Reach Utah Policymakers

The Sutherland Institute has posted an essay by William C. Duncan, director of Sutherland's Center for Family and Society, titled, "Federalism and the Role of the States," which "discusses the threats to federalism and outlines a number of practical initiatives for responsible citizens to consider in an effort to defend against further encroachment of national government on the political and constitutional protections intended by the Framers of the Constitution."

Enjoy some culture this holiday weekend.  Our listings highlight concerts and plays around the state, including the Utah Shakespearean Festival which began this week.

Congressman Jim Matheson tells Neil Cavuto of Fox News why he voted against the "Cap and Trade" bill.

by Bryan Schott

Representative John Dougall speaks at the 2009 Utah Taxes Now Conference.

source: Utah History to Go

The 1849 petition was the first of seven attempts to gain statehood. Success did not come until 1896, nearly a half-century later. It was a period of intense political conflict pitting the power of federal authority, which strengthened greatly after the Civil War, against the conscience and commitment of a determined religious group. The process--a series of federal laws designed to end polygamy and theocracy in Utah Territory--has been aptly if unimaginatively termed by one historian as "the Americanization of Utah for Statehood." By 1890 the Mormon leadership had capitulated and issued the Manifesto which began the rapid phase-out of officially sanctioned plural marriages. From there, events moved quite expeditiously toward statehood.

by Jared Whitley

(Note: Utah Policy Daily had a "blog-versation" with Sen. Orrin Hatch about the current health care debate.) 

UPD: In your experience, what level of government involvement in public health care is appropriate, and what goes too far?

HATCH: As we move forward on comprehensive reform, it is important to recognize that every state has its own unique mix of demographics and each state has developed its own institutions to address its challenges.  And each has its own successes.

There is an enormous reservoir of expertise, experience, and field-tested reform.  We should take advantage of that by placing states at the center of efforts tailored to meet coverage and affordability goals, so we can use approaches that best reflect their unique needs and demographics.  We can all agree that Utah is not Massachusetts and Massachusetts is not Utah.

We must not make the mistake of assuming that the federal government is the solution to all problems. The focus should be on families, not Washington.

by Jeff Thredgold, CSP, President, Thredgold Economic Associates, Tea Leaf Newsletter

One of the painful realities of life as an economist and professional speaker is that the subject matter of economics is typically viewed (with good reason!) by the general public as confusing, intimidating, and boring. As a result, trying to present weekly economic and financial information with an unusual twist can occasionally be a most welcome change.

source: Sports Illustrated

In an essay for SI, Sen. Orrin Hatch makes the case for congressional hearings into the Bowl Championship Series.

by LaVarr Webb

The doldrums of summer, when people aren't paying much attention to political campaigns, is a great time to focus efforts on coalition-building.

Candidates who win understand the importance of building coalitions. A coalition is a group of like-minded people who are willing to support your candidacy. It might be school teachers, or labor unions, or Realtors, or home builders, or farmers, or environmentalists, or home schoolers, or soccer moms, or any one of a variety of business associations or other organizations.

Your goal is to run a mini-campaign within each of your coalitions. A campaign staffer should be appointed as liaison to each coalition, charged with wringing every possible bit of support out of the coalition.

by Randall P. Whatley, Complete Campaigns

Whether you are participating in a debate, at a community forum or communicating with the media, your most important objective should be to make your point clear and memorable. 

The following are three simple and effective techniques to make your point clear and create sound bites and quotable statements:

by LaVarr Webb

I had a fascinating conversation the other day with a leader in the energy industry. This executive doesn't have the luxury of spouting theory and conjecture about future energy needs, because he is responsible for keeping electricity flowing to thousands of homes, businesses, governments and manufacturing plants.

So he can't be wrong in his plans and projections. If he is, the lights don't go on, the machines don't run, and the economy grinds to a halt. So he's deadly serious about his responsibility to ensure adequate electrical supplies now and in the future.

He is a big supporter of clean, alternative energy, and especially conservation and efficiency. In fact, thanks in part to the economic downturn, he believes wind, solar, geothermal and natural gas, plus aggressive conservation, can buy his customers another 10 years without having to construct a major new power plant.

But looking ahead 10-15 years, the power supply outlook is not so bright ...

source: The Hill

In an essay in the forthcoming issue of Sports Illustrated, Sen. Orrin Hatch says Congress is gearing up "to investigate the antitrust implications" of the Bowl Championship Series system.

source: Associated Press

Sen. Orrin Hatch asks for a congressional hearing to investigate whether Pres. Obama acted appropriately when he fired the national service agency's inspector general, Gerald Walpin, earlier this month.