Category Archives: Breaking

Yep. Matheson is toast.

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The Salt Lake Tribune just released the poll Robert Gehrke has been teasing all evening. It’s a 12-point lead for Love with 52% to Matheson’s 40%. Undecideds only make up 6% of the vote.

Done by independent firm, Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, the poll found that “the coalition of Democrats, independents, moderate Republicans and women that Matheson has united in past elections is failing to coalesce this time around, with just 9 percent of Republicans crossing over to support him.”

Not only has Matheson relied on GOP cross-over votes, he has also relied heavily on the female vote. Look at his ads (before he went blisteringly negative) – “here’s my Mom,” “oh, look, we can our own food,” and so on. However, the Mason-Dixon poll shows that “Matheson is trailing badly among women, who favor Love — Matheson’s first female challenger — by a 54 percent to 38 percent margin, according to the Tribune poll. Matheson has routinely won by double digits among women voters.”

Matheson says it’s a call to action for his team (to polish their resumes), while Love says she feels encouraged by the momentum. Both campaigns will be on the ground working for the last 4 days, but a 12-point gap is awfully hard to close in less than 100 hours……..(understatement)

Sabato’s Crystal Ball Moves UT-4 to Lean R

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Brand-new reports from Larry Sabato moves the 4th Congressional from toss-up to “Leans R”.

From today’s newsletter:

Meanwhile, national Republicans have to feel good about the prospects of Mia Love, who is challenging Rep. Jim Matheson (D) in dark Red Utah. Matheson had a lead in this race, but an independent Deseret News/KSL survey now shows Love up six. This race was always going to be an uphill climb for Matheson, who despite retaining personal popularity, is running in a district that not only will likely give close to three-fourths of its votes to Mitt Romney, but that also is two-thirds new to him after redistricting. Matheson might yet stage a rally, but he’s an underdog now: UT-4 now leans Republican, and if Love wins, it’s likely that the first black, female Republican elected to the U.S. House will become one of the more prominent members of a lower chamber mostly filled with nationally anonymous faces.

Sabato's Crystal Ball Moves UT-4 to Lean R

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Brand-new reports from Larry Sabato moves the 4th Congressional from toss-up to “Leans R”.

From today’s newsletter:

Meanwhile, national Republicans have to feel good about the prospects of Mia Love, who is challenging Rep. Jim Matheson (D) in dark Red Utah. Matheson had a lead in this race, but an independent Deseret News/KSL survey now shows Love up six. This race was always going to be an uphill climb for Matheson, who despite retaining personal popularity, is running in a district that not only will likely give close to three-fourths of its votes to Mitt Romney, but that also is two-thirds new to him after redistricting. Matheson might yet stage a rally, but he’s an underdog now: UT-4 now leans Republican, and if Love wins, it’s likely that the first black, female Republican elected to the U.S. House will become one of the more prominent members of a lower chamber mostly filled with nationally anonymous faces.

Mia Love on top in polls!

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For the first time in his political career, Jim Matheson is behind in the polls by double-digits. A poll conducted by Public Opinion Strategies has Republican Mia Love 15 points ahead of Matheson, now leading 51% to 36%. That is a commanding margin and a reversal of the latest polls taken right before the RNC convention, witch had Matheson at 51% and Love at 35%.

It really should not be a surprise, however. Mia’s rockstar performance at the RNC, the national backing she has gotten both financially and in endorsements, and who can forget – she has the backing of presidential nominee Mitt Romney. (In case Jim has forgotten, Mitt is pretty darn popular in Utah.)

You really could have called this one without a poll, however. You need look no further than the desperation of Jim Matheson and negativity of his latest attacks on Mayor Love. Campaign advisor Ivan Dubois noted: “Unfortunately Matheson is playing the same old Washington games, letting his allies launch negative personal attacks and then claim he doesn’t care. With Jim Matheson’s support withering away, it’s really no wonder his campaign and Washington allies have become increasingly petty and desperate.”

Sadly, Matheson’s attacks will likely only intensify in the next 43 days as he desperately tries to cling to a seat he thinks is his by birthright.

