Babka radio ads airing — but only on Internet

A man joins in: "But did you know that Chris Cannon's AgJOBS bill — called the AgJOBS amnesty bill by Fox News — sat in committee for almost two years due to strong opposition from members of his own party? Cannon was unable to get his AgJOBS bill scheduled for a vote in committee, let alone out to the House floor with enough votes to get it passed, even with White House support. Congressmen from both sides of the aisle know that Cannon's AgJOBS bill is bad for America."

Each of the ads ends with the same phrase — "The need for change in Washington has never been more evident than it is right now. On Nov. 2, send Utah's voice back to Washington with Beau Babka" — followed by Babka's own authorization of the spots.

Another spot claims unemployment is at an all-time high and that Cannon has alienated himself from constituents and congressional colleagues.

"This is fairly standard," said Joe Hunter, Cannon's chief of staff. "It's rather Kerry-esque, actually. Claiming our unemployment rate is at an all-time high; I don't know what that's based on. Our unemployment rate is almost at a historic low.

"And I don't think Chris is feeling alienated either from his constituents or his colleagues in Congress. The legislation we have sponsored has dozens of Republican co-sponsors. There is no basis for saying he has been alienated. The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee took it upon himself to come out to Utah to campaign for him."

Neither Cannon's bulging pockets nor Babka's relatively empty treasury is unusual for a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives. According to the Federal Election Commission's Web site, 57 House candidates had raised more than $1 million as of Sept. 30. One had raised $4.2 million.

Despite the spending gap, Babka's camp remains hopeful.

"We don't take money from PACs handled by corporations," Bell said. "We've turned down special interest money. We don't want it, and hopefully we don't need it."

Bell said two more ads should be complete before the weekend, but even if late money comes in, it could be hard to get them on the air before the election.

---

E-mail: twalch@desnews.com