
Can Pete Ashdown Win Salt Lake County?
National Journal’s U.S. Senate race rankings show Sen. Orrin Hatch to be one of the least vulnerable senators among the 33 seats up for grabs this year. (The four most vulnerable senators are all Republicans.)
But Hatch’s seeming invincibility won’t stop his opponent, Internet entrepreneur Pete Ashdown, from running a good and hard race. With the primary election behind us, we can expect Ashdown to turn up the intensity of the Senate race with more visibility and more criticism of Hatch.
One major test for Ashdown is whether he can win Salt Lake County, which has been voting increasingly Democratic. In the 2004 gubernatorial race, Democrat Scott Matheson beat Republican Jon Huntsman by 20,000 votes in Salt Lake County. For Ashdown to have a decent showing at all, he must win Salt Lake County, and not by just a small margin.
That’s because Utah’s next two largest counties, Utah and Davis, are where Democratic candidates for statewide office go to die. Matheson, for example, was overwhelmed in Utah and Davis counties by nearly 100,000 votes, a nearly impossible margin to make up.
Ashdown must have a really big win in Salt Lake County, and have respectable losses in Utah and Davis counties to have any chance of being Utah’s next U.S. senator.
Podcast Watch
Jennifer Napier-Pearce’s InsideUtah.com podcast this week features
Salt Lake Chamber President Lane Beattie (:37) on a new sales tax to fund public transit; computer guru Phil Windley (11:16) on finding UTOPIA; and Tori Baker and others from the Salt Lake Film Society (20:43) on a screenwriter’s boot camp.
Blog Watch
The U.S. News & World Report's Michael Barone says: "It is conventional wisdom in many quarters that Republican voters overwhelmingly favor a border-security-only approach to immigration. [Rep. Chris] Cannon's victory [over John Jacob] casts some doubt on that. Yes, there were extenuating factors; there usually are in elections. Last week, Jacob imprudently told the Salt Lake Tribune that he thought Satan was responsible for recent business reverses that prevented him from putting as much of his own money into his campaign as he had intended. Even in a very religious district -- the Utah Third is the home of Brigham Young University and probably has the highest percentage of Mormons of any congressional district in the United States -- that probably made him sound a little wacky. Cannon's record on issues other than immigration is impeccably conservative -- a plus in a district that voted 77 percent to 20 percent for George W. Bush over John Kerry in 2004. Still, Cannon's victory stands for the proposition that support for a comprehensive immigration bill is not political death in a Republican primary, even in a very conservative district that has been affected by immigration (in 2000, 10 percent of its residents were Hispanic; presumably the percentage of Hispanics voting in the Republican primary this year was much smaller)" (see also here, here, here, here, and here)... At Out of Context, Dan Harrie notes that CNN's Lou Dobbs "has been relentless in his criticism of the Bush administration and Cannon on immigration reform. He didn't let up after Cannon's convincing win Tuesday, describing Cannon as being for 'amnesty for illegal aliens' -- a description which Cannon denies. Dobbs then plastered the same label on Christian Burridge, Cannon's Democrat opponent in the general election ... Burridge says Dobbs has never talked to him, so he isn't quite sure how the broadcaster divined his position" (see also here)... At The Corner, John Derbyshire, who asserted on Wednesday that "Mormons are keen on the immigration of Native Americans" for theological reasons, says: "Every Mormon in the world has written to tell me that Latter-Day Saints do **not** look fondly on the immigration of native Americans from Mexico and points south. I shall be ready for a Ph.D. in Mormon scriptures by the time I've read all these emails"... The Deseret Spectacle notes disapprovingly this D-News letter to the editor from Layton's Bruce Barton, which reads: "You know the world is upside down when Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada and Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California vote with Utah's Orrin Hatch to support a constitutional flag amendment, but our own Sen. Robert Bennett votes against it. It failed by one vote -- Sen. Bennett's vote. Thank you, Sen. Bennett, for the slap in the face" (see also here and here)... At The RCP Blog, Tom Bevan says: "Though I personally don't favor a federal marriage amendment, I find [Mass. Gov. Mitt] Romney to be among its most eloquent defenders. He made a reasonable and persuasive case for the FMA in a recent letter to the Senate, and I've also seen him make the same case on the stump. Obviously, the issue appeals greatly to many Republican base voters, but I suspect the tone and tenor with which Romney approaches the subject will resonate with a broader audience as well" (see also here).
-- Compiled by Golden Webb
Washington Watch
Hatch Urges Trade with Oman
Sen. Orrin Hatch urges the Senate to approve continued free trade with Oman, "because supporting moderate Middle Eastern nations sends an important message of cooperation to that part of the world" (see press release and Reuters); Hatch hails Senate committee for its mark-up of the Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act (press release); Hatch hails the Senate confirmation of Henry Paulsen as Secretary of the Treasury (press release).
Bennett Flag Vote Praised
Editorials praise Sen. Bob Bennett for voting against Hatch's proposed flag protection amendment (Albany Times Union and NJ.com).
Bush Popularity Helped Cannon
Article says "it was President Bush's resilient popularity in [Utah] that helped [Rep. Chris Cannon] beat back a challenge based almost entirely on his stance on immigration reform" (Washington Times); Indiana Rep. Mike Pence says Cannon's victory indicates that "those of us who are calling for tough border security measures in some kind of a comprehensive bill can know that we're standing on a sure foundation of support among Republican voters" (Houston Chronicle).
Casual Friday
Feeding Baby Animals Is Best Left to Their Mothers
It’s not unusual to find a deer fawn in the woods, or a baby bird in your backyard, this time of the year.
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources staff know this is the case because of the calls they receive from people wanting to know what to do with a fawn, an elk calf or a bird they’ve found.
