Why can't the GOP get rid of Cannon? His policy of welcoming illegal immigrants with open arms is appalling. At least Dew won the nomination uncontested. His ideas on immigration are much more in line with most of Utah's. Check out his web site and vote for him instead of Matheson.

Chris Cannon has one of the most conservative voting records in Congress, but according to many District 3 Republicans, that isn't good enough.

I can't help but wonder sometimes, how many votes would David Duke get if he was a candidate in District 3?

One other thing. On his website, Jason Chaffetz talks about supporting a line-item veto. That's all well and good, but since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1998 that the line-item veto was unconstitutional, the only way a line-item veto can become law is by adding an amendment to the constitution.

As a citizen and state delegate, I am pleased to see Jason Chaffetz win the state convention.

I am however, disappointed that Jason didnt win by one percentage point more. How long do we have to put up with the incompetence of Chris Cannon? How long do we have to put up to a representative that parrots what is told him by the GOP leadership in Washington. Chris would rather be like by his political peers than stand up for something unpopular. We need to vote the bum out.

This thread discusses the Content article: Cannon almost ousted by GOP rival

Congratulations to Jason Chaffetz for earning more than 60% of the legal delegate vote at the convention, which, had the rules of the party been properly enforced, (which will never happen as long as Stan Lockhart is chair and as long as he appoints Senator Curt Bramble to chair the credentials committee), would have been enough for a knock-out win.

Condolences to Jason Chaffetz for being robbed by the same illegal delegate racket that robbed as many as four candidates in the Utah County Republican Convention two weeks ago.

Congratulations to the delegates in Congressional District 3 for not being fooled by David Leavitt's stalking horse candidacy to deny Chaffetz the nomination in tag-team combination with Chris Cannon.

Good luck Jason on June 24th.

And great reporting, Bob and Leigh, from someone who was there.

Ron Paul?

That just goes to show what the Utah Republican delegates are made of.

Ron Paul. Wow.

Let me guess....the eagle forum lives!

And after reading this article, I'm to think that the country will be better served with Chaffetz instead of Cannon? Sorry, both are pathetic. Please, Dear Lord, send us Obama and a solidly Democratic congress.

Are Utahans finally coming out of their sleep? Goodbye Cannon.

The reaction to Chris Cannon from the delegates was because his appearance on the convention floor with David Leavitt was a deliberate violation of the rules prohibiting campaigning in the convention hall. Their appearance occured after David Leavitt supporters marched through the convention carrying Chris Cannon signs and another supporter hung a sign from a balcony behind the podium. Twice the convention chair asked the candidates to stop their campaigning in the convention hall before Cannon and Leavitt made their appearance. Perhaps it was only the Chaffetz supporters who were upset by the persistent flaunting of the convention rules but I think the reaction was strong enough to suggest that the loud protest, including booing, was coming from other delegates as well.

To many in office for to long
It is best to rid the public of all this trash at the voting box
No more incumbunts.
How can you do better with the old stupid ideas of someone 81 years old?
4 or 5 terms in office
All of these people are MILLION Aires
Why would they want to spend their time in office
and ruin their lives and others

Note to: Bart
You are pathethic sir. Both Clinton and Obama are Marist-Lenist socialists. Have you listened to them?....particularly to Obama? Don't tell me you are a progressive or a moderate? You are just wrong. So far, for me without Romney, it is just the three amigos in the presidential race, with Obama likely to knock Clinton out by June. Both of them are not good. We don't need a rap artist in the White House.....a great orator....you have to be kidding? I don't believe you people about Cannon. If Chaffetz wins, he will be at the bottom of the totem pole in a Nancy Pelosi headed democrat House of Representatives. Cannon would have much more influence. Go Cannon!!!

>>Congratulations to Jason Chaffetz for earning more than 60% of the legal delegate vote at the convention, which, had the rules of the party been properly enforced, (which will never happen as long as Stan Lockhart is chair and as long as he appoints Senator Curt Bramble to chair the credentials committee), would have been enough for a knock-out win.<<

Not to worry. When Utah gets enough illegal aliens Chaffetz is a lead pipe cinch to win.

