Others on Hatch's playlist include: "Brother, I'll Follow You" from "Joseph: A Nashville Tribute to the Prophet"; "The Chair," by George Strait; "I Believe," by Diamond Rio; "Unspoken," by Jaci Velasquez, "Amazing Grace," by Whitley Phipps; and Alan Jackson's "Greatest Hits." Rounding out the list were classical standards from Vivaldi, Pachelbel, Bach, Brahms, Mozart and Beethoven.
Sen. Bob Bennett says his music habits center on classical pieces. His faves: Beethoven, Mozart and Chopin.
Rep. Chris Cannon is the rebel. He has recently downloaded Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, and Stephen Kellogg and The Sixers. But even Cannon can't rock all the time. He also listens to opera soprano Kiri Te Kanawa and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
Orrin's groupie
Watch out, Elaine Hatch!
Your husband apparently has caught the eye of a woman who is now infatuated with the Utah Republican.
Through most of Thursday's confirmation hearing for Gen. Michael Hayden to head the CIA, a woman in dark glasses with short, bleached-blonde hair and wearing a teal track suit sat in the audience giving "google-eyes" to Hatch, reports a Senate spy.
At one point, the woman approached a Senate guard and told him her name was Bobbie, that she was in love with Hatch and wanted to give him a kiss.
She left apparently before anyone got her full name, but it reportedly gave Hatch a "hoot."
Utah up-and-comers
State Sen. Curt Bramble is "clearly a go-to guy" in the state Senate and "a lot of people like him," according to a breakdown of the power players in Utah by the National Journal's Hotline.
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. would love to be more than governor, "but so would a lot of people," and Merit Medical CEO Fred Lampropoulos may be the state GOP's national committeeman, but "he has not given up running for something," Hotline reports.
House Majority Whip Steve Urquhart is "well-positioned" to run for a possible new congressional seat that may center on his hometown of St. George, and House Speaker Greg Curtis could be set to run against U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson in a future race.
Of course, be careful with those comments from the Hotline because they also report that Gary Herbert is the attorney general and a former Salt Lake County commissioner (he's the lieutenant governor and a former Utah County commissioner).
Noticeably absent from the list is Mark Shurtleff, the actual attorney general, whom Hotline apparently pegs as a down-and-outer.
Love
Republican Cannon showed his appreciation for his Utah Democratic colleague Jim Matheson on Thursday, telling a House committee that Matheson is someone "we love and cherish."
"He is really a very nice guy," Cannon said.
We wonder if that will go over as well as Hatch's comments last year during the state Republican Convention when Hatch praised the work of Utah's House members, including Matheson. The comments caused GOP grumblings for months.
To be fair, though, Hatch said it to a room full of conservatives; Cannon said it to a room filled with Democrats.
Alaskan hillbillies
For the 12th time, the House of Representatives voted Thursday to allow drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. One of the more creative arguments for supporting the measure came from Utah Rep. Rob Bishop. Apparently he doesn't think The Beverly Hillbillies can be counted on to bring gas prices back under $3 a gallon.
"There is no silver bullet to solve our energy needs," he said. "Jed Clampett will not go out there, shooting at some food, and up through the ground will come a bubbling crude."
Aides did not confirm whether the Clampett technique might be more effective with Black Gold or Texas Tea. Dagnabbit.
Another brick in the wall
A Web campaign to send actual bricks to members of Congress as a protest against open borders and immigration policies hasn't met with too much success with Utah's delegation.
Sendabrick.com allows a person to send a brick to their representatives for about $12 each.
"Since you have trouble building a wall, here's a start," the Web site touts as its slogan.
Utah's Congress members report receiving about two bricks each. One aide joked that the delegation could pool together to build a very small wall, or at least something to trip people crossing the border.
