Washington Watch

The Hatch Report

Sen. Orrin Hatch joins "leading members of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees to introduce bipartisan, bicameral patent reform legislation" (see press release); Hatch hails yesterday's Supreme Court ruling that the Partial Birth Abortion Act passed by Congress in 2003 is constitutional (press release); Hatch introduces "legislation that would place Utah's smaller meat-packing plants on a level playing field with national and foreign meat producers. The New Markets for State-Inspected Meat and Poultry Act of 2007 would overturn an archaic provision in the law which prevents interstate shipment of state-inspected meat" (press release); Hatch speaks "out against Congressional efforts to curb choice and access in the new Medicare prescription drug benefit. Hatch considers the drug price negotiation bill, S. 3, Medicare Fair Prescription Drug Price Act of 2007, a Trojan horse with a Medicare formulary hidden inside" (press release); Hatch outlines his support for reducing Americans' tax burden in speech on the Senate floor (press release).

Bennett: McConnell's 'Consigliere'

Article: "Two Republican senators pride themselves on being 'First Amendment hawks,' a Capitol Hill newspaper reports. 'Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah) -- Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) most trusted and valued ally in the Senate -- traces their relationship back to, of all things, his first vote on a flag-burning amendment,' John Stanton writes in Wednesday's Roll Call. ... Bennett tells Roll Call, 'McConnell, who had voted for it previously, said to me, "I knew when I walked off the floor that was the wrong vote, and I'm not going to do that again." Well that was kind of a bond because it turned out we were the only two conservative Republicans who voted against the flag amendment.' 'Their relationship quickly grew, and Bennett became one of McConnell's chief lieutenants in his fight against campaign reform, earning him the unofficial title of McConnell's "consigliere,"' Stanton reports" (The Raw Story) (see also the referenced Roll Call article -- subscription required).

Cannon Hails Abortion Decision

Rep. Chris Cannon says of yesterday's Supreme Court decision upholding the 2003 ban on partial birth abortion: "[T]he Supreme Court concluded it is appropriate to ban a practice that shocks the conscience. The Court acknowledged that this procedure is never medically necessary and there are safe alternatives. In upholding the ban, the Court recognized the inherent rights of the unborn."

New Book on Economy

In his weekly Tea Leaf economic update, Utah economist Jeff Thredgold features information about his new book, econAmerica: Why the American Economy is alive and Well . . . And What that Means to Your Wallet.

National Politics

Best Stories From . . .

-- Slate: Columnist Jacob Weisberg explains why "American conservatives continue to win" on social and cultural issues like abortion and gun rights even though they "represent a minority position" on those issues.

-- The Progressive: Columnist Ruth Conniff discusses Sen. Barack Obama's Bobby Kennedy-esque message about the need to combat the glorification of violence in American culture.  

-- Newsweek: Columnist Howard Fineman says: "I don't know what I was thinking. It seemed to me that the gruesome tragedy at Virginia Tech might prompt a new wave of legislation -- not just talk but legislation -- to limit the sale of handguns in America. But a few calls and e-mails to people who know the politics of the issue led to a different conclusion: forget about it. Whatever the rest of the world thinks, whatever Rosie O'Donnell thinks, whatever big city mayors, present and former, think -- it remains unlikely that the murder of 32 innocents in Blacksburg will alter the basic guns-for-all equation of American life."

-- Wall Street Journal: Editorial argues that "there is no connection between recent mass murder events [like the shooting rampage at Virginia Tech] and gun restrictions. As Quebec economist Pierre Lemieux noted [Tuesday], 'Mass killings were rare when guns were easily available, while they have been increasing as guns have become more controlled.' The 1996 murders in the Scottish town of Dunblane -- 17 killed -- occurred despite far more restrictive gun laws than America's. ... Any gun control crusade is doomed to fail anyway in a country like the U.S. with some 200 million weapons already in private hands. While New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg seems ready to stump for gun restrictions, we doubt many Democrats will join him. They did so after Columbine in 1999, only to lose the 2000 election in part because of the cultural backlash in America's rural and hunting counties. We'll concede that this political reality has changed only when New York Senators Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton decide once again to pick up the gun control cause."

Today in Political History

April 19, 1775:  "The shot heard round the world" was fired this day as the first battle of the Revolutionary War was fought. This day is celebrated as "Patriots Day" in some parts of New England.

April 19, 1993:  Federal agents burn David Koresh's conclave, near Waco, Texas, to the ground killing approximately 80 men, women and children (Source:  perspicuity) 

April 19, 1995: A truck bomb explodes outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people and injuring 500. [Timothy McVeigh was later convicted of federal murder charges and executed.] (Source: New York Times)

Wise Words

“Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.”

 --Sir Winston Churchill

Political Trivia

On Saturday, April 14, the Democrats of Southern Utah met in St George.

Question:  How many democrats were in attendance?

Answer:  About 50.  "The energy we see down here is exciting. St. George is magic to me. This is, by far, the biggest convention turnout we've seen," said Utah Democratic Party Chairman Wayne Holland. (Source:  Deseret Morning News) 

Lighter Side

Best of Late Night Humor

(Source: Patriot Post)

Conan O’Brien: “Somehow, even though he’s been fired and you’d think it would all be over, the Imus story continues. This is the latest: Hillary Clinton announced that she will now meet with the Rutgers women’s basketball team. In a related story, Bill Clinton announced he’s going to meet with the Rutgers women’s swimming, volleyball, and gymnastics teams.”

David Letterman: “Top Ways to Make Tax Time More Fun”: Everything that goes to the IRS, I lick; Every time I write the number 8, I draw a hat on top to make it look like a snowman; I try to deduct items that don’t exist, like a jimrod—they’ll be trying to figure that one out for years; With each tax return, include some of your favorite “Yo accountant’s so fat” jokes; I don’t think it would be possible to make tax time more fun; Awww crap! It’s tax time?

Jay Leno: Don Imus has been fired from MSNBC. I don’t know what he’s going to do now, but I think he can rule out coaching basketball. ... Presidential candidate John Edwards said, regarding the Imus scandal, he believes in forgiveness. Imus called Edwards to thank him and asked if he knew of any radio jobs in that “other America” he’s always talking about. ... Hillary Clinton has announced she’s going to meet with Rutgers women’s basketball team. Haven’t these women suffered enough? ... Presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani [got] some flack for not knowing the price of a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread. But he does know what a wedding cake costs because he’s bought three of those. ... Here’s some very exciting news, especially for comedians: John Kerry says he has “not ruled out running for president again.” The voters have, but he hasn’t.