Utahns want Jon Huntsman to run for Senate in 2018. Your Monday morning political briefing from UtahPolicy.com

Local News Highlights: Daily Briefing

Morning must reads for Monday, March 10, 2017

Good Monday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 100th day of the year. There are 265 days remaining in 2017.

Utahns want Jon Huntsman to run for Senate in 2018. Bernie Sanders is coming back to Utah this month. The Trump administration reverses course on Syria.

The clock:

• 40 days until the Utah Republican State Convention (5/20/2017)
• 68 days until the Utah Democratic State Convention at Weber State University (6/17/2017)
• 211 days until the 2017 municipal elections (11/7/2017)
• 287 days until the opening day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (1/22/2018)
• 332 days until the final day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (3/8/2018)
• 575 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
• 1,303 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

Today's political TL; DR - 

• NEW POLL: Most Utahns want former Gov. Jon Huntsman to run for U.S. Senate in 2018, but they're not sure if he should run as a Republican or an independent [Utah Policy].
   
• Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and newly elected Democratic National Party Chairman Tom Perez will visit Utah the week of April 17 as part of a national "unity tour" [Utah Policy].
   
• Our "Political Insiders" think Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams will be hurt politically by the process to find a location for a new homeless shelter [Utah Policy].
   
• Sen. Mike Lee wants President Trump to detail his long-term plans for Syria following last week's military strike [Deseret News].
   
• Policy shift. US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley says removing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from power is now a priority [CNN].
   
• Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says Russia was "incompetent" for allowing Syria to retain possession of chemical weapons [New York Times].
   
• Palace intrigue. The tension between Steve Bannon and Jared Kushner is roiling the White House, and President Donald Trump wants it to stop [New York Times].
   
• Reboot again. White House staffers are desperately trying to salvage something positive from President Trump's first 100 days in office [Politico].
   
• Show of force. A US naval strike force is headed toward the Korean Peninsula in response to recent military actions by North Korea [CNN].
   
• Congressional Democrats are already pushing back against President Trump's plan for tax reform, claiming it represents a massive conflict of interest for the President [New York Times]. 
   
• Funding for the government runs out on April 28, meaning members of Congress will face an urgent deadline when they return from recess later this month [Bloomberg].
   
• President Donald Trump's federal hiring freeze is taking a toll on many vital government agencies [Wall Street Journal].
   
• Democrats in the Senate are not sorry they forced Mitch McConnell to use the "nuclear option" to confirm Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, reasoning it was going to happen one way or another [Politico].
   
• Deputy national security adviser K.T. McFarland has been pushed out of that job. The former Fox News talking head will now become the ambassador to Singapore [Wall Street Journal].
   
• Attorney General Jeff Sessions is making moves that could bring back the "war on drugs" [Washington Post].
   
• Democrats are moving staff and resources to Southern California to flip some congressional seats held by Republicans [Los Angeles Times].
   
• The investigation into alleged misconduct at the Daggett County Jail has run up a tab of more than $200,000 so far [Deseret News].
   
• Utah's teacher shortage is getting so bad that schools are trying to recruit teachers from all over the United States [Deseret News].
   
• Boring but important. The housing market will be very tight for buyers this spring. The supply of available houses for sale hasn't been this thin in the past 20 years [Associated Press].

On this day in history:

• 1866 - The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was incorporated.
   
• 1912 - The luxury liner Titanic set sail from Southampton, England, on its ill-fated maiden voyage. It stopped first in Cherbourg, France, and then Queenstown, Ireland, the next day to pick up additional passengers before heading out into the open sea.
   
• 1947 - Brooklyn Dodgers president Branch Rickey announced he had purchased the contract of Jackie Robinson from the Montreal Royals, paving the way for Robinson to become the first black to play in the major leagues.
   
• 1992 - Financier Charles Keating Jr. was sentenced in Los Angeles to nine years in prison for swindling investors when his Lincoln Savings and Loan collapsed. (The convictions were later overturned).

Today At Utah Policy

Poll: Utahns want Jon Huntsman to run for U.S. Senate, but not necessarily as a Republican
By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor
Nearly two-thirds of Utahns want former GOP Gov. Jon Huntsman to run for the U.S. Senate next year, a new UtahPolicy.com poll shows....

'Political Insiders' say homeless shelter issue could hurt Ben McAdams politically
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Our "Political Insiders" say Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams has been damaged politically by the fight over where to put a new homeless resource center....

