Situational awareness - July 15, 2019

Good Monday morning from Salt Lake City

Welcome to Utah's must-read daily political news rundown. Please encourage your friends and colleagues to sign up for our emails.

Here are the stories you should pay attention to this morning:

• Curtis' fundraising
• Lee slams Democrats on immigration
• Trump's racist tweets

Trivia answers!

What Utahn wrote the Supreme Court decision upholding local zoning ordinances? Numerous readers knew Justice George Sutherland wrote the majority opinion in 1927. You can read about the decision here.

The first three subscribers with the correct answer:

• Craig Call
• Stan Rasmussen
• Don Savage

If you have a trivia question for our readers, send it to me at bschott@utahpolicy.com. I'll send you a limited-edition UtahPolicy.com laptop sticker if we use it.

Got a news tip? Let me know!

I love hearing from you! Send your news tips or feedback to me at bschott@utahpolicy.com. or you can message me on Twitter.

The UtahPolicy.com daily newsletter gets you up to speed on the top local and national news about politics and public policy. Our news is curated by Managing Editor Bryan Schott, along with help from Golden Webb. ((Click here to subscribe))

TICK TOCK

Today is the 196th day of the year. There are 169 days remaining in 2019.

8 days until ballots for the 2019 primary election are mailed to voters (7/23/2019)

15 days until in-person voting for the 2019 municipal primaries begins (7/30/2019)

15 days to the second Democratic presidential primary debates in Detroit (7/30/2019)

29 days to the 2019 Utah primary elections (8/13/2019)

59 days to the third Democratic presidential primary debate (9/12/2019)

113 days to the 2019 municipal elections (11/5/2019)

171 days until candidates can begin to gather signatures to get on the 2020 ballot (1/2/2020)

196 days to the first day of the 2020 Utah Legislature (1/27/2020)

203 days to the 2020 Iowa Caucuses (2/3/2020)

232 days to the 2020 Utah presidential primary (3/3/2020)

241 days to the final day of the 2020 Utah Legislature (3/12/2020)

242 days to the opening of candidate filing for the 2020 election (3/13/2020)

260 days until the deadline for candidates to submit signatures to be placed on the 2020 primary ballot (3/31/2019)

344 days to the 2020 Utah primary election (6/23/2020)

364 days to the 2020 Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee (7/13/2020)

406 days to the 2020 Republican National Convention in Charlotte (8/24/2020)

477 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

Today At Utah Policy

Most of Rep. John Curtis' second quarter campaign donations came from PACs and donors who don't live in Utah
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Rep. John Curtis3rd District Republican John Curtis is in good financial shape as he gears up for his third election in as many years. Curtis reported $107,802 in donations to his re-election campaign from April to June of this year.

Watch: Former Rep. Mia Love blames Trump, Democrats for social media fracas
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Former Utah Rep. Mia Love, now a CNN commentator, said President Donald Trump needs to be more presidential following a series of tweets using racist language attacking progressive Democratic lawmakers.

Mia Love is milking this for all it's worth - Bernick and Schott on politics
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Award-winning journalists Bryan Schott and Bob Bernick offer their thoughts on the latest stories from the Utah political arena.

Watch: Sen. Mike Lee says Democrats are 'dangerously out of touch' on immigration issues
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Sen. Mike Lee blasted his Democratic colleagues, saying they are "dangerously out of touch" when it comes to immigration issues and Americans will punish them at the polls for that in 2020.

Zions Bank July economic snapshot
By Robert Spendlove and Drew Maggelet, Zions Bank
Utah's labor market remains one of the best in the nation. While the state's year-over-year employment growth slowed slightly from 3.0 percent in April to 2.8 percent in May, it was still the 2nd highest rate in the country.

OTHER UTAH HEADLINES

Deseret News

• Pignanelli and Webb: This week's tidbits include protests, redistricting and the citizenship question
• Op-ed: A commonsense fix for our broken immigration system
• Op-ed: It's time to eliminate civil asset forfeiture
• Op-ed: Why income inequality? There's a 'family capital gap'
• Editorial: Violence is the wrong answer for Utah's Inland Port
• With or without threatened ICE raids, undocumented immigrants live with fear in Utah
• Advertise with us Former Mia Love top aide named executive director of Utah GOP
• A Florida woman was jailed for giving police her husband's guns - would it happen in Utah?

