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How to Beat Jim Matheson: Use Flattery
Rep. Jim Matheson is sitting pretty in the 2nd Congressional District. But he’s beatable. Here’s how to do it: Flatter him. Appeal to his vanity. Tell him he’s Utah’s most popular politician. Read him those amazing poll numbers over and over again. Tell him Utahns love him. Tell him he’s so good he really ought to be a U.S. senator. Why toil amongst the House riffraff when the House of Lords awaits?
Entice him to run against Sen. Orrin Hatch. It would be a good battle, but Hatch would win. Matheson would win Salt Lake County, but Hatch would crush him in Utah and Davis counties. The headlines have said Matheson is the state’s most popular politician. But his rating was measured only in the 2nd District. If Matheson was tested statewide, it’s obvious that Gov. Jon Huntsman’s 76% approval rating would be ahead.
Assuming Matheson doesn’t fall for the flattery, he’s looking really tough in the 2nd District with a half million dollars in the bank and a sky-high approval rating.
Christensen Certain to Run
By Mark E. Towner
I spoke with Rep. LaVar Christensen last night and he said he was absolutely going to run for the 2nd Congressional GOP nomination. He said he would be shortly transferring funds into a exploratory account, and make a formal announcement soon. He chuckled about the recent comments concerning KSL Radio host Doug Wright going to Washington D.C. and meeting with GOP leadership. Christensen said he made the same trip months ago, but chose not to make a big deal about it. So it appears it will be a two-person race between Wright and the Representative from Draper. This race as in the past will be a delegate chase for the elusive 60% at convention.
For the past two election cycles, John Swallow and Tim Bridgewater have battled each other, spending most of their money just seeking the GOP nomination, while Democrat Jim Matheson was able to sail to the general election with his campaign war chest intact. The main difference this cycle will be Christensen's deep-pocket ability to self-fund the hardest portion of any GOP nomination cycle: pre-convention. Christensen will appeal to conservative GOP delegates, having authored Amendment 3 on marriage. Even Democrat Matheson supported Amendment 3, but Wright did not. This may cause him trouble with delegates outside of Salt Lake County, especially northern Utah County, where support for the amendment was strong. Wright is solid on some other conservative issues, such as guns, and some Republicans also think a more moderate candidate is needed to defeat Matheson.
Publisher’s Opinion
Why Not Let Envirocare Expand?
I did a small amount of communications work for Envirocare under its previous ownership. In the process, I learned enough about the company to become a fan. I believe Envirocare is an excellent company that performs an outstanding service for Utah and the country. It provides hundreds of good-paying jobs, a lot of them high-tech, and it brings in hundreds of millions of dollars into Utah, contributing millions of dollars in taxes.
So what’s not to like about Envirocare? It’s safe, a lot safer than numerous other businesses out there, like oil refineries. It is an environmental company. It doesn’t create waste; it safely disposes of waste. Our way of life would be dramatically altered if firms like Envirocare didn’t provide a safe place to dispose of waste byproducts created in routine manufacturing processes. It also helps resolve long-standing environmental problems by disposing of contaminated dirt from neighborhoods and business districts.
Anyone who doesn’t like what Envirocare does is rather hypocritical if they take advantage of the modern conveniences of life. You can’t enjoy the lifestyle we lead and not create waste that must be disposed of safely.
We ought to welcome and encourage Envirocare’s expansion, not forbid it. There’s a nice market for what it does and it’s good for Utah’s economy. The operation sits on a tiny amount of land, one square mile, in Utah’s vast west desert. Doubling its size wouldn’t even be noticed. Opposition to Envirocare is based on silly emotionalism, not on facts.
Mehlman Pays Utah a Visit
By Mark E. Towner
Ken Mehlman, Chair of the Republican National Committee, headlined a reception at the Grand America Hotel last night and spoke to a select group of Republicans called the Ronald Reagan Club. The club is the premier fundraising organization of the Utah GOP. The reception was held in a private lounge of the hotel and Mehlman spoke in front of a roaring fireplace. He walked easily around the room while talking and connected personally with the 30-40 people in attendance.
After talking about several current issues he pointed out a remarkable statistic. In 2004, during the last 72-hour get-out-the-vote effort, nearly 40% of the volunteers nationally that manned phones and pounded the pavement were members of the LDS Church. In response to a question on current attacks by Democrats concerning the Iraq war, Mehlman said President Bush would no longer sit back and allow Democrats to flip-flop on the issue, especially when their statements contradict comments made during the previous Clinton administration. He said Bush would respond aggressively to these political attacks, and that the GOP already has produced a video of these same Democrats saying that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, and Saddam should be removed.
Washington Watch
Bishop Water Bill Passes Committee
A bill sponsored by Rep. Rob Bishop designed to increase water supplies for Northern Utah passed the House Resources Committee Wednesday. HR 3626 authorizes the Secretary of Interior to conduct a feasibility study on increasing the height and capacity of the Watkins Dam, which would make more water resources available as part of Willard Bay and the Weber Basin Project. "Everyone knows we need more water in Utah, and looking at increasing the height and capacity of this reservoir just makes sense," said Bishop in a press release.
Hatch Pushes Pension Bill
Legislation passed by the Senate to strengthen and improve the nation’s private-pension system includes provisions pushed by Sen. Orrin Hatch "that would benefit employers in Utah." (See press release); Senate also passes resolution sponsored by Hatch that designates Nov. 17, the Thursday before Thanksgiving Day, as “Feed America Thursday.” Says Hatch: “Too many Americans suffer from hunger each day. Feed America Thursday gives all of us the opportunity to help those in need so no one will go hungry during this Thanksgiving season.” (See press release.)
Blog Watch
Rep. Steve Urquhart updates his previous post on repealing/mitigating the food tax... Pete Ashdown says new poll results on Sen. Orrin Hatch show "our efforts are paying off."... Third Party Watch notes the Julian Hatch candidacy, and a commenter says, "I’d love to be at the Hatch Thanksgiving Day dinner this year!"... On his blog, NewsMax.com columnist Steve Farrell congratulates Utah for taking a stand against the feds over NCLB.
U of U Students Debate Health Insurance
By Mark E. Towner
In a meeting Wednesday at the Hinckley Institute of Politics, a panel discussed the problems facing the University regarding continued health insurance coverage for students. The U. has approximately 29,000 students enrolled; however, only 7% choose to purchase the student insurance. Before 1996, all students were required to be covered by insurance either by purchasing student insurance, or providing a certificate of insurance from another source like their parents’ family policy.
A proposed vote by the University’s Student Legislature (48 Representatives and 16 Senators) may suggest a mandatory requirement again. Panel members Jason Gillman, Tiffany Trinh, and Tek Kilgore indicated that the current system is unsustainable. “Out of every dollar collected in insurance, $1.06 is being paid out in services and administration costs” said Gillman. Mandatory insurance requirements are opposed by the College Republicans as stated by Brad Anderson. The College Democrats’ Remington Johnson indicated his caucus had not formally taken a position, but felt more information is needed. There will be additional public meetings around campus listed at www.ustudents.com . Different ideas were discussed, including raising student fees to cover basic healthcare coverage needs at the Student Health Services, and have the University Hospital Network offer a catastrophic policy within its own network. Regardless of what decision is made, doing nothing is not an option as the current insurance underwriter will simply drop coverage altogether as it is losing money on the current plan. |
