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Romney to lay out 59-point jobs plan. Huntsman pounces. Vandals create 'Church of Utah' sign.
Happy Tuesday. We hope you had a good Labor Day weekend because now it's off to the races for municipal candidates and when presidential campaigns will kick their efforts into full-gear. Mitt Romney plans today to lay out his economic plan today in Nevada, a state that has been brutally hit by the economic downturn. The Washington Post takes a look at Romney's record at job creation in private industry and while as Massachusetts governor. [WaPost]
-> Romney says his plan includes 59 points, 10 of which he'd enact on Day One as president. [USAToday]
-> Jon Huntsman releases a web video slamming the job creation record of a certain former governor of Massachusetts: "One man's record is sadly similar to that of Obama's." [HBlog] (Watch for the Chris Vanocur citation in the end)
Topping the news: Jon Huntsman ends the speculation that he could run as an independent, but says he expects to pick up a lot of independent votes nonetheless. [CNN] He also says the real campaign starts now and he's optimistic. [CNN] [WSJ]
-> Vandals crossed out the "State" in the "State of Utah" at the Capitol, replacing it with the word "Church." [Trib]
-> The personal religions of the presidential candidates is going to be -- and already has been -- a big deal this election cycle. [AP]
Today's news: The question of whether Taylorsville should join the Unified Police District is a major issue in its upcoming municipal elections. [Trib]
-> Some Utahns have been arrested outside the White House for protesting a proposed oil pipeline. [Trib]
-> Peg McEntee says there will be hell to pay if state lawmakers try to gut the state's open-records law next session. [Trib]
-> With two candidates dropping out, there won't be a primary election in Bluffdale this month after all. [Trib]
-> Utah Policy's insiders say that the state is going to continue its monopoly over liquor sales and that Sen. Dan Liljenquist could force Sen. Orrin Hatch into a primary -- but then lose. [UtahPolicy]
-> The state Senate is much closer to be able to finish its redistricting plan than the state House is. [UtahPolicy]
Tweet of the day: From @MayorWinder: "Despite nagging by Freedom Works, I will not seek my party's nomination for the office of United States Senator in the 2012 campaign." (Winder clarified on Facebook that this was a tongue-in-cheek comment and FreedomWorks never approached him.)
Opinion section: A Salt Lake City resident takes issue with the Trib's editorial on immigration enforcement. [Trib]
-> Paul Rolly says state lawmakers inserted some last-minute provisions into an omnibus education bill -- provisions that had previously been voted down. [Trib]
-> Rolly also says racially sensitivity is big subject at Alta High after posters advertised a black vs. white football game. [Trib]
-> George Pyle says freedom of speech is being put to a big test. [Trib]
-> Pat Bagley offers his take on the modern-day Labor Day. [Trib]
-> Prosecutors say there's a better solution to indigent defense efforts than for the state to take over the regulation of the programs. [Trib]
-> A Mother Jones scribe (and Utah native) says Cherilyn Eagar could beat Rep. Jim Matheson. [MotherJones]
-> The D News editorial board says Huntsman set a high standard for other candidates when he rolled out his economic plan. [DNews]
-> Huntsman expands on his economic plan in a Wall Street Journal editorial. [WSJ] (subscription required)
-> Former Sen. Bob Bennett says the National Labor Relations Board needs to protect American jobs, not unions. [DNews]
-> The Herald editorial board asks state lawmakers not to divide Utah County in redistricting. [Herald]
-> LaVarr Webb and Frank Pignanelli crack wise about what our elected officials did over their summer vacations. [DNews]
-> The N.H. Union Leader says Huntsman's jobs plan looks good though there are some caveats that he doesn't mention. [UnionLeader]
-> Huntsman pitched pragmatism to the editorial board of the Concord Monitor. [Monitor]
Where are they?
2012 watch: South Carolina's only Mormon lawmaker endorses ... Rick Perry. [Politico]
-> Despite some protestors, Romney gets a warm welcome at a Tea Party Express event. [BostonHerald] [CBSNews]
-> Perry and Romney try to show their differences in tackling immigration problems. [FoxNews]
-> Romney tells the Detroit News that if he's elected president, he wants to divest the United States of any investment in GM or other car-related bailouts. [DetNews]
-> Romney wins the endorsement of the S.C. treasurer. [ABCNews]
-> Perry takes a shot at Romney's lack of job creation. [Politico] And Michele Bachmann criticizes the Massachusetts individual health care mandate. [USAToday]
-> AP's Kasie Hunt takes a look at how Huntsman is attempting to turn his presidential campaign around. [AP]
-> Huntsman says the next president will be a former governor. [TheHill]
-> Huntsman and wife, Mary Kaye, will appear on The View in early October. [ABCNews]
-> Huntsman calls early polling "absolute nonsense" in the scope of the race. [CBSNews]
-> The former Utah governor also stresses that there will not be any deductions in his tax reform plan. [NRO]
-> At a New Hampshire gun show, Huntsman says he had a BB gun at age six and now owns a 12-gauge shotgun. [CBSNews]
-> The personal religions of presidential candidates will be -- and already has been -- an issue in this cycle. [AP]
-> The upcoming presidential debates -- on Wednesday and Monday -- could drive up voter interest in the election and help, or hurt, some of the candidates in the field. [DNews]
-> Politifact says Mitt Romney's comment that more than 500,000 federal workers make more than a hundred-grant is "mostly true." [PolitiFact]
-> Romney says his health care law in Massachusetts is an asset in running against Obama. [USAToday]
-> Huntsman's campaign blogs about how Democrats really don't like their candidate as they've tried to portray. [HBlog]
Weekend in review: A voters group takes issue with Utah's closed primary elections. [CacheValleyDaily] And a former DNC executive director agrees that's making politics more extreme. [WaPost]
-> Gov. Gary Herbert will attend the 9-11 remembrance ceremony at the Pentagon. [Trib]
-> Utah enviros take issue with Obama's shelving of tougher emissions rules. [Trib]
-> Sen. Mike Lee was a little slow on a town-hall question about the ATF's Fast and Furious gun program. [Trib]
-> After hitting some roadblocks, those planned solar panels on top of the Salt Palace may actually go up this fall. [Trib]
-> Clean air advocates in Utah take issue with Obama's shelving of tougher emission standards. [Trib]
-> Municipal races in northern Utah are seeing crowded fields this year. [StandEx]
-> Utah state government may be ending its 4-day workweek experiment, but Provo thinks its similar schedule is working fine. [AP]
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-- Thomas Burr
Twitter.com/thomaswburr
