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News Highlights
Salt Lake County voters like ZAP tax, according to poll (Deseret
Morning News). Daily Herald editorial
on Michael Moore says UVSC students and the public
are in for a “mind-expanding opportunity,” but questions
the expenditure of so large a sum on one speaker. Senate candidates
Bob Bennett and Paul Van Dam have
fundamental differences on health care (The
Spectrum).
Quote of the Day
"It's easier for a gay person to get elected in a small town
because people know you and their biases go away. In a place like
Salt Lake City, it would be a bigger issue because you can't meet
everybody and they vote their biases."
- Willie Marshall, mayor of Big Water (Salt
Lake Tribune)
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Monday
Buzz
Compiled
and Written by LaVarr Webb |
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The Week Ahead
Autumn is really here with cool weather, snow in the mountains
and the football season fully underway. With six weeks to go in
the election, it will be a busy political week (see calendar below)
with a few legislative committees. For legislative agendas click
here. If you’re a legislative or county candidate, you
ought to have your final voter contact plans ready to execute by
now. You should be walking neighborhoods and making phone calls
every evening and on weekends, and have your mailings scheduled
and produced. You should be aware of what your opponent is doing.
Now is the time to start communicating with your voters.
The Muscular Middle
Who are the most popular politicians in America? Who are the most
popular politicians in Utah? Syndicated columnist Ann Stewart,
writing in the Wall Street Journal and Wired Magazine,
argues that four centrist, moderate Republicans -- Arnold
Schwarzenegger, Rudy Giuliani, Colin
Powell and John McCain -- are the most
popular politicians in America right now. The Democrats don’t
really have anyone to compare. The four are all centrist politicians
who avoid hard ideology and are pragmatic problem-solvers.
“Why is this intriguing leadership emerging from the Republicans?”
Stewart asks. “Well, as Mr. Schwarzenegger says, ‘the
political action in the future – it’s all going to be
in the middle, because that’s where most people in the country
are today.’”
And who are the most popular politicians in Utah? A mid-August
Dan Jones & Associates poll taken for the Exoro
Group shows the politicians with the highest approval ratings
are Gov. Olene Walker (no surprise) and Rep. Jim
Matheson (bigger surprise). Matheson beats all the other
Republicans, including Orrin Hatch, Bob
Bennett and even President George Bush.
Walker and Matheson, or course, are both centrist and moderate,
which is where most Utahns are.
Both gubernatorial candidates, Jon Huntsman and
Scott Matheson, are mainstream moderates.. Bob
Bennett is a centrist. Former Gov. Mike Leavitt,
who enjoyed some of the highest approval ratings ever, was and is
a centrist. The most popular politicians, nationally and in Utah,
are moderately conservative. The mean score for Utah registered
voters is 6.55 when they rank themselves on a 1-10 liberal-to-conservative
scale.
Walker enjoys a healthy 79 percent approval rating, with only 12
percent disapproving of her job performance. Matheson isn’t
far behind at 72 percent approval (measured just in his district)
with 16 percent disapproving. Others include President Bush, 68
percent approval; Orrin Hatch, 67 percent; Bob Bennett, 64 percent;
Chris Cannon, 51 percent; and Rob Bishop, 48 percent. Bishop and
Bennett both had high “don’t know” numbers (29
and 15 percent, respectively).
(Do you have thoughts about this article? Comment to: agendautah@utahpolicy.com)
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| Leadership
Tip
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| Read a Good Daily Newspaper
Successful policymakers need to read a good daily newspaper. When
you read a newspaper, serendipity occurs. You learn things you didn’t
know you were interested in. Reading a newspaper helps you connect
the dots. It’s more than just staying up to speed on current
events. By reading widely about politics, culture, business and
sports, you approach public policy matters from a broader and more
informed perspective. You will make connections that otherwise would
not occur to you.
I love reading a good daily newspaper, especially the print version.
I think both Salt Lake dailies produce very good papers, given the
size of the market. I love the Wall Street Journal. When I read
a newspaper I like to flip through the pages, glancing at headlines,
even perusing the ads. I work through the international and national
pages, and spend more time with local news. I check out the business
pages and read a few sports stories. I have a few comic strips I
enjoy. I have favorite columnists and standard features. On Sundays
I even like to flip through the classified ads, glancing at jobs
listings and recreational property.