National Weather Service orders 46K hollow-point bullets

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Back in March, the Department of Homeland Security purchased 450 million rounds of .40-caliber hollow point bullets – bullets that are designed to expand upon entry and cause maximum organ damage. Not to be outdone, the National Weather Service has now ordered 46,000 rounds of the same type of bullet.

Business Insider notes that hollow point bullets have been “illegal in international warfare since 1899.”

According to Inforwars, the request asks for:

 16,000 rounds of .40 S&W jacketed hollow point (JHP) bullets, noted for their strength, to be delivered to locations in Ellsworth, Maine, and New Bedford, Mass.

A further 6,000 rounds of S&W JHP will be sent to Wall, New Jersey, with another 24,000 rounds of the same bullets heading to the weather station in St. Petersburg, Florida.

The solicitation also asks for 500 paper targets to be delivered to the same locations in Maine, Massachusetts and New Jersey.

The National Weather Service is is one of six scientific agencies that make up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The solicitation requires a response by August 21.

Additionally, DHS updated their order to include 357 mag rounds that are able to penetrate walls. Combine that with beefed up requests for riot gear and bullet-proof checkpoint booths and one starts to wonder what they know that we should know.

Requests for additional information from the bullet purchasing agent were ignored. If anyone else wants to try their luck, her name is Naomi Abaniel. Phone: 562.980.4053 Email: naomi.abaniel@noaa.gov

Update: According to Business Insider, the actual entity requesting the bullets is not the Weather Service but the Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement. I feel so relieved.

Greg Peterson charged on 25 counts

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Today, a Utah man was charged with 23 felonies and 2 misdemeanors, including rape, burglary and kidnapping. As news of his arrest has made the rounds, some headlines call him a GOP fundraiser, an insider, “powerful” and “connected”. In reality, he was none of those things. He was a wanna-be, a bully and one of the most unpleasant, narcissistic people I’ve ever met. (And I’ve met a few…) The “fundraisers” he held at a cabin near Heber never benefited a single candidate. In fact, a search of FEC records shows he has not made a single political donation in 5 years. His lone donation in 2007 was to Mitt Romney – also, not a result of “fundraising” but an individual contribution of $2300. But that’s not really the point (although a little fact-checking would have been nice.) The truth is he could have been a high-profile politico in any party or he could have been politically agnostic – I’m not sure it would matter. Rape is wrong. Kidnapping is wrong. Burglary is wrong. Period.

The crux of the story – and what really does matter – is that there are women in who allegedly suffered at his hands. It matters that there are multiple victims who have come forward – and that’s a scary thing to do. You see, in our society, we still blame the victims far too often, especially when they are women. It matters that some have tried to turn this into a political story. It’s not. It’s a crime story. The allegations, if proven true, have undoubtedly affected his victims in potentially long-lasting, even permanent ways. My heart aches for them. I am also profoundly relieved that my daughter was not one of those victims. A good 15 years older than my young adult daughter, he tried to get her to go out with him almost a year ago. Thankfully, she said no.

There are unsavory characters from all walks of life and all political parties. While I don’t agree very often with Eric Ethington’s public policy positions, I do agree with this portion of his blog post today: “How about we all just agree that the only human thing to do here is to express our absolute sorrow for these women and their families, recognize that this has nothing to do with any candidate, campaign or party, and perhaps see what we can do for the victims.” (emphasis added)

May the justice system move quickly and may the victims find the healing and support they need.

Tragedy in Norway

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In the “worst atrocity” Norway has seen since World War II, over 90 people were killed in acts of violence on Friday. An explosion rocked Oslo, killing 7 people and injuring scores more. While emergency personnel were busy searching for survivors, a gunman dressed as a police officer opened fire on participants at a youth camp. So far, the death toll at the camp is 85 and could climb higher.

A suspect is in custody – 32 year-old Anders Behring Breivik, owner of an organic farming company. Earlier this year, he purchased six tons of fertilizer from a Norwegian agricultural co-op. An employee of the company called police after the downtown explosion, knowing that the material could be used in bomb-making.

Early reports are that the attack may have been politically motivated and it is thought that Breivik might be a right-wing Christian fundamentalist. He currently faces charges of terrorism, which carry a maximum sentence of 21 years in prison. He was arrested without incident and has made it clear he wants to “explain himself.”

CNN, Fox, BBC, MSNBC, Reuters