This is where YOU come in. Help me determine the top 101 reasons to get rid of Chris Buttars, and I’ll make it worth your while. It’s a contest and a vote.

All I could come up with was:

• Racism
• Homophobia
• Ignorance of science
• Misogyny
• Megalomania

This is too general. I want details. I think the voters of Senate 10 deserve the ugly truth. I want to see what he said and where he said it. I want video and audio. I want documentation because this is not some hazy hate lynch mob.

Can you help me?

When people send their reasons to get rid of Buttars, I am listing here. I am realizing as I hear from them that some people in my district don’t mind the characteristics I’ve listed above, so I am focusing here on those problems with Chris Buttars that we should all be able to agree on.

1. Not just conservative but extremist.
2. Arrogant.
3. Intimidation in support of special interests. (See The Mapleton Arrogance Incident.)
4. Judicial bullying. (See The Judicial Bullying Incident.)
5. Bullying in committee and on the Senate floor. (Read about his Knee-Jerk Legislating.)
6. Advocacy of vouchers when constituents and the whole state voted overwhelmingly against them.
7. Support for concealing police misconduct. (Why would anyone conceal misconduct? See S.B. 260, The Bill to Conceal Police Misconduct.)
8. Support for bill that allowed Jordan School District split, though he was against the split itself. (See Jordan School District Split.)
9. Willingness, even insistence, on voting on bills before analysis. (See The Let’s Go For It Incident and Knee-jerk Legislating from Chris Buttars.)
10. Lack of concern for unintended consequences of legislation. (See Jordan School District Split.)
11. Railroading legislators who seem just to want to live up to their responsibility as legislators. (See Knee-jerk Legislating from Chris Buttars.)
12. Ethically challenged. When will someone simply cry “CORRUPTION!”
13. Liar. Telling personal lies about his opponent.
14. Lacks the sense of humor and thick skin that long-term legislators have to develop. (He thinks the Saturday’s Voyeur representation of himself is “disgusting” without even having seen it.)
15. He said he was “tickled” by what a teenage campaign worker did for him for $1,000. That just makes me sick.
16. Oversaw the most violent period in Utah Boys Ranch as Director. The stories boys tell are not just corrections of wayward boys but torture.
17. Lied about the extent to which he used his Utah Boys Ranch office as a campaign headquarters in 2004, but sneaked away into retirement as soon as he plead “Yeah, guilt” in the media.
18. He doesn’t understand that Utah Values mean Ethics, Integrity, Dignity. He equates his fringe desires with Utah Values, but he’s wrong.
19. He so mean.
20. Doesn’t understand that gay people don’t have cooties.
21. On that subject, what is his problem with other people’s sexuality? He can’t seem to get enough of it, but sexuality ought to be none of his business except in his own personal hook ups.
22. Can’t even manage civility with a Senator of his own party. You have to hear him spitting “Senator” at Carlene Walker. Is this misogyny or just more general meanness?
23. He’s (how do I put this delicately?) not the sharpest knife in the drawer. His justification for teaching my children religion in the name of science and science as philosophy was that he had seen dogs and he had seen cats but he had never seen a “dat.” Wha? That’s his in-depth research into animal origins?
24. I may need to bring this up several times: he seems too focused on gayness for a man who isn’t.
25. He embraces the anti-regulatory ideology that got us into our current economic crisis. Enough Friedman, already.
26. Doesn’t understand a racist remark when he says it. (Yes, The Black Baby Incident.)
27. Then, when people were rightly on his case about his first racist remark, he said they were “a hate lynch mob.” He didn’t understand that this, too, was a racist remark. He thinks lynching is a western thing.
28. He hasn’t been far enough outside of his comfort zone of the Wasatch valleys that he gets that lynching is most definitely not a western thing. Where do you think those westerners got the idea, Mr. Buttars?
29. Chris Buttars told lobbyists that John Rendell is gay, so John Rendell’s wife of 23 years had to call everyone in the district and say, “Nu-uh.”
30. He used the word “tickled” to mean he was happy.
31. Chris Buttars referred to the NAACP as “those people.”
