How to Sound Smart About Utah Politics – May 30, 2014

Lee says it’s not inevitable that same-sex marriage will become legal across the country. Chaffetz calls for the resignation of Eric Shinseki. Hatch apologizes for remarks he made at a Memorial Day event.

 

Countdown:

  • 25 days until Utah’s 2014 primary elections
  • 158 days to the 2014 midterm elections
  • 241 days to the start of the 2015 Utah Legislature
  • 522 days until the 2015 elections
  • 598 days to the 2016 Iowa Caucuses (tentative)
  • 893 days to the 2016 presidential election

Friday’s top Utah political news stories:

  • Sen. Mike Lee says it’s not inevitable that same-sex marriage will become legal across the United States [Deseret News].
  • Rep. Jason Chaffetz joins the chorus calling for the resignation of VA Secretary Eric Shinseki [Deseret News, Tribune].
  • Chaffetz names Fred Ferguson as his new chief of staff [Tribune, Deseret News].
  • Sen. Orrin Hatch apologizes for making partisan political comments during a Memorial Day event [Tribune].
  • The West Valley City Council advances a plan to possibly save the UTOPIA fiber optic network [KSL].
  • Scott Anderson praises Gov. Gary Herbert’s Medicaid expansion alternative plan [Deseret News].
  • Rep. Michael Kennedy, who is also a physician, admits to undercharging poor and uninsured patients in order to give them a break [Tribune].

On this day in history:

  • 1431 – Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in France.
  • 1539 – Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto landed in Florida.
  • 1854 – The territories of Nebraska and Kansas were established.
  • 1911 – The Indianapolis 500 was run for the first time.
  • 1922 – The Lincoln Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C.
  • 1989 – Protesters in China’s Tiananmen Square erected a 33-foot tall statue they called the “Goddess of Democracy.”
  • 2005 – Vice President Dick Cheney predicted the Iraq war would end before the Bush administration left office.