Thursday Musing

It was really quite inconsiderate for Mother Nature to send warm, pretty Spring out to tantalize us for a couple of beautiful days, spreading joy and 80 degrees, only to allow Old Man Winter to come storming back with a stab of ice and snow, chasing Spring away. Shame on the Old Lady. Is a little consistent sunshine and warmth too much to ask for mid-April? The Temple Square tulips are considering retreating back into their bulbs.  

Happy 1,000th to UPD

Today’s Utah Policy Daily is the 1,000th edition (not counting weekend editions) of this little political newsletter. We started on May 7, 2004, so we’ve been at it for almost four years. Nearly 7,000 subscribers receive UPD by e-mail each weekday morning, and another 2,000 or so read it on the web site. We welcome your thoughts, feedback and ideas as we go forward. Send them to daily@utahpolicy.com.

The Politics of Food

Interesting New York Times story says what you eat says a lot about how you might vote.  “If there’s butter and white wine in your refrigerator and Fig Newtons in the cookie jar, you’re likely to vote for Hillary Clinton. Prefer olive oil, Bear Naked granola and a latte to go? You probably like Barack Obama. And if you’re leaning toward John McCain, it’s all about kicking back with a bourbon and a stuffed crust pizza while you watch the Democrats fight it out next week in Pennsylvania.”

Political advisers are more and more scrutinizing consumer behavior, including how people eat, as a way to find supporters and win votes. The practice is called micro-targeting. “What we buy and how we spend our free time is a good predictor of our politics. …Political strategists slice and dice the electorate into small segments, starting with traditional demographics like age and income, then mixing consumer information like whether you prefer casinos or cruises, hunting or cooking, a Prius or a pickup.”

The Low-Down on Laffer

Dr. Randy Simmons, USU professor and unrepentant Libertarian (who regularly chews me out for publishing pro-public transit items), sent along a link to some fun, interesting and relatively short videos promoting low taxes and free markets. Says Randy: “The three-part series on the Laffer curve is especially good.” The videos, also available on YouTube, were produced by the Center for Freedom and Prosperity. Here’s the link.

Dems to Pick Up Seats in Congress?

In his Tea Leaf  economic update this week Utah economist Jeff Thredgold comments on politics, predicting that Democrats will strengthen their control of the U.S. House and probably add to their majority in the U.S. Senate. He doesn’t say what economic impact that might have.

Thredgold also discusses the reasons for the national housing crisis, noting that the causes of the meltdown were many, among them lenders who cared too much about the quantity of loans made, rather than the ability of borrowers to pay. 

Young Dems Get Aggressive

Young Democrats of Utah (YDU) are trying to turn Utah blue, targeting 30,000 to 40,000 voters aged 18-35. They will also target 6-8 key legislative races where Democrats have a reasonable chance to win. And they will do these things in a professional manner, having raised $25,000 and hired Justin Daniels, an experienced political operative, as full-time executive director to run their campaign efforts.

"This project has been in the works for over two years," said Matt Lyon, President of YDU.  "What makes it really exciting is that it has been drafted, designed, and planned exclusively by young people.  We raised all of the money for this campaign ourselves.  I know this energy and commitment will carry into the 2008 election cycle and impact the future of Utah politics." See press release for more details.

Today in Political History

April 17, 1961: About 1,500 CIA-trained Cuban exiles, with approval from Pres. John F. Kennedy, launch the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in a failed attempt to overthrow the government of Fidel Castro. (New York Times)

April 17, 1989:  Students march on Beijing's Tiananmen Square to call for increased democracy in China.  (Source:  Perspicuity) 

Wise Words

“I would like to electrocute everyone who uses the word ‘fair’ in connection with income tax policies.”

—William F. Buckley Jr. (Patriot Post)

Utah Political Trivia

Q: How many years combined have the father/son political duo of former Sen. Wallace F. Bennett and current Sen. Bob Bennett served in the United States Senate? A:  40 years.  Wallace Bennett served from 1951 to 1975 and Robert Bennett from 1992 till present.   (Source:  Utah.Edu) 

National Politics

Best Stories From . . .

-- New York Times: "Senator Barack Obama found himself consistently on the defensive as he and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton met Wednesday night in a tense debate that left him parrying questions and criticism on issues including values, patriotism and his association with onetime radicals from the 1960s."

-- Politico: Columnist Roger Simon: "You know a candidate is really feeling the heat when he starts complaining about the kitchen. You know a candidate is having problems when he starts complaining about the process. Wednesday night [Obama] complained a number of times about the presidential campaign process and how some people spend way too much time 'obsessing' about some of the things that he and others have actually said."

-- The Hill: "Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), the Democratic Party's 2000 vice presidential nominee, is leaving open the possibility of giving a keynote address on behalf of Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) at the Republican National Convention in September."

-- Bloomberg: Pres. Bush Wednesday "set a goal for the U.S. to stop the growth of greenhouse-gas emissions by 2025, as he tries to head off more stringent measures from Congress and in international negotiations."

Lighter Side

Best of Late Night Humor

Jay Leno: Barack Obama got himself into a little hot water in Pennsylvania, when he said small town people become bitter, and cling to guns or religion because of economic problems. Well, sure, you pray your house doesn’t get repossessed, and when they take it, you pull out your gun. Makes perfect sense. ... Hillary Clinton attacked Barack Obama, called him “elitist,” and said he was out of touch with poor people. Later, Bill Clinton gave a speech on the subject, and charged a million bucks for it. ... In an effort to try and connect with some of the rural voters in Pennsylvania, Hillary said she has gone hunting, and once shot a duck. Don’t confuse that with Barack. He shot himself in the foot. That’s a totally different thing. Personally, I like Cheney. He shot a lawyer. ... Hillary Clinton was shown at a bar in Indiana drinking a beer, and doing a shot of whiskey. Hey, and it worked. Today, Ted Kennedy switched back. “I’m for Hillary now!” ... Did you all see that? She took the shot with the beer chaser. Did it like an old pro. To give you an idea how much she drank, when the phone rang at 3 a.m., slept right through it. ... The State Department has officially disapproved of former President Jimmy Carter’s trip to visit Syria, where he’s meeting with the terrorist group Hamas. The State Department disapproves of the trip, but they couldn’t stop him from going. And I thought this was kind of petty. For his return trip, they switched his flight to American. Good luck! Hope it all works out.