Bennett promised 2 terms. Now he wants 4. He lied to us.

Bart, you may get your wish. Chaeffetz is an Obama Democrat. He is a populist who will say anything it takes to get a vote.

As a former delegate I met with him. He started by meeting all of the delegates he could from prior election cycles. He wouldn't take a stand on so many issues, to include immigration. He was aware that it was an issue but wouldn't identify any positions about it at all.

Once he gets the feeling that being zenophobic is the answer, he is off and running.

He is a Dukakis/Obama type Democrat and if the voters of Utah are pathetic enough to send him to Washington, they will rue the day!

I am a conservative Republican but I have to say that the Populist/Mike Ridgeway trash and burn, scorched earth party and tactics is just about reached its limit for me. I simply cannot stand the racist, xenophobic America they dream of.

I had to leave early. The article only mentions the one resolution about releasing delegates. Was there a quorum to vote on the other resolutions?

So Congressman Cannon was surprised by the "ferocity" of the Chaffetz supporters at the Convention.

Here's what happened after Mr. Leavitt was eliminated in the 2nd round of voting. The Leavitt and Cannon campaigns disregarded Convention rules by having 20 or 30 supporters wear Leavitt t-shirts and carry Cannon signs down onto the Convention floor during the meeting. These partisans were admonished to leave the floor by the Convention Chair and finally did leave.

Subsequently, Mr. Cannon and Mr. Leavitt appeared on the Convention floor, while Convention business was being conducted, shaking hands with delegates and trying to make their new political point.

This latter action by Cannon and Leavitt, coming after breaking convention rules with the parade of signs, is what upset the Chaffetz supporters. It seemed to be a further disregard of the rules and not playing fair and square. And yes, there was some booing at this point.

Bart, it can't come fast enough. Give us a chance in the future: give us Obama.

...that's all Chaffetz has until the primary.

He has no money.

He has no name id.

And he has no chance.

In the end he'll be just another bump in the road to Chris Cannon winning the nomination just like, Matt Throckmorton and John Jacobs.

The only difference is this bump in the road is found in the 2nd Congressional District instead of the 3rd, where Chaffetz the opportunistic, carpet-bagger lives.

Chaffetz didn't run against Matheson in the 2nd because he knew he didn't have the resources (money) to win in the general election. Likwise, he knows he doesn't have the resources to go up against Cannon in a primary election. Chaffetz only hope was to win it outright with 60% at convention, which he failed to do and so it is just a matter of time, 6 weeks and 2 days to be exact, until Cannon officially wins the nomination. But unofficially everybody who knows anything about politics knows this race is over: Cannon is the nominee and will return to DC.

Please good people of the Third District get rid of Cannon. It is so unfortunate that Leavitt played to the extreme nepotism that exists in this state and protected one of its own. Cannon has not served his district well. He has showed his true colors in recent weeks with the vile hatred, venom and vulgarity he has displayed after seeing the nomination slipping from his fingers.

Remember this good people of the Third District, Cannon is not vying for election to serve the Utah people, but rather in service of his own ego and pocket book. Chaffetz is a good man who has had to rise on his own without the efforts of his forefathers. He has earned in sweat everything he has achieved. He protects the Constitution and in electing him, you will help swing the tide of the destructive path this country is on.

What Mr. calls the "ferocity" of Chaffetz supporters was merely the reaction of many state delegates to the "politics as usual" antics and election improprieties by Mr. Leavitt and Mr. and their campaign workers. Once it was clear that Mr. Leavitt was eliminated in the second round of voting, rather than stand on principle (as way his mantra throughout his campaign), Mr. Leavitt had his campaign workers in full "Leavitt" attire flood the convention floor in the middle of convention business with % " signs: very poor form indeed from the candidate who promised throughout the campaign that he was the "principled statesman" in the race. Not only was this extremely poor form but was perceived as a violation of convention rules by many delegates who expressed their displeasure. Mr. , in the face of a complete "fiscal train wreck" in 5-8 years which has only ballooned under your watch, as you finally admitted in delegate meetings, that you would play such "political games" to save YOUR own politcal bacon may be why delegates overwhelmingly supported Chaffetz.

