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Chaffetz joins race, opens fire on Cannon

Hmmm, I used to question Cannon. Now with a Huntsman buddy attacking him, maybe I like Cannon.

The article sounds like he's been doing his homework on representing his area differently.
Then Earl and Craig jump right into petty personal jabs?

Jason and I used to spar over politics in the BYU student newspaper during the 1988 Presidential campaign. He for the democratic candidate and I for President Reagan. Glad to see he's converted.

Craig, I'm with you on that.

Jason will need to tell us delegates how he converted from an outright liberal and mindlessly defending Michael Dukakis to being more conservative than Chris Cannon. Being Gov. Huntsman's chief of staff will also be a liability to those of us who value conservative principles.

...I think it's Cannon who's going to have the harder time explaining himself and his record.

Wasn't Reagan a Democrat at one point?

If Cannon would stop supporting amnesty for 20+ million illegal aliens then he wouldn't have to worry about challenges from the right wing or the left wing of his party. But that probably wouldn't dawn on someone who is as out of touch with his constituents as Cannon seems to be.

Cannon has not impressed me, particularly on illegal immigration issues. I support giving new, fresh Republicans a chance in Congress. Washington seems to jade them, make them take their constituents for granted. When in doubt, vote against the incumbent, so long as the alternative is a conservative.

I used to vote for the occasional democrat; Rocky Andersen's tenure has convinced me of the foolishness of that approach.

I think anyone (Democrat, extreme Conservative, Green Party candidate, Bart Simpson) would represent the area better than Cannon. It's time for change, for new blood, new ideas. He's not a communicator, he has no vision, and he is not a great policy maker or leader. His time is up.

I thought that the bulk of the delegates for 2008 aren't chosen until the caucuses in March.

Having done some work with Chris Cannon, I can tell you his public persona is vastly different then the man himself. He may be derided by some as having "no vision, and not being a great policy maker" but having worked with him, I can tell you that is NOT the case at all. Cannon actually is VERY respected in DC and has alot of clout for the 3rd District. (No, not pork clout, but clout).

His conservative credentials are impeccable (The guy had a 100 ACU rating last year) and yeah, on immigration, he goes off the reservation a bit, but let's face it, even Cannon knows nothing can get done till the border is sealed. He opposed the Senate deal, he voted for the fence, and he just voted to deny illegals federal housing assistance. I mean, so he wants to keep some of those people who are already here, here, I don't want some Dukakis loving Huntsman lackey representing me.

Cannon ain't perfect, but are any of us? Chaffetz CERTAINLY isn't.

We need Cris to deliver another impeachment speech against another Clinton.

An observation from a current State delegate in the 3rd district - there are a lot of "don't vote for Cannon" voices, but I haven't heard many "vote for Chaffetz" back room conversations. Chaffetz lacks the experience, money, and name recognition necessary to defeat Cannon. Let alone the baggage associated with why Huntsman let him go.

And some campaign strategist needs to figure out that the illegal immigration criticism of Cannon isn't going to unseat him. If it were he would have been voted out already. No, Cannon's strength of influence in DC is at the core of why the base supports him. Chaffetz isn't going to be able to present an attractive alternative.

Come on Frank. You must work FOR rather than with Chris Cannon if you're claiming Cannon is VERY respected inside the Beltway. From what I understand Cannon is viewed as a political hack with little real or percieved influence. Having followed Cannon's career for years my view is that he has transformed himself into a an establishment politician that lacks vision and is unwilling to stand up to the national republican establishment or the administration as they've moved away from fiscal responsibility and conservative principles.

Ironically the one issue he has shown some courage on is the immigration issue. But its hard to know if he's doing that out of political courage or blind allegiance to the Bush administration.

I'll vote for Chaffetz in a heartbeat over Cannon. I don't care who he voted for when he was a college student 20 years ago.

Frank,

I recall Cannon being derided at the time for being the most ineffectual and lightweight member of the House Impeachment Committee. I haven't seen anything since to dispel that notion.

Then again, the impeachment was itself such a sick and twisted comedy that maybe we should be thankful for his inability to think or speak clearly.

It would, however, be nice if someone explained to Cannon the merit underlying the bipartisan CHIP-S bill championed by occasionally thoughtful Republicans such as Hatch.

Chaffetz might be able to beat Cannon in a primary election, because most voters are reasonable individuals. The Rupublican convention is filled with unreasonable extremists and is not a good representation of voters as a whole. Chaffetz is most likely far too reasonable and intelligent of an individual to get enough of the crazy votes at the convention to make it to a primary.

Supporters of Cannon always seem to point to his influence in DC. How exactly does this myth get perpetuated? Cannon is not the ranking republican on any of his committees and has not been notably successful at passing his legislation.

From a national perspective he was part of a republican majority that failed to control spending, failed to reform medicare, failed to fix social security and failed our troops by pushing Bush to conduct the war in a responsible and competent manner.

I'm sure Cannon's a good person and a nice guy but I want a representative that will represent us with more energy and effectiveness as well as tackle the tough issues facing us. What exactly has Cannon done to deserve my vote?

hatch, cannon .. was does it matter , they all have been in gov't office way too long ... give others from the state of utah a chance at the pay raises, the perks, the benefits, the retirement system these guys have voted for themselves for decades .. lets spread the wealth around, new senators and congressmen each election .. give others in this state a shot at the retirement system you and i cant even dream about or dare to have, while at the same time these good upstanding men have cut, resticted, banned any kind of like retirement system for you and I ... and in the mean time these current gentleman have deemed your retirement to the gutter while they have nothing to worry about whenever they leave office ... oh how vain and foolish we the voters of this state really are .. while our gov't leaders continue to pad their pockets from our pockets because we voted for them each election to be fleeced by them no-less .. come on utah spread the wealth, give others in this state a shot at a retirement system you can never have

Chaffetz is not the guy to replace Cannon. Chaffetz ran Dukakis' Utah presidential campaign back in the day. Tough to erase even if tied into Dukakis through family. Of course he claims he's a republican, he's a former nu skin pr guy, he knows the art of spin, would he get elected in Utah County as a demonicrat?
Cannon made a huge political blunder standing against the rule of law and for illegal immigration, but Chaffetz is not the answer. Don't be fooled.