Jason vs. Jason
My opponent continues to say things that make us all shake our heads in disbelief. Some are outright falsehoods, some are just his misunderstanding of votes (In fairness, reading the voting record that the House provides online can be challenging, so his rampant mistakes in that regard are at least understandable). Beyond the mistakes, however, is the changing positions. Like John Kerry in 2004, Jason continues to try and reinvent himself in front of our very eyes, while flip flopping on major issues and his past. For example:
JASON vs. JASON NOW: No mention of drilling, ANWR, Oil Shale, Coal to Liquid, etc on his website. Only says America must be, “energy independent.” (jasonforcongress.com)THEN: “Chaffetz said. “He’s [Cannon]out there telling people [that drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge] would drop the cost of a gallon of gas to $1.50, when in reality it may make a difference of 2 to 2.5 cents.” (The Hill, July 31, 2007)
NOW: “I disagreed with most, if not all, of the issues,” of Michael Dukakis. (Salt Lake Tribune, Today, June 19th)
THEN: “I believe in Michael Dukakis as a person, and in his political views.” BYU Daily Universe, Sept. 16, 1988
THEN: “Throughout Chaffetz’s travels with Dukakis, he has met Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sen. Albert Gore, Sen. Ted Kennedy…and actor Robert Redford.” BYU Daily Universe, Sept. 16, 1988
NOW: “I will stay in close communication with local police authorities to make sure they have the tools and protections they need on a federal level to enforce the law and keep us safe.” AND “I support funding for radar at both the Provo and West Jordan airports.” (jasonforcongress.com)Note: ALL OF THESE PROJECTS ARE DONE THROUGH AN EARMARK
THEN: Jason will refuse to, “seek, support, or enact earmarks.” (Jasonforcongress.com)
NOW: “…we should allow current illegal aliens to come forward and apply for a short term work visa if done in conjunction with a sponsoring legal business.”Note: Evidently illegals can commit a “felony” and stay in the country with no penalty. That is amnesty!
THEN: “I reject amnesty.” AND Jason supports putting illegals in tent cities to be deported AND “Illegal immigration should be a felony aggravating factor.” (Jasonforcongress.com and his convention speech)
Note: Even MSNBC, a left wing network, acknowledges that ANWR drilling would lower prices AT LEAST 50 cents. 50 cents means a lot to working Americans, but not to Jason Chaffetz as he sits with his feet up in his 5,000 square foot mansion.
NOW: “A life in pictures: Chaffetz’ home office is covered in framed photographs and papers documenting his life…photos of President Reagan, Henry Kissinger, President Ford and former President Bush.” (Salt Lake Tribune, July 19th, 2008)
THEN: “The [Dukakis] campaign has raised millions of dollars from literally thousands of individuals. That is different from George [H.W.] Bush, who accepts millions of dollars from PACs…The story may be in who is “buying” George Bush.” (Jason Chaffetz, letter to the editor, BYU Daily Universe)
Note: Jason uses the same line of argument against Chris Cannon that he used against President George H.W. Bush. In addition, Jason accepts PAC money from Utah Banks who continue to oppose Congressman Cannon’s efforts to force competition into the Credit Card and Banking markets.
NOW: “I will not go into debt in this campaign. Mr. Cannon has been in debt since he was elected in 1996. How you run your campaign is how you will operate in office. And I absolutely refuse to go into debt and have to ask lobbyists to bail me out,” (DesNews, May 15th, 2008) AND “How sad to think that you have to be able to go into debt to run a campaign,” Chaffetz said. (Salt Lake Tribune, April 18th, 2008)
THEN: “I think it’s only natural that a candidate invests in his own campaign. I would think voters would worry if somebody didn’t,” (Jason Chaffetz, in regards to Governor Hunstman’s campaign being in debt, including debt to the Governor himself. (Salt Lake Tribune, Sept. 16th, 2004)
Note: Over half of the debt Jason discusses on the campaign trail is to Congressman Cannon himself. Chris “invested in his own campaign” as Jason puts it, in previous races.