Jason Chaffetz is the better candidate. Leavitt and Cannon violated the rules to steal this. Jason's only mistake was a flyer critical of Leavitt passed out at convention. Leavitt decided to be proud and not do the right thing.

Since the Des News is is being overseen by Chris Cannon's brother, this is article is hardly true.

I never thought I could support Cannon, but I just can't quite get around the fact that Chaffetz used to work for NuScam. I mean, really, to be involved with these cruel schemes requires a person to be 1) ethically chellenged, or 2) intellectually challenged. To not know that you are involved in nothing but an income transfer from those at the bottom of a pyramid to those at the top with a bunch of smoke and mirrors as a distraction, you are either too dumb to be in congress or too dishonest to be in congress (possibly both). I will be watching closely to see who the Democrats nominate. Maybe there is still hope.

I met with Chaffetz at a delegate meeting and was very unimpressed. I went to the meeting with an open mind, but left disgusted by his approach and the way that he talked about his opponents. I agreed with much of what he was saying, but couldn't stand the way he was saying it. Some of his supporters showed the same lack of respect when they booed Cannon when he came out on stage. I'm glad that Cannon made it out of the ultra-conservative convention, and I think that Cannon will make it out of the primary (thankfully).

Kudos to Leavitt for throwing his support behind Cannon (something that he did not have to do). The Chaffetz supporters were not mad Leavitt and Cannon "broke rules", they were mad that Leavitt secured the primary for Cannon. If he had done the same for Chaffetz, they would have been pleased. If Chaffetz hadn't smeared Leavitt so much, he might have made it out of the convention. I guess that mud-slinging doesn't always pay.

When does falling 10 votes short = falling 10,000 votes short?

When your name is Jason Chaffetz and you just missed 60%-ing the convention by 10 votes and now you'll probably lose the primary by 10,000 votes.

Yes that's what happens when you have no money and no name id and you are going up against Cannon in a primary in just 6 short weeks.

Chaffetz did it to himself. His own aggressiveness was his downfall. He made a huge error at convention, which cost him the nomination. He personally attacked Leavitt with a last minute, negative, convention flier. Leavitt and his supporters didn't like it. They thought it was unfair, untrue and eventually threw their support behind Cannon.

Aggressively attacking your opponent in a multi-ballot situation where you are going to need your opponent's support in the final ballot round to get 60% is a gigantic mental and strategic mistake.

It's kind of like the survivor reality tv show. The guy who ticks everyone off to get to the final round ususally loses to the nice guy who flew under the radar.

Did the delegates know that Chaffetz doesn't live in the 3rd district and can't even vote for himself?

Did the delegates know that Huntsman and those who worked with Chaffetz will not support Chaffetz?

Did the delegates know that David Leavitt feels very strongly that if Chaffetz got into Congress we'd all have some serious problems?

I am a long time state delegate who was dissappointed and embarrassed by the lack of civility displayed by many Chaffetz supporters. The Chaffetz campaign was targeted at the most militant conservative portions of the party and promoted an environment of anger and unkindness.

I have no doubt his campaign will fail terribly moving into the Primary where the non militant are still a majority.

The authors had it wrong when they reported that the delegates boo'ed Cannon when he came to the floor. Although people are not happy with him, the booing was for the blatant disregard of the rules when they sent their campaigners onto the floor with their signs. This was a blatant disrespect and contempt for the rules of the convention that all the other candidates had the integrity to obey and stay outside in the exibit hall.

The rules were clear to all (hence the loud booing by almost everyone on the floor, not just 3rd district delegates). Some believe they are above the rule of law.

