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The LDS partisan divide. EPA funds modern dance in Salt Lake. Gingrich staffer calls Mormonism a cult.
Happy Wednesday, so its not shock that a big majority of Utah's Mormons are Republicans, but that trend continues nationally according to a new study that found Mormons are more likely to favor Republicans than Democrats by about a four-to-one margin. In Utah, the partisan gap is nine-to-one. [Trib]
Topping the news: The EPA is funding a grant using modern dance to teach schoolchildren about air pollution and Utah Congressmen Jim Matheson and Rob Bishop say that is $25,000 the federal government shouldn't spend. [Trib]
-> Salt Lake County Council members get in a row with Auditor Greg Hawkins after he hired his former law partner at $450 per hour to sue the county without going through the county's procurement process. [Trib]
-> Newt Gingrich's Iowa political director resigns after calling Mormonism a cult. [TheHill]
A partisan blunder: The National Republican Congressional Committee went after Utah Democrat Jim Matheson for opposing the GOP bill to extend the payroll tax cut. Here's their quote: "Nothing screams 'Washington insider' like voting to give yourself a pay raise, while increasing taxes on middle-class families. What will it take for Matheson to stop putting Obama before Utah families and jobs?"
And here's the problem with their quote: Matheson actually voted for the bill. He was one of 10 Democrats who voted with the Republicans. Oops.
Tweet of the day: From @HotlineReid: "Mitt Romney actually bragging that Christine O'Donnell is endorsing him? Never understood her appeal to conservatives" [AP]
Happy Birthday: to Jennifer Scott, district director for Rep. Jason Chaffetz.
In other news: Just one day after Gov. Gary Herbert made his budget recommendations, Democratic and Republican lawmakers squabble about education funding. [Trib] [UtahPolicy]
-> Rocky Anderson calls Rep. Rob Bishop "essentially traitorous" for pushing for military spending. Bishop's office finds the comment more than a little offensive. [Trib]
-> Just weeks before it hosts the first presidential caucus of 2012, Iowa launched its own immigration compact Tuesday based on the Utah Compact. It calls for a federal not a state solution to illegal immigration and rejects an enforcement-only approach. [Trib]
-> Rolly again delves into the murky world of municipal parking enforcement this time in Salt Lake City where supposedly open access to court can be an expensive proposition. [Trib]
-> Bagley portrays the flap over Mitt Romney's $10,000 bet gaffe in light of Newt Gingrich's sordid history. [Trib]
-> Utah County approves a no-tax increase budget of $70 million. [Trib] [Herald]
-> Salt Lake County also approves its budget a much larger $640 million also without a tax increase. [Trib]
-> The Salt Lake City Council agrees to boost greens fees on city-run golf courses. [Trib]
-> American Fork won't be the first city in Utah County to adopt a non-discrimination ordinance that would preserve housing and employment rights for gays. [Trib] [DNews] [Fox13] [Herald]
-> West Valley City may ask new businesses to verify their immigration status. [Trib]
-> Novell attorneys go after Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates in closing arguments in the Salt Lake City anti-trust suit against the software giant. [Trib] [DNews]
-> Report says Utah liquor stores are very profitable. [DNews]
-> UTA will soon have new ethics rules after a probe by the AG on controversial former board member Terry Diehl. [DNews]
-> The legal case that led to a new state law allowing charges against a woman seeking an illegal abortion is back in court. The Utah Supreme Court reversed a lower court that ruled the then-17-year-old couldn't be held criminally liable for hiring a man to strike her in the belly. [Trib] [DNews]
-> The U. Board of Trustees has approved the addition of a new major: peace and conflicts studies. Now the change requires the OK of the state Board of Regents. [Trib]
-> Sen. Mike Lee says Democrats are ducking tough votes in hopes to keep their jobs in 2012. [Politico]
2012 watch: Romney calls Gingrich an "extremely unreliable leader in the conservative world." [WaPost]
-> Gingrich's 1994 was much better than Romney's and it could mean quite a bit in the primaries. [Atlantic]
-> As governor, Romney didn't like tax cuts but was fine with increasing fees. [NPR]
-> The Obama camp is hoping for a long drawn out battle for the GOP nomination. [NYTimes]
-> Jon Huntsman gets a mostly false for saying the U.S. spends more than all other countries combined on defense. [Politifact]
-> Huntsman says he'll catch on with voters after the end of the "silly season." [USAToday]
Where are they?
Sen. Mike Lee attends the GOP conference with FED Chairman Ben Bernanke and then goes on Glenn Beck's radio program.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz attends an oversight hearing on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, then attends a fundraiser for Mitt Romney, sponsored by Romney's son Tagg.
Reps. Jim Matheson and Rob Bishop did not release a public schedule.
Gov. Gary Herbert meets with AG Mark Shurtleff, receives a briefing from the Rural Partnership Board, goes to the Economic Development Commission, meets with the Intermountain Power Agency and then goes to hte groundbreaking of the Veterans Home in Payson.
S.L. County Mayor Peter Corroon has breakfast with the community council chairs, then goes to the Criminal Justice Advisory Council meeting and then the Economic Development Corporation of Utah.
SLC Mayor Ralph Becker meets with his diversity coordinator and then sits down with McKell Withers, superintendent of the Salt Lake City School District. He also holds one-on-one meetings with Salt Lake residents.
WVC Mayor Mike Winder attends a board meeting of the Economic Development Corporation of Utah.
President Barack Obama goes to Fort Bragg, North Carolina to mark the end of the war in Iraq.
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Matt Canham Twitter.com/mattcanham with editor Dan Harrie