32. He hasn’t learned his lesson that 501(c)(3) nonprofits are not supposed to get involved in his political campaign, let alone be his campaign staff.
33. He didn’t respond when the Deseret News asked him to submit a biography and statement on issues. I dare him to call them the liberal media.
34. In an email to supporters, Chris Buttars’ campaign chair said John Rendell represents “the downtown elitist attitude.” Using the word “elitist” to mean “Not People Like Us” is so last year. I think she means that John Rendell must have refused to vote for Chris Buttars.
35. Chris Buttars is not only a bully himself, but he encourages others to be bullies for him. It’s as if he thinks he can’t win on the merits of his ideas so he attempts to use brute strength.
36. Chris Buttars bullied his neighbors to take his campaign signs. Some of them didn’t, but others admit they are afraid of him.
37. Another politician actually scares Chris Buttars enough that he is voting for a Democrat. Chris Buttars told Bennion Spencer that there’s just something about Jason Chaffetz, and he couldn’t vote for Chaffetz so Chris Buttars will be voting for Democrat Bennion Spencer for U.S. House of Representatives. I wonder if he will follow through. I wonder what Buttars knows about Jason Chaffetz that scared him so much.
38. When “Anyone but Buttars” signs pop up around the district, Chris Buttars doesn’t have the good sense to take that personally.
39. Chris Buttars called Senator Scott McCoy “the gay.” Is this like calling the NAACP “those people”?
40. Even when the people speak, Chris Buttars won’t let go of his hair-brained ideas like school vouchers. “I’m not going to let something go that’s as right as this,” he said of tuition tax credits, the precursor to vouchers.
41. Thinks one of the landmark Supreme Court decisions of the 20th century is wrong. In a radio interview, he said, “Well, I think Brown v. Board of Education is wrong to begin with. That’s a whole other subject.”
42. Doesn’t think before he speaks. He said so himself: “I just got my mouth a little bit ahead of my brain here.”
43. Believes he has super hero powers.
44. This isn’t enough even in his mind. Wants more power Wants to be Chair of the Senate Rules Committee so he can be responsible for deciding what bills get heard when and by whom. Chris Buttars said, “I will be responsible for deciding what bills we get to vote on in the Senate.” I should move this one up to #1.
45. Wants kids to wear religious T-shirts to school.
46. But doesn’t want kids to choose their own school clubs.
47. Can’t get enough of that bullying. Went to Mapleton to threaten the town council there for his special friend Wendell Gibby even though Mapleton is far outside of his district. He’s not a lawyer, so he couldn’t have been there as a legal advisor. Why did he go? Did he go as personal Senator? (See The Mapleton Arrogance Incident.)
48. Serves extremists rather than his constituents.
49. Fought a public trail in favor of a friend’s land development.
50. Doesn’t understand leadership requires the ability to listen to others and reach agreements with them.
51. Lives by the rule: judge first, understand never.
52. Says he paid a campaign staffer $1,000 to set up one public meeting in a town with a population of only 700. Even if I believed him, wouldn’t this show extraordinarily bad fiscal judgment?
53. He thinks he’s here to stay. Mapleton Mayor Laurel Brady said of Chris Buttars’ remarks to her, as reported in the Salt Lake Tribune: “We were all surprised. It ended with Senator Buttars making it clear to us that he is powerful; he could repeat the ‘black baby’ remark and that he was untouchable. He said, ‘If they wanted to get rid of me, they would have done it in the primaries, and they didn’t. I am here to stay.’ ”
54. Really only wants to got back to the Senate for 2 more years so he can get a 10-year pension to add to his $900,000 Boys Ranch retirement.
55. He uses the fact that he can introduce legislation as a threat. He threatened Mapleton town officials state legislation to limit eminent domain. “Brady said Buttars told the city officials to grant Gibby’s request, or he would be forced to introduce legislation restricting citties’ use of eminent domain. Gibby said Buttars didn’t threaten the city; he only stated that eminent domain was a ‘monster’ that needed to be tightly regulated.” We do keep coming back to the fact that he doesn’t live in Mapleton.
56. He continues to repeat his ugly black baby remark “to demonstrate his power, that despite what he says, his constituents will still stick by him.”