We certainly need to abandon the Republican party that as so long ago abandoned us. These caucuses remind me of the Taliban, where absolute authority is how they get who they want in office (I am still upset that Walker was ousted at these sort of events well before primaries happened). We the people should have a say with EVERY candidate whether they can represent us or not and our choices are too often winnowed to Diddly Do and Diddly Dum by these sketchy political practices.

The problem is the Democrats aren't any better. While I am voting for Obama save either a shared Hilary OR Romney ticket, I have little faith in that party either. Frankly, I am disappointed in the whole political mess.

I was at the convention and live in the Chaffetz district, not Cannons. And I just want to say I have never seen such a stupid display as people getting mad because two politicians were seen on the floor walking arm in arm. Oh my! How scandalous! I laughed and laughed at that. Here we are sitting in a room with thousands of signs promoting one candidate over another, and people boo because two guys are seen together. So much for the 1st Amendment.

But Chaffetz is not the solution to the Chris Cannon conundrum. I have had nothing but bad experiences in my dealings with Cannon. I do not like the man at.all. I like him as a congressman even less. But Chaffetz has no clue about the realities of leadership, in under qualified and underwhelming. The only thing worse than Cannon would be Chaffetz.

Not like Caffetz has a icecube's chance in Haiti in this primary. You can bully delegates, but voters won't carry the political furor that motivated those at the convention.

Bob Bennett needs to step down. He is not one of those "grand old men" in Congress who are in their eighties. He does nothing.

Orrin Hatch is another man who thinks he is unstoppable. He probably is. The only time he ever shows for anything is when he is running for relection. He always shows up for the Temple Square Broadcasts when he is running for relection and they always mention he is there. He is as corrupt as the next politican. Most of them are.
Glad the shot him down on the McCain suggestion.

I spoke with a delegate just 15 minutes ago and asked them why the big Chaefetz momentum. It took only a few minutes for one opinion to come out.

This delegate is very conservative and populist. In the past they have told me that they know deporting 20 million illegal aliens isn't practical but they still want to give it a shot.

This delegate felt that Chaefetz taking such a tough position on illegal immigration and appearing to be of Hispanic heritage made them more comfortable with taking a hard line.

I have no idea how many delegates feel this way but I find it very interesting. Like when the Utah Minutemen had a nice, a little over the top, gentleman who was a third or fourth generation Mexican-American as spokesman. It allowed people to fully vent without being pegged as racist.

It could have been the perfect storm for Chaefetz at a convention. Primary voters will be different.

What I am amazed at is the sheer hatred that many feel, to the point of losing logic and reason. Many of these extreme conservatives are just plain old driven by emotion, without reservation for consideration.

I cannot believe the preschool misstep of reporting by the deseret news and bob bernick, to make it look like the chaffetz supporters had "ferocity". The whole convention floor was up in arms and booing because of the blatant disregard of of the rules by Cannon and Leavitt. To make Chaffetz supporters seem like mean, angry people is uncalled for, especially because Chaffetz was the only honorable one of the candidates who did not resort to a cheating, desperate, Clintonesque attempt to win no matter how dishonest they needed to be. Apparently Cannon proved that cheaters do prosper, unfortunately. I know Joe Cannon (editor)is his brother, but the reporting was blatantly for chris cannon. He has lost my vote no matter what happens for the stunt he pulled. The deseret news should post a front page correction for the gaffe.

Bennett running again!? I heard a man at the Democratic convention that should take him on.

Who was that guy? He spoke about Thomas Jefferson and a united Utah.

Well, whoever you are, RUN!

For far too long, the 3rd District has not been represented. Jason Chaffetz is a breath of fresh air! And he won't be the only new face in Congress next January.

The Washington cabinet is bare, but new, dynamic supplies are on the way!

Go get 'em Jason!

