When I walk into church with my family, lately I’ve thought of the quote from Atticus Finch in the classic novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird”: I got started late, the middle-aged Atticus told his still-young kids who marveled at his advanced age.

Atticus also liked to sit by himself in church. Was that because his still-young kids spent most of “preaching” scarfing down snacks, fighting over toys and flexing their elbows to find enough pew room to draw pictures.

I’m 46 years old; got married at 35. I started late. My wife Kati is 39 now; a bit younger. We have three kids parading the pews during sacrament meeting; an almost teenager, a just-baptized and a toddler who also likes to explore under the pew as well. Sometimes I’d like to sit only with my wife at church. Of course, I’d like to spend one day a week only with her as well; and maybe one day a month by myself. (I say that without fear because I know she shares that wish, too)

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So what to make of Republican Bob McDonnell’s very easy win over Democrat Creigh Deeds in Virginia or GOPer Chris Christie’s close upset in New Jersey over Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine, who outspent Christie 3 to 1 and practically lived with President Obama the final week of the campaign? The White House wrote off Deeds a long time ago but Obama expended a lot of political capital in a failed effort to boost Corzine. Here’s a few observations:

1) Independents, who mostly supported Democrats in 2006 and 2008, are swinging back to the GOP. McDonnell scored 63 percent of the independent vote; Christie nabbed 58 percent. These numbers reflect independents’ concerns over the White House spending plans. There are dozens of Democrats in House districts that John McCain carried or Obama carried very narrowly in 2008. I can’t imagine these pols committing political suicide by supporting measures in 2010 that include a cap & trade energy bill or a Democratic-sponsored  immigration reform bill. Frankly, I think chances to pass health care insurance reform have dipped. Certainly, the Pelosi bill will have to cede ground to the Baucus Senate bill.

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In a survey I’m sure most readers haven’t seen reported, Republicans were more knowledgeable on more political issues than Democrats. The Pew Political IQ Test can be found at http://pewresearch.org/politicalquiz/ If you follow politics, it’s not too difficult a test.

In early October, Pew sampled respondents from both parties and independents, who scored highest in four categories and tied in one. Compared only to Democrats, Republicans scored significantly higher on: what issue cap & trade is related to; who the new Supreme Court justice is; which is the majority party in the U.S. Congress; what the current unemployment rate is; who the Federal Reserve chairman is; and where the Dow Jones Industrial Average is. There were small GOP pluralities on who the chair of the Senate Finance Committee is, do Iran and Israel share a border, and how many U.S. troops are in Afghanistan. The numbers are even on what issue the public option relates to and Democrats have a five-percent margin over the GOP on U.S. versus Europe health care costs. Oh yes, far more Republicans than Democrats also know who Glenn Beck is! For The Weekly Standard’s report on the numbers, go here: Read

House Democrats deserve credit for finally coming up with a health care insurance reform bill. Of course, Speaker Nancy Pelosi was really shoveling the old you-know-what when she said, “Today we are about to deliver on the promise of making quality, affordable health care available for all Americans.” The House bill manages to be “deficit neutral” by promising $500 billion in as of yet unspecified Medicare cuts. If this bill passes, we might see some dark comedy watching Congress try to muster the courage to trim Medicare by half a trillion dollars over the next decade by dunning younger Americans via higher taxes and premiums.

But what’s interesting is that it may be the political left that dooms the House health care bill. Although the Pelosi bill includes a government-run public option, it does not use the same rates as Medicare. Instead, it allows the health and human services secretary to negotiate rates with those dastardly insurance companies. This has angered the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which wants rates set to Medicare. Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., and co-chair of the CPC, was notably noncommittal when asked if the entire caucus, which has 83 members, would accept the House deal. And what happens with the CPC down the road if a public option is stripped out of a final bill by the U.S. Senate.

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Check out this political paradox. The Republican Party is more unpopular than it’s ever been, but voters are becoming more conservative. Gallup’s latest numbers peg 40 percent of Americans as conservative and only 20 percent as liberal. Most of the remaining self-described independents call themselves conservatives. In my opinion, we are experiencing a libertarian/conservative surge in this country. People are fed up with excessive government spending and the greed that is prevalent among Wall Street and Congress. Social conservatism, long a fixture of GOP politics, is of less importance to the electorate. Ironically, the GOP may benefit more because the Obama administration shows no inclination to curb government spending. In fact, it’s projecting spending and deficits that President George W. Bush could only dream of.

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LDS Church Apostle Dallin Oaks’ speech last week at BYU/Idaho was the strongest statement the church has made on a political issue since its stand against the Equal Rights Amendment. It seems to me that the LDS Church sees a long culture war developing over issues such as gay marriage and wants to make sure the world — as well as church members — are aware that its position on values issues will not change.

We editorialized about the speech on Tuesday: Here

In the editorial we noted that Oaks urged members of the church to be respectful when defending church teachings or debating topics such as gay marriage. But he also said this in regards to atheism: “Atheism has always been hostile to religion, such as in its arguments that freedom of or for religion should include freedom from religion. Atheism’s threat rises as its proponents grow in numbers and aggressiveness.”

Clearly Oaks sees so-called militant atheism as a catalyst for secular efforts to delegitimize religious arguments from public policy debates.

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Ogden city has always had a reputation for passionate political debate, with a lot of rancor and back and forth. Just look at the tenure of Mayor Matthew Godfrey. He has his strong supporters and strong detractors. He won a third time with virtually 50 percent plus a few votes over challenger Susan Van Hooser. It’s hard to govern with such a slim edge, but it makes for hard-edged, sometimes-entertaining politics.

There are four Ogden Council races on Nov. 4. In at least three races, the candidates have — whether they like it or not — been defined as pro-administration or pro-city council (which is at odds with the mayor on more than a few issues). The most intense — by which I mean has generated letters and area blog posts — race is probably between Bart Blair and David Phipps for at-large Seat B.  Another interesting race is between Van Hooser and Mark Hains for at-large Seat A. In Municipal Ward 1, incumbent Jesse Garcia is up against Neil K. Garner.  In Municipal Ward 3, incumbent Doug Stephens is running against Patrick A. Dean.

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The following column appears in today’s Currents, the Standard-Examiner’s digital-only section on politics and culture. Call (801) 625-4400 to access Currents.

Can you feel it? The Holy War is getting closer. The bite in the air indicates this is going to be a rough Nov. 28 of football in the Top of Utah.

You didn’t think I was talking about the Holy Lands, did you?

On Nov. 28, The University of Utah football team will head to Provo to face the Brigham Young University football team. It’s a late start for the Holy War, which is usually plays a week earlier. This post-Thanksgiving date brings mild hope that the game will be played in the swirling snow, with game plans rendered obsolete and only brute force and feet that don’t slip deciding victory.

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