57. I am just embarrassed and tired of explaining to people that YES, Chris Buttars is the Senator from my district and NO, he doesn’t represent me.
58. Even when he is disciplined, it isn’t a strong enough message for him to STOP what he’s doing. When letter threatening a judge is made public, the public cries out. John Valentine removes Buttars from his Chair on the Senate Judicial Confirmation Committee. Buttars is not removed from the committee altogether, though, since Valentine is protecting his leadership position and he needs Buttars. All they did was jiggle the jello a little.
59. Laissez-faire doesn’t work in education, but he follows the ideology anyway.
60. No comprehension, no consideration, no connection. Chris Buttars isn’t concerned with consequences and who ends up cleaning up his messes.
61. Still doesn’t get that “secede” and “split” give us the same mess of a Jordan School District split. He voted on the legislation without concern for the unintended consequences.
62. Takes credit for DORA (Drug Offender Rehabilitation Act), but other Senators have said that his input was little more than bullying. Again.
63. Thinks sponsoring a Navajo student through and LDS sponsored program makes him not a racist. Uh, I don’t know if I have enough time to explain this one to you, Mr. Buttars, so you’ll just have to understand that the Placement Program itself was at core racist. There is a good reason the LDS church abolished it.
64. He counts Boys Ranch as one of his successes and he trots out testimonials in favor of the reform school, but boys continue to come forward with horrifying stories of abuse at Boys Ranch and legal suits saying that Chris Buttars’ office was the center of it all.
65. His endorsement lists are entertaining for their glaring absences. I’ve heard a lot of people say, “I won’t tell him this, but I would never vote for him.” We still have a secret ballot — for now.
66. Accepted indirect contributions from special friend Wendell Gibby, who reimbursed his employees for contributing to Chris Buttars.
67. During the 2008 General session of the Utah Legislature, Wendell Gibby lobbied for health care reform from Buttars’ office. Health care bills are heard by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee - Senator D. Chris Buttars, Chair.
68. He equates his narrow values with “Utah Values.” If I ever see that statement on a Buttars lawn sign, since there aren’t many of those in my neighborhood, I throw up a little bit in my mouth.
69. Didn’t speak out against a public charity, Eagle Forum, sending out messages asking their members to support Chris Buttars in ways that violate their tax exempt status. But, really, why would he? Unless people cry out, he doesn’t care about violations as long as they benefit him.
70. Chris Buttars values everything known and in its place. He doesn’t have to seek answers because everything important is already known – by him. He doesn’t need to listen to people because they are either like him, or they are wrong. In Chris Buttars’ narrow world, everything either has its place or it is wrong.
71. I am sad that I don’t have a Senator who is civil enough that I can walk up to him and shake his hand and say, “Thank you for doing what you do.” I don’t thank him. I want to feel good about my legislators.
72. Chris Buttars values symbolic actions that can be read as patriotism. Digging any deeper than that takes too much time, discussion, and educational background to have a clue what one is reading. For Chris Buttars, patriotism is best left to symbols.
73. Chris Buttars wants to take the money people give for the common good – for infrastructure like roads, courts, and schools – and give it to private companies.
74. Chris Buttars values private education, because private education by unaccredited teachers is more easily controlled than public education. Public education can get messy because people have to talk about their competing values and come to compromises.
75. Doesn’t understand the concept of political satire.
76. The district isn’t HIS anymore than it is mine. We each have about a 1/150000th share in this district. I’m doing my job by following Chris Buttars’ job. I don’t like what I see, so I want to see how someone else will do the job.
77. Hires gay campaign staffers when convenient, but spews hateful language about gays and lesbians every chance he gets.
78. Very focused on gay issues. I know I wrote that before, but he’s REALLY focused on it, and so are his people.