I am so tired of hearing the "attack ad" accusation. Quoting your opponent on a specific issue while not taking anything out of context IS NOT AN ATTACK. It is a fact. People come to the convention trying to figure out where the candidates differ. Pointing out differences between you and another person is the only way to have a dialogue, those who complain about it are whiners.

That said, Chaffetz did show he had a more hard line stance on immigration. I don't agree with it (though I still support him over Cannon). Maybe it did hurt him. However, to say he is a xenophobe is the typical "racist" finger-pointing seen from the left. You can seek immigration reform and not be an evil person. And to say all he did was attack others is a farce - he ran on issues and that is why he had so much support.

I have this little vacuum cleaner that’s broken. If Cannon doesn’t work out, maybe that could be our congressman.

*** Chris Cannon has one of the most conservative voting records in Congress, but according to many District 3 Republicans, that isn't good enough. ***

It doesn't matter how "conservative" you are on any random issue, if you aren't conservative on THE most important issues. Illegal immigration is the biggest issue facing us today, and it affects verything from the environment, wages, culture, health care, education, politics, ad infinitum. If you're not conservative on that issue, then you aren't conservative at all.

*** "I can't help but wonder sometimes, how many votes would David Duke get if he was a candidate in District 3?" ***

Spare us. Immigration policy is determined by Congress, and the makeup of Congress is determined by we, the people. I guess to you it's perfectly OK for hundreds of members of the cheap labor lobby to meet routinely behind closed doors for the purpose of getting looser immigration laws to fatten their wallet. But for citizens as a group to address the issue openly, via the election system, is racist.

The lobbyists are the ones "wearing the hoods," not those of us who want enforcement.

I see the Cannon sleaze machine is already fully in operation, hurling out every form of unjustified accusation at Chaffetz. You better buy your towels in bulk, Chaffetz, because you'll need 'em.

I also find pictures of the 2 candidates in the paper interesting. One shows Cannon with wife and kids. The other shows Chaffetz up on the dais - alone. Reminds me of the sleazy ad by Karl Snow in the 1990 3rd district race, with Snow's family juxtaposed with Orton's "family" (just Orton himself, as he was single at the time).

Wonder if his brother the editor had anything to do with it?

I am a first time delegate in the third district. I was wavering between Chaffetz or Leavitt. Two things made the decision easy: That Leavitt is for Utah taxpayers paying instate tuition for illegals. NOT very popular in Utah County. Chaffetz convention speach was also top notch. After watching the Cannon-Leavitt love fest on the floor of the convention, I am so glad I went with Chaffetz.

*** "I see the Cannon sleaze machine is already fully in operation" ***

I was in WalMart two days ago and happened to pass through the Politicking department on my way to the Junk Food aisle. I noticed that every shelf where they normally stock Sleaze was completely empty. I asked the guy at the counter and he said that a heavy set guy from Mapleton had come in with his seven kids and cleaned out every WalMart store from Payson to Murray.

Be prepared, Chaffetz.

Un-freaking-believable article. What a farce! Joe, you need to let your brudder fight his own battles. Stop spreading lies and half-truths.

Cannon was booed, not by angry Chaffetz supporters, but by everyone because he broke the rules! Cannon and Leavitt conducted themselves in the most embarrassing manner possible yesterday. And party leaders allowed it!

Jason, take it to the machine and get us out of this black hole establishment!

*** "But Chaffetz is not the solution to the Chris Cannon conundrum. I have had nothing but bad experiences in my dealings with Cannon. I do not like the man at.all. I like him as a congressman even less. But Chaffetz has no clue about the realities of leadership, in under qualified and underwhelming. The only thing worse than Cannon would be Chaffetz." ***

But we won't really know until we have Chaffetz in office, will we?

The real problem with incumbents is that they feel invincible, bulletproof. If turnover were a bit higher; if more of them got defeated running for re-election they might actually feel the need to listen more to the voters than to their cronies and contributors.

Elect Chaffetz. If he does a lousy job we're only stuck with him for 2 years, then we can throw him out.

