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What’s a Political Junkie To Do?
The legislative session is complete. Lawmakers are going back to their real lives. Elections are far off on the horizon. So what’s a political junkie to do? Can we handle the withdrawal symptoms? Can we quit cold turkey? Are we left with nothing to do but watch Martha Stewart get out of prison and the Michael Jackson courtroom weirdness?
Not to worry. Politics will ever be with us. Now we get to watch Gov. Jon Huntsman really start to govern and organize his administration. And lawmakers will be back soon for an April 20 special session. We will observe as Huntsman puts together summits on transportation and economic development. We get to watch legislative task forces grapple with tax reform and IHC’s tax status and organizational structure. We get to watch Mitt Romney run for president. We get to watch municipal elections all over the state. And for those expecting intra-party battles next year, in less than 10 months it will be time to start getting ready for 2006 party caucuses.
Sen. Orrin Hatch will be working hard this year to prepare for his re-election campaign next year. There have been rumors of Republicans wanting to challenge him for the nomination. Congressman Chris Cannon could easily attract another Republican challenger. And the most obvious question for Republicans is who will take on Rep. Jim Matheson? There are any number of Republicans out there wanting to break into big-time politics. Are any of them good enough to defeat Matheson? There will be plenty of politics this year to keep junkies happy.
Huntsman Had Old Hand Help
Gov. Huntsman had a good session despite a relatively young and inexperienced staff. But we sometimes forget a couple of old-timers, working behind the scenes, who were enormously helpful to the Huntsman team. Chief of Staff Jason Chaffetz gives a lot of credit for the legislative success to Leo Memmott and Gayle McKeachnie. No one knows the state budget better than Memmott, who ran the Legislature’s fiscal analyst office for umpteen years. And McKeachnie, a former lawmaker and lieutenant governor, has great relationships with many legislators. The grayhairs came through to help the young whippersnappers navigate their first legislative session.
Political Trivia
A lot of interesting political events occurred in March, according to National Journal’s political calendar. Here are a few in the first week of the month:
March 1: Three Puerto Rican nationalists open fire upon the House of Representatives’ gallery, wounding five members (1954).
March 3: “The Star-Spangled Banner” officially becomes the national anthem of the United States (1931)
March 4: In celebration of his inauguration, President Andrew Jackson invites the American public to the White House and the ensuing mob forces Jackson to make a getaway through a window (1829).
March 6: In the Battle of the Alamo, 189 Texans fighting for independence from Mexico are killed while defending a mission fortress above the San Antonio River (1836).
Casual Friday
Words to Live By
(I may have used these before, but I like them.)
- Give a guy a fish and he’ll eat for a day. Teach a guy to fish and he’ll always want to borrow your boat and he’ll drink a lot of beer and throw up in it.
- Before criticizing someone walk a mile in his shoes and then when you criticize him you’ll be a mile away and you’ll have his shoes.
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Utah
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