Utah Politics

When Sen. Orrin Hatch was first elected to the Senate in 1976, his name was such an oddity that New Yorkers threw “Orrin Hatch” themed cocktail parties following the election according to Rick Perlstein, author of the new book “Reaganland: America’s Right Turn 1976-1980.”

“Hatch was introduced to the nation through a comedy article in the New York Times Magazine,” says Perlstein. “Everyone was throwing Jimmy Carter themed parties. This couple looked in the newspaper and they saw this guy won office with a funny name, Orrin Hatch. Nobody had heard of him.

That inauspicious introduction aside, Perlstein says Hatch played a big role in ushering in the Reagan revolution once he got to Washington.

“Not only does he become a senator, he’s a lot like the Tea Party guys. He’s the first senator to come from this very much more aggressive ‘New Right’ movement. He refuses to do the things senators are supposed to do. Instead, he becomes a leader. When there’s a big fight against a reforming labor unions law that would make it easier to join a union, he is the guy that the Republican caucus chooses as their field general to run a filibuster against the law that was successful,” he says. 

Perlstein was a guest on the “Utah Politics” podcast with host Bryan Schott. He said Hatch would not have won his election in 1976 without a big assist from Reagan. 

“The Hatch campaign was desperate. They have no money and no connections whatsoever. They decided if they can get Ronald Reagan, who is incredibly popular in Utah to endorse Hatch, maybe they can pull it out,” recalls Perlstein.

“They call him on his vacation in Mexico. They can barely hear him over the bad connection. Reagan agrees to endorse him. They can hardly believe their ears. It’s four days before the election and they managed to get a telegram into the newspapers. That’s why he won,” he added.

Perlstein also discusses the debate moment that doomed Jimmy Carter in the 1980 election and the legacy of the “Reagan Revolution.”

Wednesday’s historic vice presidential debate between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris at the University of Utah was remarkable if for only being the polar opposite of last week's chaotic, interruption-filled presidential debate.

“It almost felt like a throwback to the pre-Trump normal period of politics,” says McKay Coppins, a writer for The Atlantic. “You had two candidates who spoke in complete sentences. Who, for the most part, abided by the rules and didn’t cut each other off that much.

“They were both able to articulate their viewpoints, their campaign messages and challenge each other,” he added.

Coppins joined the “Utah Politics” podcast on Thursday morning to reflect on what kind of impact the debate might make on the presidential race during the stretch run. Spoiler alert: not much.

“The kind of things that political observers say about vice-presidential debates is they’re the definition of low impact events. They almost never move voters,” said Coppins. 

Coppins also discussed the questions both Pence and Harris refused to answer during the debate and why he believes the effort to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court could reset the presidential race before election day.

Following last week’s bombastic presidential debate, Americans might be hoping for a more sedate event when Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris meet on the debate stage Wednesday night in Salt Lake City.

“I think it will be a more substantive debate than what we saw in last week’s debacle,” says Rev. Al Sharpton, host of MSNBC’s “Politics Nation.”

“I don’t think it will devolve into fisticuffs,” he added.

Sharpton was a guest on the most recent episode of the “Utah Politics” podcast. He told host Bryan Schott that Pence and Harris will be able to discuss the issues without resorting to interruptions and theatrics.

Sharpton says both Pence and Harris are seasoned debaters, which should make for the opposite of what we saw last week.

“I think it will be a good night for Kamala Harris, but I do not think you ought to underestimate Mike Pence. I think you will see a real exchange of some of the best talent on what we call the left and the right in this country. And I think the voters will be the beneficiaries,” says Sharpton.

Sharpton also discussed the Black Lives Matter protests following the killing of George Floyd and whether he believes President Donald Trump is a man of faith.

Sharpton is the author of the new book “Rise Up: Confronting a Country at the Crossroads.”

News broke late Thursday that President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump both tested positive for the coronavirus. How might this affect the presidential race going forward?

Salt Lake County Councilperson Aimee Winder Newton joins host Bryan Schott to discuss the top political stories from the past week including the presidential and gubernatorial debate, the backlash from Republicans against Utah's state of emergency because of the coronavirus and Sen. Mike Lee testing positive for the virus and a report that Trump trashed Latter-day Saints in private.

Schott also talks with Tim Miller, the political director for Republican Voters Against Trump. They wrap up the presidential debate and talk about why moderate Republicans are turning against Trump. Miller also is a writer-at-large for The Bulwark, and hosts "Not My Party" on Snapchat.

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Tuesday night’s off-the-rails first presidential debate between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden was widely panned by pundits and observers after the participants talked over each other and moderator Chris Wallace. 

Former Utah Congressman and current Fox News Channel pundit Jason Chaffetz says he believes the debate turned off a lot of people, especially those few Americans who are undecided at this point in the 2020 election cycle. 

“I think the debate was sort of a reflection of America,” says Chaffetz. “We’re all talking past each other and telling each other to shut up, and I think that’s a little bit disappointing.”

Chaffetz, who is admittedly a supporter of Trump, says he believes the president came out of the event as the victor, but he knows there are observers on the left who believe the opposite outcome. 

“As a conservative who is very impressed with Donald Trump’s track record, I think Joe Biden showed he lacks a vision and excitement and enthusiasm and fresh ideas. But, if you hate Donald Trump, I’m sure you thought he did just fine,” he said.

Chaffetz was a guest on the “Utah Politics” podcast on Wednesday. He said he believes Trump is in good position to win another term in office despite what the polls show because there are many built-in advantages for the incumbent in American politics. 

