Chaffetz questions Obama, Obama side-steps

Tips for Media Relations

In today’s majority caucus meeting – an open meeting, btw – a couple of young women handed out a few tips and hints on how legislators should deal with the media.  As you might imagine, it contains these helpful hints:

*Nothing is ever “off the record“.  Refrain from saying anything to the press you would not like to see on television or in print.

*Don’t argue.  In fact, they remind the legislators of the old saying “Never argue with someone who buys paper by the truckload and ink by the barrel”

*Refrain from making jokes

*Make yourself available to the press

*Don’t use jargon

I’d add another one – don’t pass out media relations tips with media in the room.  One of my fellow bloggers marked up the handout and came up with the following:

*There is no such thing as “off the record“.  Refrain from saying things to a blogger you don’t want to see online.

*Be as vitriolic as possible.  Remember, bloggers don’t need to buy paper or ink and argumentative legislators make for good headlines.

*Use lots of jargon like LOL, J/K, ROFLOL, BTW, etc

*Joke with the bloggers.  Especially use sarcasm, since tone of voice and intent is easily conveyed via the Internet.

*Don’t worry about your quotes or mis-quotes taking a long time to hit the blogosphere – bloggers don’t use editors and don’t have artificial deadlines.  They can have something up in a matter of minutes.

*Always talk to bloggers first – they are the REAL news source.

*Remember, BLOGGERS RULE!

*Oh wait – here’s the best one - just ignore the bloggers or try really work hard to tick them off.  That’s a great plan for ya.

On a serious note, some legislators are welcoming bloggers and are doing a good job reaching out.  Most still haven’t caught the vision.

State of the State

Gary Herbert addressed House and Senate members at his first state of the state address last night.  As expected, the economy received top billing.

He talked about “unprecedented partnerships” between the public and private sectors on public lands, resource use and conservation.  He urged lawmakers to make education a top priority and to hold them harmless when it comes to budget cuts.

He said:

Utah has long been committed to funding our public schools, our colleges and universities, and our technical institutions. In fact, few states in the country spend as much of their overall budgets on education as we do. Our unique demographics – which is a way of saying we have larger families – mean we must continue to increase funding to maintain and enhance the solid education and training our students receive.

In spite of our difficult budget situation, I call upon you, our great legislators, to maintain our current level of commitment to education!

He also said: “A key area of emphasis for my administration is growing business from within” and announced the “Utah Energy Initiative.”

“I am assembling the best minds in the state”, he said, “and charging them with creating a 10-year strategic energy plan.” The initiative would “ensure Utah’s continued access to our own clean and low-cost energy resources; to be on the cutting edge of new energy technologies; and foster economic opportunities and create more jobs.”

And to the Trib reporter who offered drinks every time he said “unprecedented partnerships:, I counted five, plus one “unprecendented challenges” and one “unprecedented ways”.

Tempest in a teacup

Apparently that expression is not widely known.  I just wanted to clarify what it means.  It’s a small event that has been exaggerated out of proportion, like the saying “making a mountain out of a molehill”.  So, while there was a lot of hype surrounding Rep Wimmer’s bill before it hit committee, in the end, it was pretty non-controversial.

Wimmer’s Abortion Bill

After a lot of hoopla occurring before the bill was presented(including the ACLU sending out a call to action assuring folks the bill would be used to prosecute women who had miscarriages or women who used midwives), HB 12 passed out of committee unanimously.  HB 12 allows for the criminal prosecution of  a mother who is attempting to kill her baby in any manner other than a legal abortion.

Representative Wimmer assured the committee that unless the mother is deliberately taking action to cause the death of her fetus, she will be exempt from prosecution.  Rep. Riesen asked if she forgot to take her prenatal vitamins and her baby died, could she be prosecuted.  Again, no.  (And can I just say? I know of NO case where a pregnancy was lost simply because a mom did not take prenatal vitamins.)

One simple amendment clarified that the ACLU’s claims were simply straw man arguments.  This midwife had no problem with the bill.  Planned Parenthood had no problem with the bill and the 2 Democrats had no problem with the bill (or not enough of one to vote against it).

So, one of the so-called controversial bills turned out to be nothing more than a tempest in a teacup and moves to the House floor.

Opening Day

Each year, the legislative session opens with pomp and ceremony.  This year was no exception.  In the House, Elder M Russell Ballard of the LDS church offered the opening prayer and asked for “A rich outpouring of wisdom beyond their normal capacities.”