Sen. Bernie Sanders and DNC Chair Tom Perez coming to Utah
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Senator Bernie Sanders and newly elected Democratic Party Chairman Tom Perez will be visiting Utah sometime in April as part of a multi-state "unity tour."...

Policy News

AFP report: Utah importers would pay more with border adjustment tax
Americans for Prosperity released a report that estimates how Utah businesses would be impacted by the harmful border-adjusted tax that some Washington politicians want to include in a comprehensive tax reform package....

Hatch, Wyden, Isakson, Warner introduce bill to address chronic illness
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, (R-Utah), and Ranking Member Ron Wyden, (D-Ore.), along with Senators Johnny Isakson, (R-Ga.), and Mark Warner, (D-Va.), co-chairs of the Finance Committee Chronic Care Working Group applauded the reintroduction of the Crea...

Sen. Lee commends Kelleigh Cole's nomination to Broadband Development Advisory Committee
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) issued the following statement after Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai nominated Utah Broadband Outreach Center Director Kelleigh Cole to be Vice Chair of the FCC’s Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee....

Hatch statement at Finance Hearing on 2017 filing season and IRS operations
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) delivered the following opening statement at a hearing to examine IRS operations for the 2017 filing season and beyond:...

Local Headlines

Salt Lake Tribune

Op-ed: It's not too late to do homeless shelters the right way

Op-ed: Good news about Utah's occupational licensing laws

Stuart C. Reid: Time for religion to disengage from the culture wars

Op-ed: Nuclear reprocessing and Yucca Mountain are non-starters

Editorial: Lee challenges us to remember checks and balances in war

Editorial: S.L. City, County top cops need to talk

Final appeal fails to prevent deportation of Utah woman

DNC unity tour with Tom Perez and Bernie Sanders to stop in Utah

Despite firearm-friendly climate, more than half of Utahns don't own a gun

Utahns not thrilled with state's response to Outdoor Retailer staredown, poll shows

Deseret News

Frank Pignanelli & LaVarr Webb: Stormy political weather roils nation and Utah

Greg Bell: Gorsuch's record reflects his commitment to set his politics aside

Op-ed: Why politicians (and others) need to start talking about the family unit

Op-ed: Healthcare reform proposal

Editorial: Competency-based education has benefits in Utah and beyond

Editorial: Sheriff Winder's plan is sparking an important conversation

Senate confirms Gorsuch to US Supreme Court

Sen. Mike Lee wants Trump to present military plans for Syria to Congress

These three Utah cities are among the most stressed in the country

Sen. Mitt Romney? Senate majority leader fuels speculation

Downtown Alliance to fund 'street team' to help relieve homeless issues

Analysis touts landscape, night skies at Bears Ears National Monument

Utah schools recruiting teachers 'coast to coast' in face of high turnover, retirements

About Utah: Draper mayor recovering from shell shock

Other

Utah County Democrats to choose new leadership on Saturday (Daily Herald)

East Side incumbents consider re-election (Park Record)

National Headlines

He lobbied for gay rights and opposed Trump - now Seattle's mayor is accused of sexually assaulting minors (Washington Post)

Trump's Options for North Korea Include Placing Nukes in South Korea (NBC News)

Russia and Iran say they will respond to American aggression following air strike in Syria (The Sun)

The Soviet Union fought the Cold War in Nicaragua. Now Putin's Russia is back. (Washington Post)

Why Democrats have no regrets after McConnell's 'nuclear' blast (Politico)

Trump to Bannon and Kushner: Work this out (CNN)

New York set to become first state to offer free tuition at public four-year colleges (Washington Post)

Google Denies Labor Department's Pay Disparity Allegations (Bloomberg)

US jobs report: A tale of 2 surveys, at a glance (Associated Press)

FCC Chairman Plans Fast-Track Repeal Of Net Neutrality, Sources Say (Reuters)

Search for consensus on taxes veers into unexpected corners (Associated Press)

Wise Words

Saving Humanity
"The urge to save humanity is almost always only a false-face for the urge to rule it." H.L. Mencken, Minority Report, 1956

Lighter Side

180
"Quarterback Colin Kaepernick has done a complete 180. He now says he WILL stand for the national anthem. He's now sitting for the games, but he's standing for the anthem." Jimmy Fallon