Congressman Jason Chaffetz has received a lot of attention from national media, including popular television programs and mainstream newspapers. His rocket-ship career in Utah politics is raising some interesting questions:
Does Chaffetz have a bright future as a long-term congressman, or is he just a conservative firebrand without much substance who will quickly flame out?
Webb: Chafettz's conservative base loves him, but among mainstream Utahns, and particularly business leaders and local government officials, the jury is still out. They view him as something of a reactionary populist who can toss out a lot of red meat to his fans, rather than as a statesman working on real solutions to the nation's problems.
However, in fairness to Chaffetz, it must be remembered that he's not even a year into his first term as a member of the minority party. Freshmen congressmen, especially those in the minority, are usually mostly ignored and have little impact.
Chaffetz barely has learned where the bathrooms are, so he can't be expected to be in the middle of substantive legislation solving the world's problems. He can shout out a few catcalls from the sidelines, and he's received a lot of attention doing so. Still, Utah's political establishment will be watching to see how he grows into his position and whether he can become a force in furthering Utah's interests at the national level.
Pignanelli: "The mission of the press is to spread culture while destroying the attention span." — Karl Kraus. Chaffetz and other outspoken politicos are grateful to Glenn Beck, syndicated talk show host on the Fox network. Beck's self-righteousness, hypocrisy and outright lies have established a new low even for entertainment programs trying to disguise themselves as yellow journalism. Blowhards from the right and left (i.e. MoveOn.org and Sean Hannity) are almost human in comparison to this self-deluded muckraker, while Chaffetz is positively statesmanlike.
Regardless how one views Chaffetz's pronouncements and media antics, his political savvy cannot be denied. He is not shy in using family connections in garnering Democratic support for his legislation. Yet Chaffetz understands that a freshman congressman in the minority party has limited impact on the legislative process. He is covering this deficit with a frenetic media appearance schedule.
More important, Chaffetz is good at the game. Few members of Congress demonstrate the courage to endure the grilling of cable pundit Stephen Colbert (Chaffetz's interview was hilarious). He throws prime cuts of red meat sound bites to the right-wing vigilantes in his district and is beloved for it (but many wonder if he really believes everything he says). A politician can never be too conservative or too vocal for Utah County — the heart of Chaffetz's district. Thus, his flame can burn for a long time.
Will the Chaffetz election strategy, taking advantage of Utah's caucus/convention system in 2008, be replicated by other campaigns in 2010 and in the future?
Pignanelli: In 2008, at the height of the presidential campaign and economic crash, senior advisers to Sen. Bob Bennett predicted a "Chaffetz tactic" could be used against Bennett and other incumbents in 2010. They were right. Bennett is facing several intraparty challengers emulating Chaffetz in appealing to right-wing GOP delegates. Sen. Orrin Hatch is already taking actions in a pre-emptive mode for 2012. Gov. Gary Herbert's campaign is already running in anticipation of a Chaffetz-like challenge for governor. There is the potential of a Chaffetz style of campaign toward ultra left-wing Democratic delegates against Congressman Jim Matheson.
Webb: Chaffetz demonstrated that with a lot of hard work at the grass-roots level, meeting one-on-one and in small groups with delegates and political activists, an intense and obsessive challenger can knock off an incumbent who hasn't maintained those grass-roots relationships.
Utah's unique electoral system gives challengers and no-names a fighting chance, if they're willing to put in the work. There's nothing nefarious about this. It's a better process than in many states where a wealthy individual can decide to buy an election by spending millions of dollars on focus groups, polls and 30-second TV spots.
Given his position on earmarks, can Chaffetz support local government leaders and deliver for his district?
Webb: I'm all for an absolute ban on earmarks — if everyone participates. But if everyone plays the earmark game but Chaffetz, his lofty principles put his local governments at a serious disadvantage in getting good projects done. Unilateral disarmament makes no sense.
Pignanelli: Bashing earmarks is good politics in today's environment and will drown out any grumbling from mayors and city council members. However, Chaffetz will need to start funding transportation and infrastructure projects once the economy returns.
Will he face a serious challenge in 2010?
Pignanelli: Not from a Republican, although Democrats have fielded pretty good candidates for the third congressional district to keep the GOP nominee active in campaigning.
Webb: Plenty of experienced Republicans would love to take on Chaffetz. But few are willing to spend months slogging at the grass-roots level to win enough delegate support to get out of convention.
Republican LaVarr Webb is a political consultant and lobbyist. Previously he was policy deputy to Gov. Mike Leavitt and a Deseret News managing editor. E-mail: lwebb@exoro.com. Democrat Frank Pignanelli is Salt Lake attorney, lobbyist and political adviser. Pignanelli served 10 years in the Utah House of Representatives, six years as House minority leader. His spouse, D'Arcy Dixon Pignanelli, is a Utah state tax commissioner. E-mail: frankp@xmission.com.