NOW: “Jason Chaffetz had no problem slamming Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. when he spoke in front of a crowd of hard-core Republicans at the state convention last month. But voters in the 3rd District got a door-hanger this week, boasting of the kind praise he received from Huntsman as he was departing the governor’s office in 2005. “Our office was surprised to see the mailer included a quote from the governor given other statements made by the candidate,” said Lisa Roskelley, spokeswoman for the governor. “The statement was not intended for campaign literature.” She would not say if the governor stood by his 2005 statement.Huntsman said last month that he had not discussed the slight with Chaffetz, and would not respond to the criticism. “I don’t think that returning a cheap shot makes for a good political dialogue,” he said.” (Salt Lake Tribune, June 19th, 2008)
June 19th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
Most of the Now vs. Then statements here are hardly flip-flops … one could be true while the other is also still true (although I’m not sure I’m accepting these Then statements as gospel truth … I’d have to check out the contexts for myself). I too have met several of the key Democrats listed here … even have photos with some of them … but I doubt any of THEM remember ME. So what does it mean? Nothing.
Quoting inaccurate news stories as “proof” of flip-flopping is not very convincing, either … Mr. Cannon should know about the inaccuracies of the news media from his own personal experiences (of course, it’s more convenient to “believe” them here).
Other statements are deliberate distortions, such as twisting Mr. Chaffetz’s stand on illegal immigration. Like some media outlets tend to do (again, they’ve done this to YOU as well), you are taking part of a statement without the sentence that immediately follows it and “interpreting” it incorrectly. For the benefit of other readers, here is the entire statement:
“We need a pathway to deportation. To facilitate this pathway to deportation, we should allow people currently here illegally to come forward and apply for a short-term work visa if done in conjunction with a sponsoring legal business. The visa will be for a specified time. At the conclusion of the visa, the illegal immigrant must return to his or her country of origin, or face serious criminal consequences.
“This should be a limited-time offer and any adult person identified without this application in process should be detained and deported. This will allow us to identify illegal immigrants and uniformly return them to their country of origin while allowing a legal workforce, with proper documentation and background checks, to enter the country in a uniform fashion.”
Deseret News, June 11, 2008
Many of us are tired of politics as usual and are ready for a change. Mr. Cannon, I think basically you’re a nice enough person but I and my neighbors perceive you to be part of the problem and we think Mr. Chaffetz will be part of the solution. But my esteem of you goes down when I see you deliberately twisting “facts” even though that’s what we’ve all come to expect politicians to do. I’m really sorry you’re about to be out of a job but I’m sure you’ll land on your feet just fine.
June 19th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
Sallie, does your esteem of Mr. Chaffetz go down when he deliberately twists “facts”? If Mr. Chaffetz is the solution, what is the problem?
June 21st, 2008 at 8:45 am
Contrary to what everyone seems to assume, just because Mr. Chaffetz says something is true doesn’t mean I accept it. I’ve researched those claims he’s made that are of concern to me and found he is correct. I also find it jaw-dropping that Cannon is not as familiar with his own record as Chaffetz is (at least, that’s how it appeared in the two televised debates I watched).
I am curious about something else, though … why was my comment allowed to be posted but not others? I’ve been asked by a couple of people who tried to post what my “secret” is because they’ve been relegated to cyberspace! I told them it must have been their less-than-respectful tone … but interesting to know that y’all are censoring the comments here.
June 24th, 2008 at 9:38 am
I am researching both you and Chaffetz before I vote today. I cannot find anything on Chaffetz about energy. I hope that you are not just all talk and will actually get us drilling off our shores and in Alaska. I worry about people on fixed incomes. Everytime the senate and house tries to “help” them, they make the problem worse. People on fixed incomes (like my father and my in-laws…the elderly) cannot afford gas and food and rent. This is horrible for them! We need someone to truly walk the walk and not just talk the talk.