Right about now, the deep-pocketed Republicans lunching at the Salt Lake City home of Simmons Media boss David Simmons must be cutting into their lightly sauced salmon (or whatever might be the latest trend in fund raising menus).

GOP presidential candidate John McCain is the guest of honor. He’ll be stumping in Utah today and part of tomorrow, scurrying for money. McCain certainly can’t beat rival Mitt Romney’s credentials as a card-carrying member of the [LDS] tribe, but at least I expect he won’t be flipping on every hot-button issue as Mitt has (see abortion, gun control, gay rights).

Broadcast media chatter throughout the morning fell to speculation — again — over why Utah’s leading political father and son duo, Jon Huntsman Sr. and Jr., have split their allegiances between Romney and McCain, respectively. Said speculation began last fall, when the two Jons made their decisions public. Pundits were predictably scandalized when Junior fell short of endorsing fellow Mormon, fellow son of another famous business icon, and fellow square-jawed Republican Romney.

Mike Mower, spokesman for Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., said back then that Junior made his own decision, free and separate of his powerful dad. It had nothing to do with the guv nursing a grudge because Romney got the job the guv coveted some six years ago — savior of the scandal-torn 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics.

Mower told reporters last year that the Huntsman men’s divergent views were all about political diversity, which is the bedrock of our electoral system and democracy.

I hadn’t given the father-son schism much thought until the blabber surrounding McCain’s Utah visit started up again. But recently, a source very close to the Romney campaign told me what might be the most fascinating explanation yet for Jon Jr.’s decision to forgo Mitt for John: Bad telephone etiquette.

This source said that early in his exploratory campaign, Romney (or at the very least, a designated hitter) failed to return several of Jon Jr.’s phone calls from Utah. Some e-mails were ignored, as well.

That’s it? Surely it had to do with greater issues, like maybe, Romney refusing Junior a future cabinet seat?

Nope. Romney’s people, the source told me, either didn’t know the weight of the Huntsman name and reputation or simply didn’t care. At any rate, the phone calls weren’t returned and Junior got more than a bit torqued. That brings us to today, with Junior and McCain sharing white grape juice spritzers and lively conversation at the Simmons home.

The lesson here: Listen to those voice mails and return them promptly!

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 1st, 2007 at 12:27 pm and is filed under All, Politics, Community, Media, Culture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Right about now, the deep-pocketed Republicans lunching at the Salt Lake City home of Simmons Media boss David Simmons must be cutting into their lightly sauced salmon (or whatever might be the latest trend in fund raising menus).

GOP presidential candidate John McCain is the guest of honor. He’ll be stumping in Utah today and part of tomorrow, scurrying for money. McCain certainly can’t beat rival Mitt Romney’s credentials as a card-carrying member of the [LDS] tribe, but at least I expect he won’t be flipping on every hot-button issue as Mitt has (see abortion, gun control, gay rights).

Broadcast media chatter throughout the morning fell to speculation — again — over why Utah’s leading political father and son duo, Jon Huntsman Sr. and Jr., have split their allegiances between Romney and McCain, respectively. Said speculation began last fall, when the two Jons made their decisions public. Pundits were predictably scandalized when Junior fell short of endorsing fellow Mormon, fellow son of another famous business icon, and fellow square-jawed Republican Romney.

Mike Mower, spokesman for Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., said back then that Junior made his own decision, free and separate of his powerful dad. It had nothing to do with the guv nursing a grudge because Romney got the job the guv coveted some six years ago — savior of the scandal-torn 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics.

Mower told reporters last year that the Huntsman men’s divergent views were all about political diversity, which is the bedrock of our electoral system and democracy.

I hadn’t given the father-son schism much thought until the blabber surrounding McCain’s Utah visit started up again. But recently, a source very close to the Romney campaign told me what might be the most fascinating explanation yet for Jon Jr.’s decision to forgo Mitt for John: Bad telephone etiquette.

This source said that early in his exploratory campaign, Romney (or at the very least, a designated hitter) failed to return several of Jon Jr.’s phone calls from Utah. Some e-mails were ignored, as well.

That’s it? Surely it had to do with greater issues, like maybe, Romney refusing Junior a future cabinet seat?

Nope. Romney’s people, the source told me, either didn’t know the weight of the Huntsman name and reputation or simply didn’t care. At any rate, the phone calls weren’t returned and Junior got more than a bit torqued. That brings us to today, with Junior and McCain sharing white grape juice spritzers and lively conversation at the Simmons home.

The lesson here: Listen to those voice mails and return them promptly!

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 1st, 2007 at 12:27 pm and is filed under All, Politics, Community, Media, Culture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.