Demos Poised for Tidal Wave?
National political an analysts are starting to see a possible Democratic landslide in the midterm congressional elections on Nov. 7. They still use plenty of qualifiers and say a GOP comeback is still possible, but all signs point to a rout. National Journal's Charlie Cook, for example, says in a column this week that short of a "cataclysmic event" the election climate will be "extremely hostile to Republican candidates. . . . In terms of the political climate, the facts are clear. All of the traditional diagnostic indicators in major national polls taken in the past 10 days show numbers consistent with a rout." He said this election appears to be a "very large tidal-wave" and it wouldn't be unusual to see all the toss-up races go to the Democrats.
Utah Republicans likely don’t have much to fear even in a national Democratic landslide, except perhaps in the 2nd Congressional District, where it makes LaVar Christensen’s underdog fight against Rep. Jim Matheson all the more difficult.
Bush Presidency Pluses, Minuses
Utah economist Jeff Thredgold looks at Republican woes in this year’s elections in his weekly Tea Leaf economic update newsletter. He also writes about the positives and negatives of the Bush presidency, noting that Bush’s tax cuts led to surging federal revenues, but the president’s and Congress’s inability to control spending means the budget still isn’t balanced. He also comments on the news media: “This President has never received a fair shake from the nation’s media. It’s no secret that the national media has a strong liberal bias. As a result, Republican policy initiatives are typically cast in a negative light, while any good news relative to the economy is relegated to the back pages.”
41,000 Hotel Room Nights For ORSM
This week's issue of the Economic Development Corporation's weekly e-newsletter, the Economic Review, says the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market means big bucks for Utah--approximately $18.3 million in direct spending to the state and approximately 41,000 hotel room nights booked for area hotels. The sold-out tradeshow will be held Aug. 10-13 in the newly expanded Salt Palace Convention Center, with approximately 20,000 attendees. Click here to read the newsletter.
New Blog: Under the Dome
Rep. Craig Frank (R-Pleasant Grove) has started a new Web log at http://underthedome.org. He has a post today about his property tax notice and the high cost of “free” public education.
Blog Watch
At the House Majority blog, Rep. Paul Ray solicits reader feedback on his Abortions Law Revisions bill, which "is a trigger law to ban abortions in Utah if Roe v. Wade is overturned by the United States Supreme Court"... At SouthernUtahBlog, Todd Seifert says: "The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has started running campaign advertisements on TV promoting [Rep. Jim] Matheson's pro-business and pro-economic-development stance ... The Republican challenger, LaVar Christensen, in reference to the TV ads, has been quoted as saying that Matheson is courting endorsements to show himself as being conservative when he is not ... Is Matheson a conservative? On some issues yes. On some issues no. It's simplistic to make blanket statements about his leanings. And it's possible that Christensen's full thoughts weren't shared in the published reports because in face-to-face conversations, he has been complimentary of Matheson on some issues. Some pundits have already conceded the 2nd District to Matheson -- quite a change for this mostly Republican district. But with three months to go, anything can happen. Fasten your seat belts. It could be a wild ride" (see also here)... Congressional candidate Bob Brister says Matheson is "anti-gay"... SLCSpin says: "I asked Dave Hansen of Senator Orrin Hatch's campaign if the Senator planned on participating in Pete Ashdown's debate idea. I was told that the Senator would not be participating because his August campaign schedule was already worked out, that he had many campaign events, so he would not be participating. I asked if I could have a copy of his campaign schedule for August. I was told I could not have a copy because his schedule was not completely worked out yet. When I pressed, he insisted what he meant to say is there was a lot of flexibility in the Senator's August schedule. So I asked if there was so much flexibility in the Senator's schedule, perhaps he could find a convenient time for one or two debates. I was told the Senator would not participate in any August debates because the campaign season didn't begin until after Labor Day. Hmm."
-- Compiled by Golden Webb
Washington Watch
Hatch, Bennett Endorse Drilling Bill
Sens. Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett hail the Senate passage of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act, which "will open more than 8.3 million acres on the Outer Continental Shelf for oil and gas leasing" (see Hatch and Bennett press releases).
Hatch: Reauthorize Health Program
Hatch introduces "bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the federal health center program, which provides low-income and underserved patients access to affordable health care via community health centers" (see press release).
Bennett: Castro Illness a Surprise
Bennett says Congress and the White House were caught off-guard by Cuban dictator Fidel Castro's sudden illness: "I think all of us can say we had no idea this was coming" (Associated Press).
Late Night Humor
David Letterman: "Top Dumb Guy Ideas for Lowering Gas Prices": Make all roads downhill; Cheaper self-service price if you pump the oil and refine it yourself; Gas comes from dinosaurs, so all we need are more dinosaurs; Give Cheney a sawed-off shotgun and have him stick up an Exxon; Get President Bush and the Middle East to straighten everything out on Oprah; Jet packs for everyone; Gas only costs 12 cents a gallon in Venezuela; drive to Venezuela for gas; Get tubby genius Al Gore to figure it out.
Jay Leno: There's now a 48-hour cease-fire going on in the Middle East. Israel will stop attacking Hizballah. But, Hizballah will not necessarily agree to stop attacking Israel. Hey, we can't even get Mel Gibson to stop attacking Israel. ... Police said today that they found a bottle of tequila in Mel's Lexus. So let's sum up what happened here; Mel Gibson, who grew up in Australia, was drinking alcohol from Mexico in his Japanese car while yelling about the Jews in Israel. You know where he was coming from? A Thai restaurant. Welcome to America. ... Tour de France winner Floyd Landis has tested positive for high levels of testosterone. He said he did not cheat. Landis said his first results were a 'false positive.' Sounds like a John Kerry answer, doesn't it? A yes and no. ... Ted Kennedy announced today that because of global warming, he will no longer be doing any flaming Jell-o shots. ... The price of gas continues to go up. To give you an idea how expensive gas is, Keith Olbermann has been car-pooling with Bill O'Reilly all week. Congress has sent a bill to the president that will set up a national database of convicted sex offenders on the internet. Don't we have this already? It's called MySpace. ... It's now illegal to feed the homeless in Orlando, Florida. Have you seen the fat people walking around Disneyworld? We should make it illegal to feed them. (Source: The Federalist Patriot) |
