This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

It's not easy to embarrass a crowd of lobbyists with a plan to sell political access, but Gov. Gary Herbert and his political staff managed to do it Wednesday.

With Herbert looking on, his campaign staff told a couple dozen lobbyists and supporters about their "speed-dating" plan that would grant one-on-one access with the governor to those willing to give generously to his re-election campaign.

How generously? It would be gauche (and less lucrative) to name a price. This is more for the "if you have to ask" echelon. As the governor's fundraiser spelled out in the rarified air of the Alta Club Wednesday, it's going to take more than a thousand bucks to get one of these meetings.

Wait. The governor and his people were very clear, his spokesman says. "The governor specifically said, 'This should be crystal clear; there will be no quid pro quo. We appreciate your support, but we put up a solid wall between financial support for our campaign and any type of political favors."

Nice try, governor, but you have installed an ATM in that wall. Access to the governor is a favor, and one-on-one access is almost unheard of. A meeting does not immediately promise the governor will do what you want, but it will give you a better shot than the unwashed masses who don't pay to play. To say that this is anything other than selling access is just spin.

The governor is big on being financially prepared. His state has benefitted from that, and so has his campaign account. Delegates at last week's state Republican convention gave him a scare when they went with political neophyte Jonathan Johnson 55-45 percent over Herbert. One Herbert staffer sniffed that Johnson has his boss, Overstock.com Chairman Patrick Byrne, writing checks to his campaign.

So now Herbert has a primary election, although it's one he'll likely win handily. The vote will be less about the governor's race than it is a referendum on GOP delegates' alignment with rank and file Republicans, or lack thereof.

Herbert's campaign had $783,000 in the bank a week before the convention, and it has a dazzling array of fundraisers lined up between now and primary election day June 28. Events include two golf tournaments, the fossil-fueled Energy Roundtable ($1,500 per seat) and the pharm-fueled Healthcare Roundtable. And don't forget the Governor's Shootout, a $250 per-person breakfast and shooting event. (What better time to make your priorities clear to the governor than when you have a gun in your hands?)

All this takes time, which is why the governor told the group that his staff will be running the state for the next couple of months. Just kidding, the staff said later.

There may be nothing illegal here, but that's a horrible standard. Even Mark Shurtleff and John Swallow may still be found to have committed no crimes, but that doesn't mean they weren't despicable public servants who made pay to play their calling cards.

Politics and money are no strangers, and Herbert has been a professional politician for 26 years. Still, he is better than this. He shouldn't let the political climate spook him into trading the public's trust for handful of checks.