Salt Lake Crawler

Utah Democratic lawmaker Scott McCoy proved this week that musing with "friends" on Facebook can be an effective way to launch a trial balloon.

The state senator, who represents Salt Lake City's Avenues area, like many Democrats, is upset with U.S. Congressman Jim Matheson's seeming defection from his party over healthcare reform. McCoy posted on Facebook:

"So is it time for me to form an exploratory 'McCoy for Congress' committee given Jim Matheson's vote against the healthcare reform bill?"

McCoy knows full well that his Facebook readers include a dozens of political activists and journalists whom he has "friended." It wasn't long before an Associated Press story moved across the wires:

A Democratic state lawmaker said Monday he may run against U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson because of his vote against health care legislation.

I got the AP story out of the San Francisco Examiner it was also picked up by the Deseret News and McCoy's Facebook musings made it into The Salt Lake Tribune. It wasn't long before McCoy—basking in Facebook support and adoration—posted this:

Everyone, thanks for all the support and positive feedback re: Congress but honestly I'm not the right guy for CD2. I'm not going to challenge Jim.

Except for the fact that McCoy stands zero chance — even in the Second District — of being elected Utah's first openly gay congressman, it was an exciting moment in social networking.

Bob Bennett says he isn't concerned about the right-wing tea-party blowhards who are opposing his re-election to the Senate. Bennett, says—and he has been right in past years—that politics be local and his constituents really like him and his style.

A Brigham Young University exit poll on election day found that Provo residents give Bob a 55 percent approval rating — Republicans like him by 61 percent. The only competitor even close was Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff with 40 percent voter support. Shurtleff has dropped out of the race, but says he may still help in unseating Bennett. But a FoxNews-Utah Policy "insider" poll found Bennett vulnerable.

The most furious attack from the right came from the conservative Club for Growth that targeted Bennett for supporting a bipartisan health reform bill. The club sent letters to potential GOP delegates, blasting Bob. Bennett was forced to dip into his Annapurna-sized heap of campaign cash to poll to find out if the attack hurt him.

"As nearly as I can tell, The Club for Growth has had no impact in Utah. They wasted their money and they caused us to waste a little money to find that out."

When it comes time for re-election, Utah politicians walk a fine line representing an often irrational conservative constituency. But for every tea bagger who wants to dump Republican Sen. Bob Bennett, there's a leftie who wants Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson's head on a stick.

Matheson has always been a closet Democrat, refusing to display the Scarlet D in his ads or literature. But momentum is gathering, on the Web at least, to confront Matheson with a primary opponent at the Democratic Convention. Jim pushed many of his staunchest supporters over the edge when he opposed the Democratic health-care reform bill, going as far as offering his own amendments — then joining Republicans to vote against it. According to the blog Democracy for Utah:

Matheson's amendments were virtual copies of elements of the Senate Healthcare reform bill, and as such were a transparent maneuver to look like he was actually doing something besides following the interests of IHC, who has donated handsomely to the campaign to get their boy Jim re-elected next year. . . .

Anyone want to join me in a Dump Matheson movement?

Judi Hilman, of the Utah Health Policy Project, has unsuccessfully pressured Matheson for months to stand with Democratic colleagues

"For Utah to not have a t least one voice in this historic moment is not acceptable, and he is that voice."

OneUtah says that despite the risk of losing the Second District seat to a Republican, it could be time for another Democrat to challenge Matheson:

A secondary risk is the Lieberman scenario – Matheson loses the primary and runs as an independent and wins, which frees him from the necessity of even his current minimal level of party loyalty. He becomes another Lieberman – working with Dems just enough to keep committee assignments but stabbing the party in the back on a regular basis just because he can.

That said, I’m not convinced a primary challenge to Matheson is actually a terrible idea.  ... even if we could pull Matheson closer to the political center from his current center right stance, it would be a success.

Mormon Times columnist Joel Campbell chastises the news media for not calling gay activists to task for evoking the tragedy of handcart companies to publicize their delivery of a petition to LDS HQ last week.

The press fell over itself, he says, to feed a recent controversy triggered when LDS Elder Dallin Oaks compared the backlash against supporters of Prop 8 to the intimidation tactics bigots used against Civil Rights activists.

Campbell argues that to Mormons using an iconic handcart for political theater is highly offensive, but the media neglected to follow up that angle of the story.

Unfortunately for the LDS Church that has also endured gay "kiss-ins" on sacred ground, it may get worse. Andrew Sullivan at Atlantic Monthly warns it's "no more Mr. Nice Gays" after the defeat of gay marriage in Maine.

What you missed when you checked out this weekend . . .

Can you apologize in a time capsule? — A group of scientists say U.S. nuclear regulators should say they are sorry to Utah and generations over the horizon of time for approving the dumping of radioactive waste in shallow pits in the West Desert. It seems the pits will be under water a few hundred years out of every millennium making a mess out of what will still be Orrin Hatch's senate district.

Between a rock and the grassroots — The Utah Legislature is getting backed into a corner on ethics reform. Though a highly ignorable governor's commission is recommending civilized standards of behavior for lawmakers, what is scaring the bejabbers out of them is a citizens initiative effort that is relentless moving forward despite nearly total resistance by the Republican-controlled Legislature.

Gay rights fatigue — A new poll finds that while a slight majority of California voters supports the right of gays to marry— a much larger majority of voters opposes efforts to put the issue back on the ballot next year.

Shame on Orrin — The conservative National Review wags a finger at Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch for including faith healing in the Senate's health-care bill— not because it blurs separation of church and state, but because it's a waste of taxpayer dollars.

Mitt, Nancy & Harry — When he speaks to Republicans in Jacksonville, Fla., this week, Mitt Romney, would-be GOP presidential candidate, may face a tea party thrown by conservatives who remember he is the commissar who instituted socialism in Massachusetts under the guise of healthcare. A Jacksonville, Fla., activist calls Mitt's major achievement as Massachusetts governor the "Nancy & Harry Health Care Plan for America", after demonic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Some closure in Texas — Polygamist Sect Member Raymond Jessop, convicted of sexually assaulting a child, us up for sentencing today. He could face 20 years in prison. He still faces bigamy charges on allegations he has eight wives.

Low lifes — Federal wildlife officials are removing Utah's fat whorled pondsnail from the endangered species list. Surprisingly, Democrats have never been on the Utah list.