John Curtis

Above: File image of John Curtis, US Congressman (Utah 3) and candidate (R) for US Senate, Utah. Speaker at meeting of the Elephant Club, Washington County chapter, at the Washington County Administration Building, St. George Utah. 02 October 2024. I was present at this meeting.

Curtis will very likely be US Senator from Utah post November 2024 general election.

Selected Takeaways and SDT quick and dirty notes

Curtis was not the Washington County favorite in the Republican primary run up. That would be Brad Wilson. SDT: Curtis acknowledged such to those assembled and promised to work hard to gain their trust. Curtis is an impressive retail politician... remembers names, listens, quick on his feet, sincere sounding, empathetic yada. As mayor of Provo, UT he had a 90% approval rating.

People ask me if I will be more like Mike Lee or more like Mitt Romney when I become US Senator. I answer, neither. I will be more like John Curtis. The Maga versus RINO debate makes no sense to me. SDT: A politician's reply, for sure. I'm confident Curtis won't be Pierre Delecto, wearing a mask while marching with Black Lives Matter, but he won't be the reliably conservative Lee either. Curtis has been openly critical of Trump in the past and has equivocated on gender being binary. He'll vote reliably Uniparty on war and spending.

On war: US lost deterrence with incompetent withdrawal from Afghanistan. US needs to restore deterrence by upping its support for Ukraine. We cannot afford to let Putin have a victory. SDT: Uniparty answer. My own view on US foreign policy is that the threat of Russia to US interests is overblown. The pathetically equivocal US effort in Ukraine results in empowering very heavy-on-staying-power Russia as a US antagonist, weakening the US on the global south world stage, and accelerating the establishment of an anti US, functioning China led faction in a multipolar world. The US military should act unambiguously to restore deterrence by securing trade routes, supporting Israel and seeking rapprochement with Russia and China. China will not invade Taiwan as long as they see the US weakening financially (growing debt) and culturally (lowering birth rates, rising internal dissention (woke), and socialist orientation etc.). IMHO, on current trajectory, because of US weakness, Taiwan and China will unify amicably within the next ten years. The US will have to live with its official "One China" policy and not the "strategic ambiguity" approach it has taken since the end of the cold war.

On climate/energy: Utah is an energy state. I believe that Democrats and Republicans can engage on better climate solutions derived from sensible use of fossil fuels. Europe's "too good to frack" virtuousness as caused them to lose economic competitiveness. Utah can be a leader in putting forward better climate solutions that include fossil fuels. SDT: Curtis's energy strategy is a "reach across the aisle" effort on climate when most conservatives tend to just rail against "green new deal" legislation. I'm not sure Curtis's strategy has much purchase in today's polarized political climate. But it seems to be a game attempt at doing the right thing for Utah and the nation at large. Curtis is right that there are fossil fuel solutions less environmentally intrusive than so-called green approaches to energy consumption.