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— Young, tolerant and surprising : Some lessons in practical conservatism from the desert West — The Economist

In order to get away with saying this:

" ... In several aspects of policy, Utah is quietly forging a model of constructive Republicanism. ..."

And this:

" ... Utah is different, argues Spencer Cox, the state's young lieutenant-governor. 'Our brand of conservatism is…very practical,' he says. ..."

The anonymous journalist for the London-based magazine also had to say:

" ... Utah's liberalism should not be overstated. This year the state passed a law reintroducing the firing squad for murderers. It has not yet accepted Obamacare's expansion of Medicaid, the federal-state health programme for the hard-up, though it may do soon. ..."

Soon?

— The Obamacare That Got Away — George Pyle | The Salt Lake Tribune

" ... The Affordable Care Act turned five years old last month. Joe Biden's big deal, also known as Obamacare, now has been tried by enough somebody elses, with enough analysis from inside the government and out, that it can be firmly proclaimed as a solid, if not totally spectacular, success.

"So, like the guy who finally decided to buy that Apple stock he walked away from years before, Gov. Gary Herbert and a squad of legislators were in Washington the other day.

"They were looking to the administration to save them from themselves, allow them a way to still buy into Obamacare, in a way that will save a boatload of face for the state lawmakers who have blocked the governor's Healthy Utah version over concerns that it might mean spending an extra $80 million a year on people's health, even as they salivate over a scheme to spend $245 million a year maintaining the public lands they want to claw away from the federal government. ..."

— Medicaid talks have Utah leaders negotiating for less than our share — Jim Dabakis | For The Salt Lake Tribune

" ... The obvious Utah choice is accepting full Medicaid expansion. Unbelievably, that's not even an option. The public finds itself waiting outside the locked policy door, wondering where the closed GOP Wheel of Fortune will land. Will it drop closer to "do nothing"? Or Feeble Utah? Will they meet between the already severely compromised Healthy Utah and the pathetic Utah Cares? ..."

— Empathy for legislators is good, but now we need Healthy Utah — Drew Clark | The Deseret News

"If there's one issue that has come to define the administration of Gov. Gary Herbert over the past year, it's 'Healthy Utah.'

"The initiative is his effort to customize a state-specific expansion to Medicaid, the federal/state program of health insurance for the poor. The mystery to many, including this columnist, is: Why don't we have it yet? ..."

— A strong, healthy bipartisan House majority — Billings (Mont.) Gazette Editorial

"On behalf of Montana health care providers, 70,000 uninsured, low-income citizens and their families, thanks to the 54 representatives who voted to keep hope alive for affordable health care. ..."

— Messing up Medicaid — Toledo (Ohio) Blade Editorial

Gov. Kasich must stand up to state lawmakers who would undermine Ohio's Medicaid program

— If facts mattered, Medicaid expansion in Missouri would be slam dunk — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial

— State's economy depends on Medicaid expansion — Concord (N.H.) Monitor Editorial

— We deserve Medicaid expansion funds — Fort Meyers (Fla.) News-Press Editorial

— As States Expand Medicaid, Unpaid Hospital Bills Disappear — Bruce Japsen | Forbes

— Status of State Action on the Medicaid Expansion Decision — Kaiser Family Foundation

This is how the piece from The Economist ended:

" ... Can Utah's model be exported? Its demography, history and religion are unique. In other equally Republican-leaning places, such as Texas and the Deep South, politics is more raw and fiercely fought. Yet even if political culture cannot be exported, ideas can be. Perhaps what Utahns need is a little more missionary zeal."