Chris Buttars Get Same Punishment As Last Year

Last year, Chris Buttars made a racist remark, then dug the hole deeper by making more racist comments to try to cover his tracks. That, combined with threatening a judge is said judge ruled against his friend, was enough to get Senator Buttars removed from his chairmanship of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee.

Then, in November, Senator Buttars received a "mandate" (heh, he said "man date") from voters by winning his election with a margin of 1500 votes.

As a reward, Senator Buttars became the chairman of two committees: Judiciary and Rules.

Utah Senate Republicans essentially made him the most powerful person on the hill.

So, after he made some wonderfully unloving comments about gay people and pig sex, we knew his punishment would be harsher, right?

After all, this was strike two.

Well, it's deja vu all over again on Capitol Hill.

To a packed room of reporters, Senate President Michael Waddoups, R-Taylorsville, announced he was stripping Buttars of his chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee, because that's where gay-rights bills would be heard. He is also no longer a member of that committee, although he does remain on his other committees, including the powerful Senate Rules Committee.

-Bob