I think Democrats are starting to get worried about Peter Cooke’s campaign.
How worried? One prominent Democrat who asked to not be named told me the campaign “rivals the (Bob) Springmeyer campaign for the worst in memory.” They add,” It’s a shame, because he’s a good candidate.”
You remember Bob Springmeyer, right? Nobody would blame you if you didn’t. As a refresher, he ran against Jon Huntsman for Governor in 2008 and got creamed with less than 20% of the vote. He and running mate Josie Valdez (who is running for State Senate in District 8 this year) were completely fricasseed across the state, including losing by a more than 2-1 margin in Salt Lake County, which is usually pretty favorable to Democrats.
I’m not saying that Peter Cooke and Vince Rampton are headed toward another 20% debacle, but the environment is against them. Consider these factors:
- Romney is on the ticket, which means it’s going to be a BIG Republican year in Utah, no matter what some Democrats say.
- They’re running against a relatively popular incumbent (Gary Herbert).
- Their big attacks (UDOT, DABC) have largely fizzled out.
Cooke and Rampton need to make the case why Utahns should replace Herbert with them. They haven’t done that, and haven’t really started yet.
That’s not to say they don’t have a chance. There are openings for Cooke to attack Herbert (HB 477 anyone?), but time is ticking. As of today, there are 84 days until Election Day. Not a lot of time left.
I think the battle over the redistricting documents is a fantastic issue for Democrats, but they need to get on the same page.
Legislative Republicans are in a no-win situation here. As long as they refuse to turn over redistricting documents (they want $14,000 from Democrats on top of the $5,000 they already paid), it’s a bludgeon that can be used against them. It doesn’t matter what’s in the documents. As long as they remain a secret, it looks like Republicans have something to hide. If people think you’re hiding something, they don’t like it.
However, there is something to be said about presenting a united front. According to the Tribune, House Minority Leader Rep. David Litvack says he thinks Democrats (his own party) were charged a fair price for access to the documents.
It’s a classic “house divided cannot stand” situation. Having one within your own party undercut your argument is a killer. Democrats can try to make political hay all they want, but if (arguably) the most powerful member of your party on the Hill says it’s not an issue, you lose.
I think the timing of the Paul Ryan VP announcement was really, really strange.
Stan Collender of Capital Gains and Games has 4 reasons why the timing was really messed up.
1. A Friday night leak of the choice, the precise moment when it was likely to get the least amount of attention?
2. A Saturday morning event to show Ryan and Romney together for the first time, almost the precise moment when the fewest number of people would be watching?
3. A Saturday morning event that had to compete with the next to last day of the Olympics and when big, gold metal events were being telecast?
4. Two weeks before the convention? Doesn't this make the convention even more of a nonevent than it would have been if that was Ryan's first appearance with Romney?
Here's one more...the leak came at 10:24 Mountain time on a Friday night. That's after midnight Eastern. Sure the networks broke in to cover the announcement, but who was watching?
I would have scheduled the announcement for a Monday morning, then clamped down on leaks. That would have assured EVERYBODY would have been talking about the forthcoming announcement all weekend long. The excitement would have carried over to Monday. Imagine the number of people tuning in to see the big reveal.
Sigh. Lost opportunities.
I think I really like the moderators for this year’s presidential and vice-presidential debates.
PBS’s Jim Leher, CNN’s Candy Crowley, CBS’s Bob Schieffer for the presidential debates and ABC’s Martha Raddatz for the vice-presidential debates is a formidable lineup.
Everyone is focusing on the fact that two women are involved (Crowley and Raddatz). That’s notable, for sure. But all four have the chops to take on the men who want to occupy the White House after November.
I think San Diego State football coach Rocky Long is on to something.
Long tells the San Diego Union Tribune he's considering going for it instead of punting or kicking a field goal on fourth down every time he’s on the other side of the opponent’s 50 yard line.
It’s not as insane as it sounds. An Arkansas high school coach won a state championship by never punting or kicking field goals.
There’s a lesson here. Fortune favors the bold, and playing to win instead of taking the conventional route can pay big dividends.
There’s also a tremendous risk. If it doesn’t work, he could lose his job.
I like it!
Jordan Soccer Report: The JV lady Beetdiggers beat Riverton 2-0 after the varsity fell 5-2. My daughter, Kari, played the entire second half, turning away a number of shots and making a spectacular play punching a corner kick out of the box while taking an opponent's head to her stomach. Next up is Hillcrest on Thursday.
Fun Fact: Jordan High School is not the only "Beetdiggers" in the US. The other is Brush High School in northeastern Colorado, where I graduated from in 1987. How serendipitous that two generations of the Schott family are both Beetdiggers, albeit from different states.
Parting thought: “We in America do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate.” ~ Thomas Jefferson
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