You may have thought the internal workings of the Utah Republican Party were really screwed up before.
But now get this:
If former U.S. GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney continues gathering signatures as part of his U.S. Senate run this year, he may well be kicked out of the Utah Republican Party via a bylaw change adopted Saturday over the objections of party chairman Rob Anderson.
Good Monday morning from Salt Lake City. There are just 9 working days until the end of the 2018 Utah Legislature.
A small group of Utah GOP hardliners sows chaos in the party. Utahns approve of Medicaid work requirements. Congress gets back to work with new pressure to take action on guns.
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A small group of hardliners in the Utah GOP passed a rule change on Saturday that would "immediately" strip the party membership of any candidate that takes the signature-gathering route to the ballot. That means Mitt Romney could be kicked out of the Utah GOP if he uses signatures to get on the ballot. The restriction doesn't apply to Reps. Mia Love and John Curtis, who have already started gathering signatures. And, that same group fired the Utah GOP's attorney and rejected the entire list of people Chairman Rob Anderson picked to help him plan April's state convention [Utah Policy].
Our new poll shows nearly 2/3rds of Utahns say they support a plan to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act that will be coupled with work requirements and caps on what the state will pay [Utah Policy].
Utah Representatives will consider a rule change that would keep journalists off the House floor 45 minutes before a session, severely limiting the access journalists have to lawmakers [Utah Policy].
The House introduces a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow them to call themselves into special session. Right now, only the governor can do that [Utah Policy].
Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck says she doesn't have the "fire in the belly" to run for Sen. Jim Dabakis's seat after he retires this year [Utah Policy].
Our "Political Insiders" mostly support the effort to abolish the death penalty in Utah, but the Republicans on our panel are evenly divided [Utah Policy].
Publisher LaVarr Webb writes about gun control and admits he owns an AR-15 [Utah Policy].
National headlines:
Most Utahns back expanding Medicaid with work requirements and caps on what the state would spend
By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor
Two-thirds of Utahns want the GOP-controlled Legislature to adopt Medicaid expansion, the health insurance program for the poor that lawmakers continuously opposed during Democratic President Barack Obama's time....
Chaos in the Utah GOP! Hardliners adopt rule change that could kick Mitt Romney (and other candidates) out of the party
By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor
You may have thought the internal workings of the Utah Republican Party were really screwed up before....
Guns? I have a few
By LaVarr Webb, Publisher
I grew up fishing and hunting in various places around Utah. As a teen, I loved to tramp the fields and marshes in the fields around Utah Lake, often alone, with a shotgun over my shoulder, hunting pheasants, ducks, quail and sometimes crows and magpies (legal back then)....
'Political Insiders' mostly say Utah should abolish the death penalty
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Some legislative Republicans are pushing a bill that would abolish the death penalty in Utah. Our "Political Insiders" are mostly on board with that idea, but Republicans are divided....
Chavez-Houck decides to not run for Dabakis' seat
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
After dancing around the idea for a few days, Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck has decided not to run for the SD2 seat being vacated by Sen. Jim Dabakis....
Possible House Rule change would clamp down on journalists
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
A proposed rule change in the Utah House of Representatives appears to be an attempt to crack down on press access to lawmakers and set up a kind of safe space away from the media....
Proposed constitutional change would give lawmakers the power to call themselves into a special session
By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor
Utah lawmakers who now can only be called into a special session by the governor would have the power to call themselves into such sessions and set their own agendas under a constitutional amendment introduced Friday....
SLCC's Grand Theatre welcomes Black Panther co-founder Bobby Seale
Salt Lake Community College is hosting author and activist Bobby Seale, co-founder of the Black Panther Party, at SLCC's Grand Theatre on Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. The free event is open to the public....
Salt Lake County accepting applications from arts organizations for funding consideration
Arts and cultural projects or organizations can apply to receive funding from Salt Lake County as part of the Cultural Facilities Support Program....
ALAS-Utah offers scholarships to Latino educators
The Utah affiliate of ALAS (the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents) recently announced two $5,000 scholarships for Latino educators who aspire to school and/or district level leadership positions....
Girls Who Code clubs to launch statewide in Utah
In partnership with Adobe, Dell EMC, Girls Who Code and Microsoft, the Utah STEM Action Center announced the launch of the Utah Girls Who Code Club Network, at an event at Dell EMC. ...
Salt Lake Tribune
Editorial: Schools should teach students about consent
Noting Utah's high inmate death rate, lawmakers want jails to report on in-custody deaths every year
Romney hires longtime aide, and Trump campaign treasurer, as his Senate organization's accountant
Deseret News
Op-ed: Utah should support a state earned income tax credit
Op-ed: Improving school libraries gives Utah students a first-rate education
Editorial: Training rural Utahns in tech jobs is money well spent
Utah senator day drinks before presenting bill to delay state's new .05 percent DUI law
Campus civil liberties resolution headed to final passage
Utah Senate panel gives OK to inmate addiction study bill
Bill would require Utah truckers to be trained to identify victims of human trafficking
Police unable to identify 'date' who showed up at Utah senator's hotel room
Utah Legislature urges full compensation on rural $ for federal lands
Utah lawmakers stiffen penalty for killing police dog
Utah House votes to ban A.G., other state offices from fundraising during legislative session
Utah Senate gives preliminary approval to bill equalizing school funding
Utah's changing demographics could impact local economy
Legislators to field questions, concerns on prison construction, inland port on Saturday
Utah attorney general kicks off a cultural celebration of Latinos at the Capitol
Lawmakers advance bill instructing all doctors to complete suicide prevention training
Working conditions a key factor in teacher turnover, Brown University professor says
Bill to remove mentally unfit elected officials passes Utah House
Utah launches statewide network of girls' coding clubs
Utah lawmakers debate, fail to act on family leave bill
Rep. Mia Love: 'Everything has to be on the table' after Florida school shooting
Utah Sen. Mike Lee opposes AR-15 ban, says hard to distinguish from hunting rifles
Other
Bill would apply Utah's open-container alcohol laws to motorized bicycles (Standard-Examiner)
Weber County ag boosters tout import of farming even as more development looms (Standard-Examiner)
Arm the teachers? Utah educators can already legally pack heat (Logan Herald Journal)
Free news gets scarcer as paywalls tighten (AFP)
Supreme Court to Decide Fate of Public-Sector Unions (Wall Street Journal)
California Democrats deny Sen. Feinstein an endorsement (CNN)
Ivanka Trump: Arming teachers an option that 'needs to be discussed' (NBC News)
Lines Out the Door and Strong Sales at Tampa Gun Show (New York Times)
White House Legal Team Considers Ways Trump Could Testify Before Mueller (Wall Street Journal)
Glenn Beck: Divisions in US reminiscent of Germany in 1920s (The Hill)
Ranchers set to fight back against vegetarian 'fake meat' (USA Today)
Awareness
"What is necessary to change a person is to change his awareness of himself." Abraham Maslow
Popular Vote
"According to a New York Times survey of political scientists across both parties, Donald Trump has been rated America's worst president ever. I had a sneaking suspicion. It's pretty incredible because it's the first time Trump has won a popular vote." James Corden