Ron Stewart, a conservation outreach manager with the UDWR, says the best thing to do is to leave the animal or bird in its natural environment, and to not bring it home.
“Feeding baby animals is best left to their moms and dads,” Stewart said. “Every year the division gets calls from well-intentioned individuals who ‘found an abandoned baby bird or mammal’ and would like us to take care of it. While we appreciate and share the concern of the caller, the best caregivers are its natural parents.”
Stewart says birds and mammals have numerous strategies to avoid predation and raise their young.
Read entire article and view photos
Weekend Events & Outdoors Report
Outdoors Report
-- Morning News’ ideas for celebrating the 4th in Utah
-- Tribune reports on the life of a park ranger
-- Tribune’s Short Hike of the Week takes readers to Tooele County
-- Latest in running gear found in the Morning News
-- Find out about upcoming events in the Morning News’ Outdoor Notes
-- Check out the Tribune’s Recreation Roundup and Outdoor Notebook for sports and recreation activities this week
-- Use the Morning News’ interactive map of Utah to plan your outdoor pursuits across the state.
-- The latest wildlife news and information and the fishing report on the DWR website
Weekend Events
New Films
-- Superman Returns: Tribune and Morning News reviews
-- The Devil Wears Prada: Rotten Tomatoes
-- Best Movie Bet for Families: Cars. Read the Tribune review
Concerts
-- Jazz on the Plaza, Thursdays at 6 p.m. through July, The Gateway
-- 4Play Concert Series, Wednesdays at 8 p.m., through August 2, Gallivan Center
-- Lunch Bunch Concert Series, weekdays at noon through September 22, Gallivan Center
-- Taylorsville Symphony, Friday, 6:30 p.m., Valley Regional Park, 5135 S. 2700 West, Taylorsville, free
-- Siva Polynesia Dance Revue, Friday, 7 p.m., Midvale Park Outdoor Stage, 400 West 7500 South, Midvale, free
-- Concert in the Park: An Dragan Ceilteach, Irish step dancers, Friday, 8 p.m., Brigham Young Historic Park, free
-- Dream Catcher, Friday, 7 p.m., Rose Wagner Center
-- Brian Jackson Fetzer, "The Great American Idea," Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Assembly Hall, Temple Square, free
-- Murray Symphony Pops, Saturday, 8 p.m., Murray Park Amphitheater, Murray, $5-$15 (264-2614)
-- Utah Symphony, Patriotic Favorites, Saturday, 8 p.m., Sundance Outdoor Amphitheater, Sundance
-- West Valley Symphony with Wasatch Mountain Cannoneers, Saturday, 8:30 p.m., Valley Regional Park, 5135 S. 2700 West, Taylorsville, free
Theater
-- “Barefoot in the Park” through July 1, Provo Theatre Company
-- “West Side Story” through July 1, Rodgers Memorial Theatre, Morning News review
-- “Les Miserables School Edition” through July 1, Salt Lake School for the Performing Arts, Highland High School
-- “The Scarlet Pimpernel” through July 1, Sandy Arts Guild
-- “Talking Wales II” through July 1, Utah Contemporary Theatre
-- “Seussical the Musical” through July 8, St. George Musical Theatre
-- “Jane Eyre” through July 8, Riverton Arts Council
-- "Spitfire Grill" through July 10, Hale Center Theater Orem, Morning News review
-- “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” through July 21, Center Street Musical Theatre
-- “Once on This Island” through July 22, Center Street Musical Theatre
-- "The Rivals” through July 22, StageRight TheaterCompany
-- "Crazy for You" through July 29, Hale Center Theatre, Tribune review
-- "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" through July 29, Terrace Plaza Playhouse
-- "Route 66” through Aug. 2, Old Lyric Repertory Company
-- "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" through August 5, Terrace Plaza Playhouse
-- "Saturday's Voyeur 2006” through August 20, Salt Lake Acting Company, Tribune and Morning News reviews
-- "Peter Pan" through September 1, Tuacahn Amphitheatre, Ivins
-- "South Pacific" through September 2, Tuacahn Amphitheatre, Ivins, Tribune review
-- "Pirates of the Caribbean 2: The SeaQuel," Desert Star Theatre
-- “Desperate Homemakers: The Big Fat Sequel to My Big Fat Utah Wedding,” Desert Star Cabaret Theatre
-- "The Rat Pack Remembered," Desert Star Dinner Theatre
Museum Exhibits
-- 82nd Annual Spring Salon through July 2, Springville Museum of Art
-- Intimacy Without Restraint: The Gesture Paintings of Hyunmee Lee Exhibition through July 9, Utah Museum of Fine Art
-- The Face of Utah Sculpture Exhibition through August 24, Utah Cultural Celebration Center
-- Wind Pieces: New Sculpture Exhibition through August 26, Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, Utah State University
-- In Focus: National Geographic Great Portraits Exhibition through September 23, Utah Museum of Natural History
-- Material Culture: The Art of Fine Textile Exhibition through September 30, Looking Back: 75 Years at the Salt Lake Art Center Exhibition through October 14, Salt Lake Art Center
-- Rooted In Tradition: Art Quilts from the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum through October 15, Utah Museum of Fine Art
Et Cetera
-- Butch Cassidy Festival, Friday and Saturday, Beaver
-- Park City Gallery Stroll, Friday, 6 – 9 p.m.
-- Free Friday Flix through June 30, Utah State Fairpark
-- Taylorsville Dayz, Saturday, 7 a.m. – 10 p.m.
-- Utah Shakespearean Festival through September 2, Cedar City
-- Downtown Farmers’ Market/ Downtown Art & Craft Market, Saturdays through October 21, Pioneer Park, 8 a.m.–1 p.m.
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