Salt Lake Tribune

• Op-ed: Helping Utahns afford health care starts with finding common ground
• Editorial: Facial recognition search? Get a warrant
• Uranium company with interests in Utah sees stock plummet as reports swirl over Trump trade decision
• Here's the new proposal for the Cottonwood Mall site. It includes a theater, hotel and $2.5 million penthouse condos.
• Meet some of the farmers seeking to be among Utah's first to get a license to grow cannabis
• Alleged hoaxter behind fake Kamala Harris Utah appearance charged with operating a stolen vehicle in Wyoming
• Trump rejects import quotas on uranium, but creates group to find ways to boost domestic production
• Salt Lake City's homeless community says they don't know much about the shift in services planned once The Road Home closes - and that was intentional
• How Derek Miller became the face of Utah's two big political controversies

Other

• Summit County officials meet to compare notes on vision for future growth (Park Record)

NATIONAL HEADLINES

Trump doubles down. President Donald Trump hit out Sunday night against everyone who criticized his racist tweets telling congresswomen of color to go back where they came from [WaPo].

• Every Republican member of Congress stayed mum in the wake of Trump's racist tirade, while Democrats loudly condemned him [WaPo].

Immigration raids. Federal immigration authorities launched a small number of raids targeting undocumented families, but only a handful of arrests appeared to take place [NYT].

Budget problems

• Congress and the White House are negotiating furiously to find an agreement on raising the debt ceiling to avoid a possible defaut, but time is running out before the August recess [Roll Call].
• The House and Senate are headed toward a showdown over a must-pass defense funding bill. House Democrats loaded the bill up with progressive measures to get enough votes for passage, but Senate Republicans are opposed to many of the provisions [The Hill].

Trouble brewing for Trump? A new poll shows President Trump trailing the top Democratic contenders in hypothetical general election matchups. The largest gap shows Trump trailing former Vice President Joe Biden by 9 points. At this point in the 2012 election, Barack Obama led Republican nominee Mitt Romney by just one point [NBC News].

A warning for Democrats? Freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is becoming the face of the Democratic Party among a crucial group of swing voters according to a new poll. Some Democrats are warning Ocasio-Cortez could put the Democratic House majority at risk if she continues to grab headlines [Axios].

Healthcare. Republican Senators, led by Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, are considering legislation to replace the Affordable Care Act in case courts strike down the 2010 law [Politico].

Hmmm. A newly leaked memo from the UK's former ambassador in the U.S. claims President Trump scrapped the Iran nuclear deal to spite former President Barack Obama [BBC].

Trump administration. President Trump is reportedly considering the ouster of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross following the failure to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census [NBC News].

Global economic worries

• China's economic growth hits a 27-year low amid the ongoing trade war with the U.S. [NYT].
• Mexico's economy appears to be slipping toward a recession [WSJ].

Troubling. A new analysis concludes efforts to fact-check false or misleading news stories struggle to break through with news consumers [Reuters].

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

1806 - Pike expedition: United States Army Lieutenant Zebulon Pike begins an expedition from Fort Bellefontaine near St. Louis to explore the west.

1815 - Napoleon Bonaparte surrenders aboard HMS Bellerophon.

1870 - Georgia becomes the last of the former Confederate states to be readmitted to the Union.

1959 - The steel strike of 1959 begins, leading to significant importation of foreign steel for the first time in United States history.

1979 - President Jimmy Carter gives his "malaise speech."

2006 - Twitter is launched, becoming one of the largest social media platforms in the world.

Policy News

Cicero Group expands leadership team
Cicero Group is pleased to announce the advancement of one new partner and five new principals.

More National Headlines

• Nancy Pelosi Emerges As Unexpected Villain At Netroots Nation (HuffPost)
• Feud Among House Democrats Remains on Public Display (Wall Street Journal)
• Racial politics roil Democratic Party (The Hill)
• The Manhattan blackout proved how fragile our infrastructure is (New York Post)
• Trump's Favorite Ambassador Makes a Very Trumpian Splash in Berlin (Wall Street Journal)
• Political drama not selling books like it used to (New York Post)
• New election systems use vulnerable software (Associated Press)
• Donald Trump Just Made Bitcoin A 2020 Election Issue (Forbes)
• Fed will fix its own fumble with rate cut (New York Post)

Wise Words

Busy

"It is not enough to be busy. So are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?" Henry David Thoreau
 

Lighter Side

Never Prepared

"Trump is upset because the Times reported that Mexico's concession on border security was not because of his tariff threat, it was actually the result of months of preparation by his staff. And Trump was like, that is fake news, my staff is never prepared." Jimmy Kimmel