Driving While Intoxicated laws for an entire "Dry" state, and then be arrested for violating them. I mean, this could happen to anyone!
Fortunately, not everyone was fooled by the above Orwellian "Doublespeak", another individual retorted:
"Killpack's father was killed by a drunken driver when he was a teenager and he has sponsored and supported legislation aimed at cracking down on impaired drivers. He was the Senate sponsor last year of a law that allows the seizure of vehicles for habitual drunken drivers.
"Coming from a family who has lost a member as a result of somebody driving under the influence, a lot of times we hear about the inconvenience of something like this where you would lose a vehicle," he said during debate of the bill. "I would invite people to examine the inconvenience of someone losing a family member as a result of someone driving under the influence."
So, no we have a guy who is not only a member of the "Great Mormon Hypocrite " club, but who also qualifies for the very select "I spit on the grave of my father" club. I just hope he doesn't make it into Utah's vastly growing, "I got away with it suckers!" club.
Mormon Politicos are quick to pontificate on Jesus's "Thou shalt not Judge" talk. It seems that is the only scripture they know. They forget about what He said about judging righteous judgment or how He said, "Ye shall know them by their fruits", for an evil tree cannot bring forth good fruit". Every tree bringeth forth of its own kind, for do men gather grapes of thistles or figs of thorns? Wherefore "YE SHALL KNOW THEM BY THEIR FRUITS".
Utah Politicos would have us eat their polluted "road apples" without judging the stench in our nostrils, or the gross repulsion of our taste buds. They would criticize our violent retching as being too judgmental.
To have true compassion for a man, you have to actually walk in his path. So, I would conclude that the only men that can have compassion for a hypocrite is another hypocrite. The only man that can "sympathy for the devil" is another devil. The only one that would ask for mercy for a demon is another demon, or one in a demon's employ.
So next time you see some political hack telling us to have compassion for a bad man acting badly, remember that the Bible also teaches, we are known by the company that we keep.
