Talk Radio News Service: News, Politics, Media

By Sofia Sanchez-Talk Radio News Service/University of New Mexico

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters Tuesday that the decision from Utah Republicans to drop incumbent Senator Bob Bennett (R-Utah) shows that the GOP is moving toward a smaller and more stubborn base.

"I think that the Republican party now has the narrowest base that I have seen … since I have been involved with politics, which has been for over four decades,” Hoyer said. “Their base does not want them to compromise, their base does not want them to sit down with people and discuss alternatives that are possible."

Republicans in Utah cited Bennett's vote in favor of the Troubled Assets Relief Program and his attempt to craft a health care reform compromise with Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) as the grounds for their vote. Mike Lee and Tim Bridgewater garnered more support than Bennett and will face a primary vote this June.

Hoyer said that this new direction among conservatives will likely alienate more moderate voters.

"I think, ultimately, [this] will not be something the Independents believe is a good thing for our country."