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Wednesday’s Talking Points – March 2, 2016

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Good Wednesday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 62nd day of the year. There are 304 days left in 2016.

Trump and Clinton romp on Super Tuesday. Trump might skip the Salt Lake City GOP date. Utah legislators advance a bill to get rid of the death penalty.

The clock:

  • Eight days to the final day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – (3/10/2016)
  • 13 days to the Florida, Ohio and North Carolina primaries – (3/15/2016)
  • 18 days to the GOP presidential debate in Salt Lake City – (3/21/2016)
  • 20 days to the Utah Republican and Democratic caucus meetings (3/22/2016)
  • 28 days to the last day the governor may sign or veto bills (3/30/2016)
  • 52 days to the Utah Republican and Democratic State Conventions (4/23/2016)
  • 68 days to the last day a veto override session may begin (5/9/2016)
  • 118 days to the 2016 Utah primary election – (6/28/2016)
  • 138 days to the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland (7/18/2016)
  • 145 days to the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia (7/25/2016)
  • 251 days until the 2016 presidential election – (11/8/2016)

Ten talking points for Wednesday:

  1. Super Tuesday:
    1. Donald Trump cruises on Super Tuesday becoming the undisputed frontrunner for the GOP, although he lost to Ted Cruz in Texas, Oklahoma and Alaska. Marco Rubio got his first win of the campaign in Minnesota [Washington Post, New York Times, Politico].
    2. Hillary Clinton is pulling away from Bernie Sanders in the Democratic race after Tuesday’s elections, primarily on her popularity among minority voters [Politico, New York Times, Washington Post].
    3. What is up with Chris Christie? He was mocked mercilessly after standing behind Trump like a Stepford Wife during his victory press conference on Tuesday [Mediaite].
  2. Trump makes a weird threat against House Speaker Paul Ryan saying if he doesn’t play ball with a Trump administration he would “pay a big price” [Politico].
  3. Rumors are flying that Trump could skip the Salt Lake City GOP debate if he has virtually wrapped up the nomination by that point [Utah Policy].
  4. The Utah Senate advances a bill to do away with the death penalty [Tribune, Deseret News].
  5. Rep. LaVar Christensen junks a controversial victims rights bill after advocates pack a hearing room to protest his legislation [Tribune, Deseret News].
  6. Gov. Gary Herbert says he expects to sign a bill expanding Medicaid coverage to some of the most vulnerable Utahns [Deseret News].
  7. The Utah House passes a resolution calling for a Constitutional Convention [Utah Policy, Deseret News, Tribune].
  8. The Utah Senate puts the brakes on Sen. Jim Dabakis‘ attempt to rename Columbus Day as Indigenous People’s Day [Tribune, Deseret News].
  9. A House committee kills Rep. Fred Cox‘s attempt to dump Daylight Savings Time [Deseret News, Tribune, Fox 13].
  10. Lawmakers are battling over a plan to move money away from transportation projects [Tribune].

On this day in history:

  • 1807 – Congress outlawed the importation of slaves to the United States, effective the following year.
  • 1836 – Texas proclaimed independence from Mexico.
  • 1877 – Republican Rutherford B. Hayes was declared the winner of the 1876 presidential election over Democrat Samuel J. Tilden, even though Tilden won the popular vote.
  • 1962 – Philadelphia’s Wilt Chamberlain set the single-game NBA scoring record with 100 points against the New York Knicks.
  • 2011 – The Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that members of the fundamentalist Westboro Baptist Church have a First Amendment right to picket the funeral of a Marine.