utah – Moe Lane

Utah nonprofit co-op’s collapse illustrates Obamacare’s Big Lie.

Via @Freddoso, this is possibly even a bigger deal than it looks. Basically, Arches Health Plan (the Utah Obamacare nonprofit co-op) has been essentially turned off, on very little notice. Over 65,000 people will pretty much lose immediately lose their insurance over this.

[The] 35,000 people who bought Arches [Health Plan cooperative] plans via the exchange or from insurance brokers or agents will now have to find new health insurance for 2016. The co-op also has to stop writing new policies for businesses immediately, Utah Insurance Commissioner Todd Kiser said. Arches insures 31,000 people through employer-sponsored plans, a spokeswoman said.

It was either turn it off, or watch it collapse on its own: Arches was locked into the same death spiral that has been plaguing state nonprofit Obamacare co-ops. Turns out that taking a ‘temporary’ government subsidy right from the beginning apparently does nothing for your eventual profitability except mask for a while the uncomfortable fact that you’re never going to be profitable. Who knew?

…Yes, that was a rhetorical question.

Continue reading Utah nonprofit co-op’s collapse illustrates Obamacare’s Big Lie.

Jim Matheson (D, Utah-04) cuts and runs.

He just can’t take it anymore:

It has been a tremendous privilege to serve the people of Utah during my time in the United States House of Representatives, but my time in the House should not be the sum total of my service. Today, I am announcing that I will not seek reelection to the House of Representatives.

Better to go out on his own terms, eh? Continue reading Jim Matheson (D, Utah-04) cuts and runs.

Don’t mess with Mormon bishops. They’ll cut you. With a SWORD.

Mind you, that’s only if you’re a Bad Person.

I hope that whoever wrote this paused a moment afterward, to mark the occasion. You don’t get a lede like this every day.

A Samurai sword-wielding Mormon bishop helped a neighbor woman escape a Tuesday morning attack by a man who had been stalking her.

The bishop chased off the perp, who later turned himself in. Because, well, he had a clergyman with a Samurai sword telling him, “I’ve got your DNA and I’ve got your license plate: You are so done.” You don’t have very many viable life options at that point.

Via Instapundit. Continue reading Don’t mess with Mormon bishops. They’ll cut you. With a SWORD.

Mia Love making rematch sounds in Utah’s Fourth Congressional District.

Depending on who you ask, Mia Love is either: about to decide whether she wants to either: enter into a rematch with Jim Matheson for UT-04; or has already decided to run again. I suspect that it’s the latter. Hiring “former state GOP Chairman Dave Hansen, who was widely heralded last year for successfully managing the re-election campaign of Sen. Orrin Hatch” is pretty diagnostic. For that matter, so is this:

…that is, in fact, the speech of somebody planning to run again. Continue reading Mia Love making rematch sounds in Utah’s Fourth Congressional District.

#rsrh Mia Love (R CAND, UT-04) now ahead in Deseret News/KSL poll.

Pretty significant turnaround:

Love, a Republican, now leads the six-term Democratic congressman 49 percent to 43 percent. Dan Jones & Associates found that among registered voters, 36 percent definitely favor Love, while 13 percent lean her way. The poll showed 31 percent definitely voting for Matheson and 12 percent leaning toward him. Eight percent are undecided.

[snip]

A Deseret News/KSL poll that Jones conducted in June had Matheson leading Love 53 percent to 38 percent.

Still, as they say: the only poll that counts is the one on Election Day. Mia Love for UT-04.

Mia Love (R CAND, UT-04) targeted with vicious racist hate mail.

Come, let me reveal a deep, dark secret of the Mia Love campaign: she’s black.

Did you care? Can’t say that I care much, either: what I care about is whether she has the resources and ability to defeat Jim Matheson in this year’s UT-04 Congressional race. The possibility is tantalizingly there: and apparently it’s worrying Utahn Democrats. Which is fine… except when Utahn Democrats may have allowed Mia’s skin color to taint their own judgement and self respect: Continue reading Mia Love (R CAND, UT-04) targeted with vicious racist hate mail.

RS Interview: Mia Love (R CAND, UT-04).

The new Fourth Congressional District in Utah is going to be an interesting battleground: the very, very lonely Democratic incumbent Jim Matheson transferred over to it with what could cruelly, yet fairly, be described as ‘extreme haste.’ Or ‘pure panic.’ Meanwhile, the GOP side had a pretty spirited primary season that eventually resulted in Saratoga Springs mayor Mia Love getting the nod. You may remember that we spoke with Mia earlier in the year; so RedState got back in touch with her to see how the campaign is going.

Mia’s site is here: and as the DCCC is remarkably desperate to keep this seat, I’m going to point out Mia’s contribution site directly.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

#rsrh I will not blame Orrin Hatch for getting Arlen Specter’s endorsement.

(Via Hot Air Headlines) There is no indication that Senator Hatch sought this endorsement, or will do anything with it except fire it back at former Pennsylvania Senator Specter’s head at high speed. Hatch’s smarter than that. Which is why he’s still in the race, and, say, Dick Lugar is not.

That’s it, except that this is entertaining:

“The cannibals function to cost the Republicans the senate seat in Colorado and Delaware and Nevada, almost in Alaska, and now Orrin Hatch is in jeopardy in Utah,” [Specter] continued.

Actually, we lost the potential pickup in Colorado because the governor’s race imploded up there, and the Senate seat was part of the fallout. Delaware I’ll grant – Nevada was a longer shot than is generally admitted – but it’s entertaining to note that Specter declines to admit that the aforementioned ‘cannibals’ also made sure that we upgraded Utah, kept Florida & Kentucky, and picked up Massachusetts, Wisconsin… and, hey, Pennsylvania! Specter tends to be kind of vague about how that last one happened, I’m gathering…

Mia Love’s (R CAND, UT-04) Saturday convention speech.

Below is the speech that Mia Love made Saturday, prior to winning the Republican nomination for UT-04 with 70% of the delegate vote. It’s pretty affirmative stuff: it highlights Mia’s life experience as the daughter of immigrants, affirms her American and Utahn values… and rips into Jim Matheson for his refusal to stand up for either, when in the clutch. Well worth watching.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLskRsrCJR0

Continue reading Mia Love’s (R CAND, UT-04) Saturday convention speech.

#rsrh Mia Love (R CAND, UT-04) wins 70.1% at convention.

The Utah nominating conventions have gotten… exciting of late, no? As Instapundit noted, Orrin Hatch gets to have a primary now, and Mia Love will avoid one.

Link to my interviews with Mia here and here*: to recap the situation, she’s the mayor of Saratoga Springs and will be facing embattled Democrat Jim Matheson in the general election. Matheson jumped over to UT-04 because Utah’s gaining of a Congressional District essentially redistricted his existing seat into a no-go area for Democratic politicians. Whether or not he will survive November… well, I guess that it’s up to Mia Love, now.

Moe Lane

*Note the (somewhat rare for me this cycle) personal (not RedState) endorsement; she was definitely a strong campaigner in the primary, and I like her chances in the general.