Really, Democrats? Colbert? It's as if we Like to Lose

Immigration is a serious problem. It's broken. Republicans have a plan to fix it. It's a horrible plan.

And Democrats, we have a plan Stephen Colbert.

What better way to show we're serious about immigration than to have comedian come testify?

It's like having a politician vouch for you integrity.

And (I hate saying this phrase) I agree with Jason Chaffetz on this one:

Congressman Chaffetz's Sports Hypocrisy

Jason Chaffetz is frustrated today. Apparently, he could save America today, if only he wasn't wasting his time voting to honor sports champions. From his Twitter Feed:

The stock market is diving and we are going to the Floor to vote on men's diving (swimming)....really!

The Democrats refuse to present a Budget, so we vote on sports figures. Congress must do better. I am fired up........thanks for reading

Even if we want to celebrate the Utah Jazz for coming in 4th, I will only vote Present.

Watch ESPN and hold a home town parade, but Congress is not where you should come seeking recognition in athletics.

No more will I vote in favor of recognizing sports accomplishments. People who change the world in math, science, medicine-these I support

Law enforcement, border patrol agents, and millions others who are changing people's lives.

Let's start recognizing true heroes--military, teachers, scientists, students who triumph in something other than sports

No longer will I vote for recognizing sports teams or athletes for simply winning. Congrats! They won! But I am only going to vote Present

I am done! Today we are recognizing Phil Mickelson and University of Texas men's swimming and diving team.

While I agree with him that congress shouldn't vote to honor everyone who wins a championship, it seems a little hypocritical coming from someone whose early campaign was "I'm not Chris Cannon, and I played football at BYU." OK, maybe hypocrisy is not the right word for that.

However, does any other word come to mind when you see this sports-related resolution?



(H/T YDU President Mark Hymas for the pic)

D.C.Voting Rights Group Targeting Jason Chaffetz

From Salon:

When a bill to give Washington, D.C., voting rights in the House died this week, thanks to a Republican-supported amendment that would have stripped the city's ability to pass gun laws, one local activist figured the best way to get even was with a little long-distance revenge.

"D.C. may not have a vote in Congress, but we have the highest concentration of political donors and politically savvy people here," says Mike Panetta, the District's "shadow representative" to the House. That's a citywide elected office, but it basically just makes Panetta D.C.'s chief lobbyist for voting rights.

So as the 2010 elections heat up, Panetta is trying to get Washingtonians and those who support D.C. voting rights to give money to opponents of the Republicans who have helped keep the city unrepresented in Congress. His "Free and Equal D.C. Fund," a registered political action committee, will direct contributions through Act Blue to try to defeat targets. First on the list? Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, the ranking Republican on the House subcommittee that oversees D.C. affairs. Chaffetz not only opposed the bill that died this week, but he also tried (and failed) to block the District's new same-sex marriage equality law, and has been making noises about doing the same thing if D.C. passes a law allowing medicinal marijuana. Panetta's fund will kick off its effort with a fundraiser next month dedicated to sending Chaffetz back to Utah. If the PAC is able to raise enough money, it might also run ads in Chaffetz's district.

"He's spending lot of time meddling in local affairs," Panetta says. "We could spin that in such a way that he's not doing his job representing the 3rd district of Utah."

Beating Chaffetz may be tough; the freshman doesn't even live in the district, but he won easily in 2008, and his district may be one of the most Republican-friendly ones in the nation. (A Chaffetz aide didn't respond immediately to a request for comment.) His Democratic opponent, Karen Hyer, isn't really on the national party's radar. But Chaffetz has been so ostentatious in his attempts to manage D.C. affairs that Panetta said he was a natural target anyway. The Free and Equal D.C. Fund will also try to elect Democrats to open Senate and House seats; Paul Hodes, the Democratic candidate for New Hampshire's open Senate seat, will be another recipient of Act Blue funds. (A similar effort in 2008 only raised a few hundred dollars, but Panetta says he'll work much harder at it this year.)

Matheson: Hard To Argue With 64% Approval

Basically, I'm link dumping here, but Jim Matheson has the highest approval rating of any of our congresscritters:

Name Approve Disapprove Don't know
President Barack Obama 30% 69% 1%
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi 21% 72% 7%
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid 25% 55% 20%
Senator Orrin Hatch 64% 30% 6%
Senator Bob Bennett 54% 37% 9%
Congressman Rob Bishop 48% 18% 34%
Congressman Jim Matheson 64% 27% 9%
Congressman Jason Chaffetz 55% 21% 24%
Source: Dan Jones Poll for KSL/Deseret News Margin of error: +/- 6.5%

The poll also asked about aspects of the health care bill:

Reform Agree Disagree Don't know
Pre-existing conditions covered 76% 22% 2%
Coverage for 36 million uninsured 49% 48% 3%
Americans required to have insurance 42% 57% 1%
Exchange to shop and compare policies 77% 21% 2%
Reduce out-of-pocket prescription costs 73% 23% 4%
Source: Dan Jones Poll for KSL/Deseret News Margin of error: +/- 6.5%

Overall Congressional Democrats' Health Insurance Reform Plan
Favor Oppose Don't know
30% 67% 3%
Source: Dan Jones Poll for KSL/Deseret News Margin of error: +/- 6.5%

America Has Much to Apologize For

Mitt Romney wrote a whole book say America is so great we, have nothing to apologize for.