79. Buttars’ people have a script they use to talk to opponents about marriage that is just creepy. If he approved the creepy marriage script, this needs to be an item on this list.
80. He’s still taking money from the voucher people. Clearly, he doesn’t learn.
81. Chris Buttars doesn’t listen or ask questions. Chris Buttars assumes he already arrives knowing everything that needs to be known. Chris Buttars wants to vote his vote so he can get his pat on the back from his BFF Gayle, and that’s the end.
82. He sponsored legislation that would have benefited him financially. Tuition Tax Credits could have been applied to to Utah Boys Ranch.
83. He gets his family members to pose as “just another constituent” at public meetings. He sometimes gets called out when people have seen the routine before.
84. No one I’ve asked admits voting for him. Did anyone vote for him? If you were to vote for him, you would forget afterwards. Don’t you want to remember and be proud of who you vote for?
85. I want to spare the other Senators who have to listen to him and put up with his anti-intellectualism and bullying day after day in the legislature.
86. Doesn’t understand the basic fundamentals of science, such as the meaning of the word “theory.” (See 2006 S.B. 96 Public Education - Instruction and Policy Relating to the Origins of Species - Sponsor: D. Chris Buttars.)
87. He is full of fear — fear of the gays, fear of reading, fear of female Senators, fear of public education, and so on.
88. He didn’t know which legislative body he was in. He was so excited about one piece of legislation, that he offered to sponsor it in the House (even though he hadn’t read it, of course).
89. He makes West Jordan look stupid to the rest of Utah, and he makes Utah look stupid to the rest of the U.S. His reputation falls on us, and it’s just embarrassing.
90. I refuse to abandon my district to a man who is so proud of his homophobia, his racism, his ill-informed views of science and education, and his favors for friends. Not only this, he is proud to say he is untouchable. He is megalomaniacal.
91. He railroads colleagues. Sen. Carlene Walker said during discussion of one bill, “I feel really railroaded tonight on this particular vote.” Walker was likely to vote yes for the bill, but she wanted to know more about it. Buttars moved to vote (without discussion), while Walker moved to find out more. Buttars called for a roll call vote on Walker’s substitute motion, which even Chair Curtis Bramble said was unusual for committee.
92. Even if you agree with his views, do you feel like whole body of the man’s legislative career represents you well? Come on, don’t you cringe when you hear “Tonight in the news, Chris Buttars. . . .” Surely, even you say to yourself, “What’s he done now?” You don’t want to live in a permanent cringe.
93. He pals around with extremists.
94. Split vs. secession is irrelevant. This is just a distraction to wave constituents’ attention away from what really happened. Don’t let Chris Buttars and his people distract you. Voters need to know how Jordan school district split and who let it happen.
95. How would an extremist like Chris Buttars handle the tricky negotiations that hold our world together? Picture this for yourself. How would Chris Buttars handle negotiations that could tip our economy into a Depression? How would Chris Buttars handle diplomacy on the brink of war? How would Chris Buttars handle discussions that could lead either to dissolution of ties that held young American states together or establishment of a Republic?
96. He doesn’t knock on doors and let his constituents talk to him face to face.
97. Because he said this:
    

    We may find out that this isn’t something we want to do, but that doesn’t pass for anything we can do to show that if this is something we can do successfully we need to united move forward on this or any other subject. We get bound up here all the time on, “We don’t understand this.” Well, there’s a lot of things we vote on we don’t understand. But I would rather stand on the principle of “Let’s go for it” in lieu of we might find something we can’t support this. But I hope we can. And I think the “Hope we can” message carries towards the people we support.

98. Because, to quote a constituent, “That man scares the shit out of me.”
99. I have no faith that he would pass ethics reform.
100. His people think the Deseret News is liberal media.
101. Because this photo provides a window into his soul.