Its time for term limits. Its time that we get rid of automatic delegates appointed by the party. How can we change anything when the party has so much control and these representatives can build up such large war chests. How can a honest, decent person win an election under these circumstances.

I also attended my first nominating convention this year and was quite taken back by the unabashed power grab of the Republican Party power boys. Good job Mr. Chaffetz, I hope the people wise up to the scam be perpetrated on Utah by the Leavitt and Cannon families keeping it all in the family with Uncle Joe’s help at the DN. If you want the true story, ask someone who was actually at the convention. The Leavitt supporters I met were all cordial and seemed like decent, honorable people as were the Chaffetz supporters. I think many people were quite surprised to see Leavitt snuggle up to Cannon so quickly and thus the delegate reaction in their votes. (I am sure Chaffetz won’t be on any nametags at the annual Leavitt/Cannon barbeque this summer.)

It’s time for a change folks, but it will only happen if you talk to your friends and neighbors and get them out to vote.

The bottom line is Chaffetz made a huge mistake by sending out the personal attack flier day of the convention. Had he never done that the animosity between the campaigns would never have been enough to spur a stunt, a very effective stunt, like the one Leavitt-Cannon pulled. That piece is what cost Chaffetz the nomination, period. If I were Chaffetz I'd be kicking myself for having sent that out about now. Now he is six weeks out with no money and no organization, this cycle he's just another dead-man-walking. Good luck in 2 years Jason.

How ironic that some are talking about the Cannon sleaze machine. The real sleaze machine has been the one that has for 3 or 4 years now written sleazy posts, emails and letters-to-the-editor against Cannon. I have read some of the most foul things imagenable against Cannon. That is the real sleaze machine! I think what you are seeing is normal Republicans completely alarmed that the sleaze crowd may win a seat in Congress.

As for me and my house...NO WAY!

To the person who posted at 12:10 pm - please explain about the flyer. I saw it. It represented Leavitt's position in support of in-state tuition for illegal immigrants. It basically quoted Leavitt supporting that policy and said Chaffetz opposed it. Why is it dirty campaigning to point out a difference on the issues?

There were three witnesses listed on the flyer (although only two were named - the other was a television reporter). Is Leavitt saying those witnesses lied? Is he saying this was not his position? Or is he saying it's inappropriate to talk about differences on issues? What is the objection?

I thought Leavitt was practically daring Chaffetz to make the distinction. He's been telling people since last week's debate that they are the same on the issues. He said the only difference between them was money. Of course Chaffetz is going to try to show that they're different! And he used a quote from a meeting on Friday, May 9. How can you take issue with that?

Please explain to me why the flyer was inappropriate or dishonest.

A couple of "posts" have mentioned that Jason Chaffetz has no money and no organization. That is meant to be a negative -- but it really is not. As for an organization, it is true he does not have PAID staff -- simply because many, many people believe in him enough to work (some full-time) as volunteers. Sounds like a fiscally conservative approach to me. As for money, he spent MUCH less than Leavitt, and the result speaks for itself. Some of us are past tired of electing people who can buy an election. GO JASON !

Why would 3rd district voters want a candidate from the 2nd district anyway?
I was at the convention and I could hardly believe the rude, boorish behavior of some delegates, 99% of them wearing Chaffetz shirts. I attended one of Chaffetz's town meetings and left with the impression that he will be for whatever his audience wants. He pushes whatever get the loudest cheers. That's called pandering, I think.
I was also surprised at how extreme Republican "leadership" seems, when the majority of Republican voters are more rational. I was warned of that before the convention, though.

It is pretty scary when Chaffetz is so off the deep end conservative even Cannon looks reasonable next to him. I am more and more turned off by the Republican Party in Utah each day.

Although arguably better than his Democrat predecessor, Cannon has given me many frustrations over the years. I'm so glad to see someone like Chaffetz run who seems much more devoted to my principles. I look forward to supporting his campaign--and voting for him in this year's primary elections.