REPUBLICANS - The Salt Lake Tribune

Utah GOP again rejects reforms to nomination process

Sat, 18 May 2013 23:44:28 MDT

Utah GOP again rejects reforms to nomination process

By Robert Gehrke The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated May 18, 2013 11:44PM MDT

The Utah Republican Party again rejected a series of reforms to the party’s nominating process in a move that could trigger a threatened ballot initiative to overhaul the system for picking candidates. Count My Vote, a group made up of several prominent Republicans, including former Gov. Mike Leavitt, argued the current system puts too much power in the hands of a small group of delegates, depresses turnout and leads to radicalization of Utah politics. The group had said if changes weren’t ...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Hatch calls for investigation of Obamacare funding

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:23:58 MDT

Hatch calls for investigation of Obamacare funding

By Matt Canham The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated May 17, 2013 01:23PM MDT

Washington • Congressional Republicans claim Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is trying to skirt federal law by fundraising for a nonprofit promoting the Affordable Care Act. They argue the move is a way to bypass the financial restrictions that Congress has imposed on the agency and they want the Government Accountability Office to investigate, according to a letter sent Thursday signed by five top Republicans, including Sen. Orrin Hatch, the ranking member of the Senate Fi...

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Hatch wants IRS probe to expand, include Freedom Path

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:33:45 MDT

Hatch wants IRS probe to expand, include Freedom Path

By Matt Canham The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated May 17, 2013 10:33AM MDT

Washington • A group of Senate Republicans led by Sen. Orrin Hatch called for a new investigation into the Internal Revenue Service on Thursday, focused on the improper release of information on nine conservative groups, including one that supported Hatch in his 2012 re-election campaign. In December, the IRS gave the website ProPublica the applications of 31 politically active groups with tax-exempt status, but nine of them had not been approved or denied. By law, the applications are confident...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

There they go again: House voting on ‘Obamacare’

Thu, 16 May 2013 11:57:02 MDT

There they go again: House voting on ‘Obamacare’

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR The Associated Press

Updated May 16, 2013 11:57AM MDT

WASHINGTON • There they go again: The House is debating another GOP bill to repeal President Barack Obama’s health care law. Republicans are making their 37th attempt in a little over two years to eliminate, defund or scale back the Affordable Care Act. The government is months away from the rollout of coverage for uninsured Americans., Democrats say it’s a big waste of time, since the Democratic-led Senate and the president will simply ignore the House vote, as they have most of the others. But...

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

A flood of scandal

Thu, 16 May 2013 08:03:52 MDT

A flood of scandal

Updated May 16, 2013 08:03AM MDT

Utah’s Rep. Jason Chaffetz is having the time of his life, throwing around words like “fired,” prosecuted” and “impeachment” as a disturbing flood of scandal flows from the Obama administration. As a member of the Loyal Opposition, and of the House Oversight Committee, he has a proper role in investigating matters such as alleged wrongdoing at the Internal Revenue Service and at the Justice Department. But if the American people are going to have any faith that Chaffetz and the rest of the Repu...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Washington Post: GOP’s new low of dysfunction

Tue, 14 May 2013 01:01:04 MDT

Washington Post: GOP’s new low of dysfunction

By The Washington Post

Updated May 14, 2013 01:01AM MDT

The following editorial appeared in Monday’s Washington Post: It’s no surprise that Senate Republicans grouse about Obama administration policies on enforcing civil rights laws or limiting greenhouse-gas emissions. They are entitled to their policy views. It’s a different matter for Republican leaders to manifest their views by blocking confirmation to Cabinet positions of the officials in charge of those policies. By doing so, on absurdly flimsy pretexts, Republicans not only impede the pres...

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Obama scoffs at Libya outcry, vows to act on IRS audits

Tue, 14 May 2013 00:48:03 MDT

Obama scoffs at Libya outcry, vows to act on IRS audits

By MICHAEL D. SHEAR and JONATHAN WEISMAN The News York Times

Updated May 14, 2013 12:48AM MDT

Washington • President Barack Obama, facing re-energized Republican adversaries and new questions about the administration’s conduct, on Monday dismissed a furor over the handling of last year’s attacks in Benghazi, Libya, as a political “sideshow” but joined a bipartisan chorus of outrage over disclosures that the Internal Revenue Service had singled out conservative groups for special scrutiny. Obama called the IRS reports “outrageous” and “contrary to our traditions,” adding his voice to tho...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Hunt: Obama’s budget cuts put onus on Ryan

Mon, 13 May 2013 11:36:02 MDT

Hunt: Obama’s budget cuts put onus on Ryan

By Albert R. Hunt Bloomberg View

Updated May 13, 2013 11:36AM MDT

WASHINGTON - When it comes to deficit reduction, President Barack Obama may have correctly taken the measure of Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles and U.S. corporate leaders; that’s a reason why any deficit deal is more remote than ever. Two and a half years ago, when the president refused to embrace the recommendations of his own deficit-reduction panel, he was criticized by the authors, Bowles, a former chief of staff to President Bill Clinton, and Simpson, a former Republican senator from Wyomin...

GOP ready to push Benghazi case into 2014, beyond

Sat, 11 May 2013 14:30:20 MDT

GOP ready to push Benghazi case into 2014, beyond

By CHARLES BABINGTON The Associated Press

Updated May 11, 2013 02:30PM MDT

Washington • Steady drips of information about a horrific night in Libya are fueling Republican arguments and ads designed to fire up the conservative base and undercut the Democrats’ early favorite for president in 2016. Strategists in both parties disagree on the issue’s power to influence elections next year and beyond. But after eight months of trying, Democrats are still struggling to move past the terrorist attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi last Sept. 11 that killed Ambass...

Rolly: Redistricting is bipartisan for a price

Mon, 13 May 2013 09:01:14 MDT

Rolly: Redistricting is bipartisan for a price

By Paul Rolly The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated May 13, 2013 09:01AM MDT

My column last week opined that the lawyers hired by the Legislature do the Republicans’ bidding because that’s who runs the show. My basis for that conclusion was the nearly $16,000 the Legislature’s Office of Research and General Counsel charged the Democratic Party for its GRAMA request of documents relating to the Legislature’s redistricting process compared to the little more than $2,000 charged for the Republicans’ request. That triggered protests from some readers who pointed out that th...

Benghazi witness: Obama aides misled public about attack

Wed, 08 May 2013 21:04:41 MDT

Benghazi witness: Obama aides misled public about attack

By Thomas Burr The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated May 8, 2013 09:04PM MDT

Washington • The top U.S. diplomat in Libya after the death of Ambassador Chris Stevens says there was no question the mission was under a terrorist attack and that military officials refused to send in a second team of soldiers to help diplomats in jeopardy. Gregory Hicks, the deputy chief of the U.S. mission to the country, also said he believes the administration of President Barack Obama misled Americans about the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks, a point Republicans have stressed and continue to pro...