IMO, the for the paper to name him their "Utahn of the Year" on one page then follow it with such a bizarre and crazy op/ed "explaining" that the "honor" was on their part, at best, satire.
To me, such a move damages the entire paper's credibility and someone should have had at least the common sense to stop such a stupid move prior to publication. The paper's journalist credibility should have been valued more by them than than their desire to "stick it to" Hatch one more time. Write editorials arguing against him for what you don't like but don't do that and on the same day also name him your pick for "Utahn of the Year".
Hatch has announced that he is not seeking re-election. http://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2018/01/02/hatch-will-hang-it-up-after-this-term/
Although he has announced he is retiring, I, like you, Mike, agree that he, and imo all of our federal representatives should follow Hatch's own campaign slogan, “What do you call a senator who’s served in office for 18 years? You call him home.”
Although the same paper called for him not to run for re-election, it seems that they could not resist the chance to get in another "dig" at Hatch with this article (same author as the in the link above) http://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2018/01/03/five-reasons-sen-orrin-hatch-may-be-bowing-out-of-re-election/
Referring back to the papers "explanation" hit piece, if what the writer claims is true about why the state rehired Hatch in 2012, 1) they don't believe that Hatch should have ever been recalled home - as they claimed to have believed in his "call him home" campaign slogan, 2) they, nor the citizens of Utah, understand the true value and purpose of the position of a U.S. Senator, and 3) they are a shining example of the problem they claim to be upset about and they are fully complicit in helping to keep Hatch in the Senate as long as he has been there.
"The last time the senator was up for re-election, in 2012, he promised that it would be his last campaign. That was enough for many likely successors, of both parties, to stand down, to let the elder statesman have his victory tour and to prepare to run for an open seat in 2018."
http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/editorial/2017/12/25/tribune-editorial-why-orrin-hatch-is-utahn-of-the-year/
Absolutely NO ONE should ever be elected to ANY public office because of such imbecilic reasons as "it's their turn", "they have ta-ta's/or don't have ta-ta's", or "we don't want him, but he deserves a 'victory tour' because he has been there sooo long".
In their own article the paper basically said it was OK for him to run and be elected one last time in 2012; as such, they don't have any credibility to now complain about how long he has been in the Senate. When writers, editors, and publishers appear to be suffering from schizophrenia or multiple personality disorders I can't see how anyone would ever look to such a publication for any real journalism.
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