The moderator of Tuesday’s debate, Chaffetz’s Fox News colleague Chris Wallace, has taken a lot of criticism for the way he handled the two men. Chaffetz says it’s unfair to blame Wallace for the way Trump and Biden conducted themselves.

“Show me the person who you think could have actually corralled it in so nobody was talking over each other. I don’t know if anybody could have done that,

“You want to see these two men duke it out and the style in which they do it,” he added.

Chaffetz said he would favor more debates leading up to the presidential election, not fewer. He also discussed the media furor over Trump’s seeming refusal to condemn white supremacy during the debate.

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In less than four decades the Republican party went from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump. How did that happen?

Gerald Seib, the executive Washington editor for the Wall Street Journal, says it’s not too surprising at all.

“There was always a kind of populist national sentiment working up from the grassroots, especially in the Republican Party. Donald Trump walked through an open door in 2016,” he says.

Seib was a guest on the “Utah Politics” podcast. He charts the factors that led to the presidency of Donald Trump in his new book “We Should Have Seen it Coming. From Reagan to Trump - A Front Row Seat to a Political Revolution.”

Seib also moderated a Republican debate during the 2016 GOP primary process. He says the preparation to head up such a high-profile event is unlike anything he’s ever faced in his long career. 

“You have to be prepared for sixty-five different eventualities, knowing about three-quarters of what you’re cramming into your head is going to be useless,” he says. 

“The last thing people want to see when they watch a debate is the moderator. Your job is to ask questions and get out of the way, but you also have to keep control of the thing. And that’s a very tricky balance,” Sieb added. 

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Utah’s coronavirus cases are spiking, especially in Utah County. Gov. Gary Herbert moves Provo and Orem back to the “orange” risk level in response while Utah County imposes a mask mandate. 

Mitt Romney breaks the hearts of Democrats and liberals everywhere when he agreed to move ahead with the process to name a replacement for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg who died last week. 

President Donald Trump alarmed many when he would not commit to a peaceful transfer of power should he lose in the 2020 election.

And, more local college football teams are set to return to the gridiron as the PAC-12 and Mountain West conferences decide to play this season.

Host Bryan Schott is joined by radio host Scott Garrard from 1280/97.5 The Zone Radio to discuss the political news of the last week. Garrard is also the play-by-play voice for Utah State University Athletics. 

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On Tuesday, Sen. Mitt Romney ended any hope that Democrats had they would be able to stop President Donald Trump from appointing a replacement for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg who died last week. 

S.V. Date, a senior White House correspondent for Huffington Post says he’s not surprised Romney decided to join with other Republicans in pushing to allow President Donald Trump to appoint a replacement for Justice Ginsberg.

“Everybody is wondering how Mitt Romney could do this. This is something Republicans have wanted for years. This is the quid pro quo they made when they decided to support Donald Trump in 2016,” he says. 

Date is also the author of the book “Useful Idiot: How Donald Trump Killed the Republican Party with Racism and the Rest of Us with Coronavirus.” He was a guest on the Utah Politics podcast and believes the rush to confirm a Supreme Court nominee could energize Democrats ahead of November. 

“Democrats haven’t taken the Supreme Court that seriously as an election issue. Maybe having this happen so close to the election reminds them that elections have consequences,” said Date. 

Date leaped into the public eye in August when he asked Trump during a White House press conference if he “regretted all of the lying” he’s done during his time in office. 

S.V. Date on Twitter: @svdate

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Bryan Schott is joined by political and communications consultant Taylor Morgan to discuss the latest Utah political news.

Coronavirus cases in Utah are spiking. Can Gov. Gary Herbert find an effective response to the increase?

Attorney General Sean Reyes attends a rally for President Donald Trump in Nevada and is photographed not wearing a mask. Will he pay a political price for that, or standing next to the Pawn Stars guy in the photo?

The race between Democrat Ben McAdams and Republican Burgess Owens turns nasty as a pair of polls give McAdams a lead in the contest for the first time.

Libertarian candidate Robert Latham makes the debate stage in the 2nd Congressional District race involving Republican Chris Stewart and Democrat Kael Weston. Will that impact the race at all?

Trump leads Democratic nominee Joe Biden in Utah.

Plus, Sen. Mike Lee takes on Google and Netflix.

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The nation’s ongoing demographic changes signal a “death sentence” for the Republican Party, according to longtime GOP strategist Stuart Stevens.

Mitt Romney’s chief strategist for his 2012 presidential campaign, Stevens worked on four other presidential campaigns. He now says the GOP is looking at a demographic tsunami that threatens to wipe out the party and that the current president is making it worse.

“I had to sit down when I read that a majority of those who are 15-years-old and under in America are non-white. What’s that going to do to the Republican Party? That’s a death sentence,” he says. Stevens, who is currently serving as a consultant for The Lincoln Project, is the author of “It Was All a Lie: How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump.” He recently joined Bryan Schott as a guest on the “Utah Politics” podcast.

He said the current GOP, which he described as a “celebration of white grievance,” is headed down the path of political ruin because of the embrace of nativist and anti-immigration policies by President Donald Trump and his administration.

“Political parties in our system should serve as a circuit breaker function, and nobody pulled the circuit breaker on Trump,” he says.

Stevens is also worried about Trump’s efforts to undermine and call into doubt the legitimacy of the upcoming election, calling the next few months “the most dangerous period in American history since the Civil War.”