In the Senate, Elder Neil L. Andersen, prayed that the senators be “humble and thoughtful, considerate and civil” so that they might understand and listen to one another.

Speaker Clark spoke on the difficult economic situation we face in this state, saying that our children and grand-children would talk about the “Great Recession of 2009″.  He also choked up as he praised the his wife for being his rock all these years.

At noon over in the West Building was the first rally of the session.  This one was sponsored by “Utah Rising”, a pro-states’ rights group.  Members of the Patrick Henry caucus were there to address the cheering crowd.  Rep Carl Wimmer spoke about pending legislation – 10 bills and 7 resolutions to strengthen state sovereignty.  One bill would allow Utah to opt-out of any federal health care bill, another is a lands-use bill, one strengthens some portions of Utah’s abortion bill and there will be yet another states’ rights resolution.

The afternoon was spent on housekeeping (read: boring) stuff.  Stay tuned for Day 2.

Philpot Poised to Catch the Wave

There is a wave sweeping the country.  It started in New Jersey and Virginia, with newly-elected Republican governors.  It really picked up speed Tuesday night when Scott Brown swept into office in Massachusetts.  It will continue to gain momentum as DC does things like move to increase the debt ceiling almost $2 trillion or try to figure out a way to force healthcare onto the American people (complete with back-room deals for the unions – and Nebraska).

Former state representative and GOP vice-chair (for one more day), Morgan Philpot  believes he is poised to catch that wave in a race for Utah’s second Congressional district.  “People are tired of ‘politics as usual’,” he said, “and they want a change.  They are ready for someone to stand on principle and not be back there voting for Nancy Pelosi.”

Speaking of Scott Brown’s campaign, Philpot paid tribute to the “amazing grassroots effort,” of Brown’s team and added that Brown demonstrated that “working hard and using non-traditional tools can beat the ‘power of the machine’.”  As a candidate who began testing the waters before Scott Brown mania hit, Philpot has already pulled together a volunteer team numbering in the hundreds and expects the momentum to continue right on to November.

National sources are beginning to speculate that Representative Jim Matheson (D-UT) may be looking at retirement. Stuart Rothenberg of “Roll Call” points out that Scott Brown’s ”unthinkable” Senate victory in Massachusetts “could have significant ramifications.” He speculates it could produce a flurry of Democratic retirements. After all, if Democrats couldn’t hold Kennedy’s seat rather easily with the state attorney general, how are they going to remain competitive in districts that trend red?.  GOP strategists are already compiling a list of possible retirees since Brown won, including Rep Jim Matheson (Utah) and Sen. Blanche Lincoln (Ark.).

To paraphrase Senator Brown, if the Democrats are in trouble in Massachusetts, they are in trouble everywhere. Maybe the “safe seat” isn’t so safe after all.

Welcome to Hell

Just in case you didn’t hear, Republican Scott Brown won a Senate seat in the bluest of blue states – Massachusetts – in a victory that even today some pundits predicted would go to Coakley. He ran an incredible grassroots campaign – on the ground, in his now-famous truck and via social media. In the end, over 70% of independent voters chose him as he picked up 120,000 more votes than his Democrat opponent.  He has pledged to be the 41st vote against Obamacare.

Less than a week ago Martha Coakley – still leading by double-digits – went to DC for a fundraiser. Rep Ed Markey (D-MASS) commented that it would not be a good year for Democrats if Scott Brown won. Coakely then tweeted: “If we lose Tuesday 2010 WILL be hell for Democrats”.  Well then, welcome to hell.   Or as the  rest of us would say – the dawning of a new day in America.

Coakley is already being thrown under the bus and blamed for the loss because of ineffective campaigning. While it is true that her elitist attitude, assumption of entitlement and recent disappearing act didn’t help, the fervor sweeping the country should not be taken lightly. (Although as a conservative working on Republican campaigns, it wouldn’t hurt my feelings if the Democrats stayed asleep oh, til Halloween or so.)  Coakley’s pollster fired back at critics saying: “There’s a wave here. The first shore was New Jersey and Virginia,” referring to Democratic losses in the governors races there, “the second was Massachusetts and it’s coming to the island now.”

Kudos to Scott Brown and his incredible grass-roots army.  Looking forward to seeing that repeated across the country and right here in Utah.  Bring on 2010.