The daily newspaper remains a great bargain, given the enormous
variety and depth of news and information delivered to my doorstep
every day. I don’t read newspapers for breaking news. I get
that from radio, television and the Internet. I read papers for
context, perspective and depth. The best papers and writers give
that to me. When I read a well-researched and written newspaper
story on a complex topic I feel like I have a full understanding
of the matter with all sides represented.
You may not agree with everything you read in the newspaper, but
if you’re a policymaker you ought to be reading every day.
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| Elected
Officials Birthdays |
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Rep. Gordon E. Snow, District 54, September 22
Rep. Bradley G. Last, District 71, September 24
Sen. Lyle W. Hillyard, District 25, September 25
Rep. Calvin G. Bird, District 65, September 25
Entire
Birthday List
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Monday
September 20, 2004
| Please submit calendar items
to AgendaUtah@UtahPolicy.com
- Sept 20: Steve Thompson at Tooele Valley Rotary Club
luncheon, 12 pm, Best Western Inn Tooele.
- Sept 20-24: Legislators Back to School Week.
- Sept 20-25: Steve Thompson for Congress Neighborhood Walk
in Davis County. Call 435-753-3979 to schedule a visit.
- Sept 21: Mark Shurtleff addresses the Cache County GOP
Women, 12 pm, Coppermill Restaurant in Logan. 801-910-9463.
- Sept 22: Attorney General candidates debate,
sponsored by Women's State Legislative Council, 12 pm, Salt Lake
Library, 210 E 400 S, SLC.
- Sept 23: USACCC Annual Conference, Homestead
Resort, Midway.
- Sept 23: Child Welfare Legislative Oversight Panel, 10
am, State Capitol, Rm W025.
- Sept 23: Salt Lake Chamber Economic Advisory Council: “The
Impact of the Big Box,” noon, Waterford School Performing Arts Building
- Sept 23: Hinckley Institute of Politics presents “Religion
in Life and the World: A Personal and Geopolitical Perspective”.
Address given by President Michael Young. 10:45 am, U of U Spencer
Hall Rm 255. Free to Public. Also broadcast on KUER-FM 90.1.
- Sept 23: Matt Everett for Senate Campaign BBQ, 7 pm, Adams
Park, Logan. Special Guest Donald Dunn. $20. 435-770-6567.
- Sept 25: Republican Central Committee Meeting.
- Sept 25: Peter Corroon walks precincts in SLC and Taylorsville.
801-328-2208.
- Sept 27: Utah Foundation & Hinckley Institute of Politics
presents “Utah‘s Water Supply: Where Will it Come From?” Panel discussion.
Noon, U of U Spencer Hall Rm 255. Free to Public. Also broadcast
on KUER-FM 90.1.
- Sept 27-Oct 2: Steve Thompson for Congress Neighborhood
Walk in Weber and Morgan Counties. Call 435-753-3979 to schedule
a visit.
- Sept 28: Salt Lake Chamber Board of Governors, 7:30 a.m.,
Chamber Board Room, featuring candidates Scott Matheson, John Swallow,
Greg Skordas
- Sept 28: Hinckley Institute of Politics presents “Every
Student a Politician: The Importance of the 18 to 24 Vote”. Featuring
Lt. Governor Gayle McKeachnie, Dan Jones, and Frank Pignanelli.
11 am, U of U Spencer Hall Rm 255. Free to Public. Also broadcast
on KUER-FM 90.1.
- Sept 28: Green Party of Utah Roots Local Monthly
Meeting, 12:00 pm, Sprague Library, 1100 East, just past 2100 South,
Salt Lake City. Contact: 486-2558.
- Sept 28-Oct 1: Constitution Party's Presidential Candidate
Michael Peroutka tours Utah. Tickets: www.cputah.org
- Sept 28: Presidential candidate Michael Peroutka,
7:30 pm, Western Regional Park, Vernal.
- Sept 29: Hinckley Institute of Politics presents “Middle
East Watches the U.S. Presidential Election” Panel discussion. Noon,
U of U Spencer Hall Rm 255. Free to Public. Also broadcast on KUER-FM
90.1.
- Sept 29: Salt Lake County Mayoral Candidate Debate, 7:30
pm, Westminster College, 1840 S 1300 E, SLC.
- Sept 29: Presidential candidate Michael Peroutka,
Snow College, 150 E College Ave, Ephraim. Also at Canyon View HS,
7:30 pm, 166 W 1925 N, Cedar City.
- Sept 30: Presidential candidate Michael
Peroutka, 7:30 pm, UVSC, Sorenson Student Center, Grand Ballroom,
800 W University Parkway, Orem.
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