The Reddest of the Red States

Utah's citizens think Senator Lee shouldn't be so crazy:

This battle has taken a toll on his popularity, however. A Brigham Young University survey conducted during the shutdown found that 57 percent of Utahans wanted Lee to be more willing to compromise. The senator’s approval rating dropped to 40 percent — down from 50 percent in June — with 51 percent disapproving.
At the same time, the online poll found, the vast majority of Utah residents identifying with the tea party still backed Lee.
Lee waved off the findings. “The only number I worry about is how many people are being hurt by Obamacare,” he said.
But Lee acknowledged that voters disapproved of the shutdown — especially in Utah, where the federal government is the largest employer. Shuttered national parks hurt the tourism industry and thousands of workers at military installations were furloughed.

Is that why folks are so adamantly opposed to the federal government out west, because it is so much of a part of their lives?  It kind of calls into question that rugged individualism meme when the largest employer in the state is the evil folks in Washington.