10 Point Lead for Brown!

Holy cow. New polling from Massachusetts shows a widening gap between Republican Scott Brown and Democrat Martha Coakley. In a new poll conducted by Merriman River Group (no, not Rasmussen), only 6% of the voters remain undecided. Supporters of both Brown and Coakley say that they are definitely or probably going to vote for their candidate, while the 1.8% of the voters who support Libertarian Party candidate Joe Kennedy are squishy in that support. My guess is they won’t be voting for Coakley if they abandon Kennedy, someone running further right than Brown.

Some interesting tidbits from the polling:
*The abortion question is a non-issue. Very few supporters of either candidate list that as their top priority – just 8% and 5%.
*The endorsement of Ted Kennedy’s family had a NEGATIVE impact on Coakley. 55% don’t care, but 27% say it makes them less likely to vote for her. Of the undecided voters, more than 2/3 say the Kennedy endorsement hurts.
*Coakley is only pulling in half the women voters. Brown’s lead among moderates, independents and men is about 2 to 1 and he leads among all age groups.

Meanwhile, according to CNN, the White House has started to predict a loss for Coakley.

Obama decided to show up at the last minute to rally the troops. I wonder if the results will be the same as with the Kennedy endorsement. Coakley entered the special election, which is on Tuesday, with a huge advantage: Registered Democrats in Massachusetts outnumber Republicans three-to-one, and the GOP hasn’t won a US Senate seat there since 1972. But Brown has apparently tapped into a discontented electorate and appears to be making headway with the unpredictable independents who make up the majority of the voters. The Boston Globe said this:

[Coakley] strolled into the general election with high name recognition, strong favorability ratings, and as the Democratic candidate in a state that hasn’t elected a Republican to the Senate since 1972. It looked as if it would be impossible to lose.

So what did she do? Apparently, she’s tried to accomplish the impossible.

Literally, she all but vanished. She refused to debate on TV unless it was exactly on her terms. She went days without venturing out in public. When she did appear, it was typically to accept endorsements from elected officials or union heads in front of supportive crowds. She may have gone the first month of the campaign without ever meeting an honest-to-goodness rank-and-file undecided resident.

The author concludes with this:

Prominent Democrats in Boston are privately seething at the candidate and her campaign. First and foremost, they see the immediate impact defeat could have on the health care overhaul. Beyond that, they fret about the seismic impact a Republican victory in Massachusetts would have on Obama’s national standing. And they are nearly despondent about what a defeat would mean to Ted Kennedy’s legacy and memory.

We’re at an amazing point right now in which nobody knows what will happen Tuesday. And it’s not because of anything Coakley did, but because of everything she didn’t.

I for one can’t wait for the polls to close on Tuesday and hear that a Republican has won the people’s seat – a seat the Democrats thought was invulnerable. I can’t help but think Dems across the country who think they are in “safe” seats will wake up scared on Wednesday morning. Then again, they’ll probably just blame it on Coakley being a bad candidate and figure they’re still safe ’cause after all, Nancy Pelosi told them just this week that GOP claims of momentum are only hype and hyperbole.

Killpack Resigns

Another blogger quoted me today on Voice of Deseret and said this:

Blogger Holly Richardson must have borrowed the Urim and Thummin from Temple Square before making her prediction; she forecast that Senator Sheldon Killpack would resign from the Utah State Senate altogether as a result of his DUI arrest on January 15th, 2010. In this post, she wrote …”if I were a betting woman, I would bet that he will step down all together so that he can focus on getting the help he needs”.

And I’ll be damned if he hasn’t gone and done exactly that.

Indeed he has. In a message released to the public Senator Killpack said the following:

I spent the evening considering my options and discussing them with my wife, family and trusted friends. My heart weighs heavy. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the legislative process, my legislative colleagues and for my constituents. At this time the Legislature would be a distraction from what is most important and, frankly, I find that I have become a distraction to the Legislature. In light of that I have decided to tender my resignation as Majority Leader and as a Utah State Senator, effective immediately.

I am sincerely grateful and touched for the outpouring of support and love expressed to my family by so many of my constituents and friends. Thank you.

I’m not actually clairvoyant – I just knew Sheldon Killpack to be a man of integrity and knew what the best choice would be. It proves he is a man of high caliber to admit he made a mistake and immediately take steps to rectify the situation, rather than insist he was somehow above the law, or deserved “special” treatment. Hopefully it will all be looking up from here for the Killpack family.