Dan Liljenquist’s failed tax hike!
by Daryl AcumenThis article illustrates the idiocy of one of the few votes Dan Liljenquist could be bothered to make in his short stint with the Utah Legislature - a sin tax increase on cigarettes. The fact that he bothered to show up for this vote means he thought it was important. The fact that he got it ...
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Manufactured debate ‘controversy’ illustrates Liljenquist campaign’s desperation
by Daryl AcumenThe recently manufactured 'controversy' regarding Orrin Hatch's purported hesitancy to debate Dan Liljenquist again before the June 26th primary is a clear sign of desperation. In spite of the fact that Hatch has debated Liljenquist twice in the last month and the fact that Hatch campaign manager Dave Hansen indicated that more debates are likely, ...
Continue ReadingDan Liljenquist & FreedomWorks – birds of a feather…
by Daryl AcumenA few observations about the relationship between FreedomWorks and Dan Liljenquist: - In June 2011, as conservatives across the country geared up for the election a year and half away to oust President Barack Obama and his liberal allies from the U.S. Senate, Washington, DC-based FreedomWorks announced a costly campign to try and defeat conservative Republican ...
Continue ReadingHow conservative is Dan Liljenquist really?
by Daryl AcumenI'm continuing to do my research on the short legislative record of State Senator Dan Liljenquist. I've been curious as to why FreedomWorks took so long to endorse Liljenquist and why some folks at the UTGOP Convention referred to him as a "liberal." I'm of course aware that Dan's record with the Utah Taxpayer's Association ...
Continue ReadingWho supports FreedomWorks?
by Daryl AcumenFreedomWorks has said recently that they intend to double-down on the Utah Senate race in spite of exceptionally weak local support for their efforts. I thought it would be fun to quantify how weak local support for FreedomWorks really is. Tracking total Utah individual contributions as a proxy for in-state sentiment, I pulled some rough numbers from the ...
Continue ReadingLiljenquist Campaign Focus Group Update
by Daryl AcumenLast week I had the pleasure of speaking directly with the political consultant who moderated the Liljenquist focus group. I asked him to send me an email with his side of the story, but I'm so busy right now I haven't had time to digest and re-write it in my own words. To void any further delay ...
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Who won the 1st U.S. Senate Debate on April 4th?
by Daryl AcumenI think all three candidates won the debate last night, depending on how you define "winning." Hatch won by standing his ground in a dignified manner and defending his record while literally being attacked on both sides. The most disappointing moment for me as a Republican and as a Utah voter was when Liljenquist supporters broke ...
Continue ReadingLiljenquist Campaign tests Negative Ad Messaging on State Delegates
by Daryl AcumenA reliable source reported this week that Dan Liljenquist's Senate Campaign is now using State Delegates as guinea pigs to test negative ad messaging in preparation for a now unlikely primary fight against Senator Orrin Hatch. Last week a State Delegate in Cedar Hills was contacted by Lighthouse Research, a marketing firm retained by the Liljenquist campaign, about participating in ...
Continue ReadingCandidate Notes: Dan Liljenquist – U.S. Senate
by Daryl AcumenOverview Economics undergraduate degree and law degree Former consultant at Bain & Company President and COO of an inbound call-center company Lives in Bountiful Elected to State Senate in 2008 chiefly responsible for Utah's nationally recognized and game-changing pension reform legislation that put the state's pensions on a sustainable path and assured the state would not suffer the same fiscal challenges ...
Continue ReadingFreedomWorks Uses Fake Polls to Bash Hatch
by Daryl AcumenHere's another example of the incompetence of FreedomWorks: As a state delegate, I get 3 - 5 phone calls a day from pollsters asking me where I stand on various races I'm eligible to vote in. I don't mind the calls, because that's what I signed up for when I agreed to be a state delegate. ...
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