Republican senators act as 'First Amendment hawks'
 Two Republican senators pride themselves on being "First Amendment hawks," a Capitol Hill newspaper reports.
"Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah) — Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) most trusted and valued ally in the Senate — traces their relationship back to, of all things, his first vote on a flag-burning amendment," John Stanton writes in Wednesday's Roll Call.
While McConnell had previously backed the amendment "popular with much of the party’s rank and file," he had changed his mind due to to concerns about free speech.
 Bennett tells Roll Call, "McConnell, who had voted for it previously, said to me, ‘I knew when I walked off the floor that was the wrong vote, and I’m not going to do that again.’ Well that was kind of a bond because it turned out we were the only two conservative Republicans who voted against the flag amendment."
"Their relationship quickly grew, and Bennett became one of McConnell’s chief lieutenants in his fight against campaign reform, earning him the unofficial title of McConnell’s 'consigliere,'" Stanton reports.
Bennett adds, "We’re both First Amendment hawks ... so we kind of gravitated towards each other on campaign finance reform." McConnell "discovered he had a kind of soul mate in this very junior Senator from Utah and that kind of cemented our relationship."
Excerpts from article:
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Bennett said he tries to avoid becoming bogged down in the often nasty political fighting of Washington, D.C. — for instance, he no longer appears on Sunday talk shows “because I’ve discovered all they want to do is yell at you.” Rather, Bennett said, he has focused his efforts on issues which, while important, may not be politically sexy enough to draw the attention of many other Senators. Avoiding the marquee issues of the day “leaves openings between issues that are important, but which the big guys are not paying attention to,” Bennett explained.
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Part of his success in these niche areas has been his willingness to work with Democrats. He and Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) spearheaded the Senate’s efforts to address the Y2K problem years before anyone was seriously looking at the issue, and former President Bill Clinton praised Bennett in his memoirs for his efforts on the peso issue.
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“While we represent different views in the Senate, I have always found a steadfast friend in Sen. Bennett and I admire and respect how hard he works for the people of Utah. There is no more honorable Member of this body than Bob Bennett,” Reid said Tuesday.
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FULL REG. REQUIRED ROLL CALL ARTICLE CAN BE READ AT THIS LINK
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