Everyone expected a Republican open season on Democrat Wayne Owens in his U.S. Senate race this year - in past elections Owens is the candidate they've especially loved to criticize. But Owens has - and is - being battered like never before by some members of his own party.
And some Democratic Party leaders are wondering what kind of healing process will take place after Nov. 3.The latest round of criticism of Owens comes from "lifelong" Democrats Kem Gardner and Dan Berman.
Gardner and Berman signed an open letter to Owens, distributed by Republican Bob Bennett's campaign, that accuses Owens of trying to "frighten" people away from Bennett by "misrepresenting his positions on such issues as Social Security and health care."
The letter goes on to say that the pair are "disgusted" at the attacks Owens is now making "on Bob's dignity and character" in bringing up Bennett's involvement in Watergate. Gardner and Berman say they know Bennett personally. "Bob Bennett is an honorable man."
(As an aside, Republicans are also running advertisements slamming Owens as acting one way for "Eastern" supporters, another way for Utahns.)
Peter Billings Jr., state Democratic Party chairman, says Gardner's and Berman's complaints against Owens are personal, not political.
"Kem ran against Wayne for the 1984 (gubernatorial) nomination and Wayne beat him," said Billings. In fact, in the state Democratic convention that year, Owens and one of Gardner's brothers got in a shoving match.
"I don't fully understand the animosity Dan has against Wayne," said Billings. "But it goes way back and from what I've heard is so petty you wouldn't want it in the newspaper."
Billings said Berman, a well-to-do attorney who ran against Sen. Jake Garn and lost in 1980, donated money to Republican U.S. Senate candidate Joe Cannon last spring and to Bennett in late September - "well before Wayne's ads began running - so it wasn't the ads that caused (Berman) not to support Wayne."
Owens' chief aide, Kay Christensen, said Berman and Gardner never had the courtesy to call Owens to express their concerns to him personally, "never even sent us a copy of this `open letter.' These men are old political adversaries of Wayne's - it's Halloween and Wayne believes their darker sides are coming out," said Christensen.
Berman says there is no personal animosity between him and Owens. "Hey, I supported him when he ran for governor, when he ran for Congress. True, I gave money to Bennett and Cannon and was not going to support Wayne this year." Berman ticked off a number of issues where he strongly disagrees with Owens' voting record in the U.S. House. "But Wayne is an expedient politician. I don't like (George) Bush and (Dan) Quayle bringing up Bill Clinton's draft stuff 20 years after the fact - it doesn't matter. It's nonsense. And it's nonsense for Wayne to do the same thing (Bennett and Watergate) 20 years later," Ber-man said.
This is the second time this year Owens has been criticized by fellow Democrats. In a bitter primary campaign between Doug Anderson and Owens, Anderson unleashed some of the sharpest attacks ever seen against a fellow Democrat in Utah, causing one of Anderson's own backers - former Gov. Calvin Rampton - to publicly reproach Anderson.