Connor Boyack (my favorite Conservative) says Mitt's wrong:

Mitt Romney, unsurprisingly, is wrong. He’s not the only one spouting this hollow rhetoric, however. Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) said just last week during his CPAC speech that we should “never, ever, ever” apologize for America. Former Governor Sarah Palin said last fall that we “should never apologize for our country”. George H.W. Bush said, as President, that “I’ll never apologize for the United States. Ever. I don’t care what the facts are.”

These shallow and ignorant statements are an affront to any sense of justice, morality, and civic virtue. If, as Romney suggests, America has “made some mistakes”, it might just follow that, depending on their severity and damage, we should apologize and/or make reparations. To see where this might apply, and in stark contrast to the superficiality of Romney and his like-minded cohorts, let’s dig a bit deeper and consider a few examples

To see his examples, read the post.

-Bob

Of Popularity and Polls

From Utah Policy:

Atty. Gen. Mark Shurtleff has an approval rating of 63%, the second highest rating among Utah's top politicians, only behind Congressman Jim Matheson at 71%....

After Shurtleff comes Sen. Orrin Hatch, 62%; Sen. Bob Bennett, 58%; Gov. Gary Herbert, 57%; SL County Mayor Peter Corroon, 45%; Congressman Jason Chaffetz, 41%; and Congressman Rob Bishop, 39%. Those statewide numbers are the results of a survey conducted by Dan Jones & Associates Jan. 8-11, with a 600 sample and a possible 4% error margin, plus or minus.

Ah! Panic! Corroon only has 45% approval Numbers, right?

Well, these are statewide numbers. Corroon's numbers actually look pretty good:

Corroon, who is running for governor, has a relatively low favorability rating at 45% statewide, but he also has the lowest unfavorable rating of all politicians, at only 12%, and a whopping 40% have no opinion or haven't heard of him. So those who have a locked-in opinion about him are overwhelmingly positive. In his home stomping grounds of Salt Lake County he has a very healthy 67% favorability rating.

LaVarr Webb, who wrote the piece, doesn't say what Governor Herbert's disapproval numbers are. I'd be interested to see that.

-Bob

A Challenge for Matheson is a Good Thing -- for Matheson

That's right, contrary to "popular" belief, a challenger to Jim Matheson will help him. I believe this for two reasons:

1) It will move him further to the left. He doesn't have to go to the extreme that Bob Bennett is going to, but just throw the liberals a bone once in a while.

In 2006, Chris Cannon was challenged from the right flank of his party, and came out successful. However, he didn't move right far enough, and many that had sided with him in 2006 went for Jason Chaffetz in 2008.

Even the threat of a primary challenger was enough for Jon Huntsman to throw the conservatives a bone on school vouchers during the 2007 elections.

And, he has some tremendous political capital to spend.

2) He can counteract the Republicans' biggest claim against him.

Remember this from last month?

At a town hall meeting, [RNC Chair] Steele went to the heart of the matter when it comes to Matheson. The campaign theme expected next year, he said, is: A vote to re-elect Matheson is like a vote for liberal Nancy Pelosi.

All Jim Matheson would have to say is "see, the Nancy Pelosi wing of the Party hates me."

-Bob

Chaffetz Town Hall Gets Testy

All of the info I have is in the video:

Chaffetzing: Wrong on Census, ACORN, and USPS

Holly on the Hill has coined a new term:

retty soon, his name will become a verb and people will talk about “Chaffetzizing” or simply “Chaffetzing” when they mean a politician who actually stands on principle and brings forward workable solutions.

However, here's the real definition of the term: Pulling stuff out of your rear end when you need to be in front of the cameras.

Take the recent proposal that got Holly coining the term:

Congressman Jason Chaffetz is proposing another common-sense idea, this time regarding data collection and the census. Instead of hiring an additional 750,000 ACORN activists, why not utilize the 760,000 post office folks who already know the neighborhoods, are already in place and are not a partisan political group?

[...]

Rep. Chaffetz’ bill will create a “postal holiday” on the “Census Day” to allow the collection of Census information rather than the delivery of mail.

Well, this make perfect sense if you don't know anything about the census, the Postal Service, nor the ACORN controversy.

First, let's get this ACORN thing out of the way.

Back in 2008, a group called ACORN went out and registered people to vote. Actually, they paid people to register to vote, and paid them based on how many people they registered. Since they were being paid on commission, some people registered fake people. ACORN flagged those registrations when they turned them into the county clerks. They turned them in because they are reuired by federal law to do so.

Of all the fake registrations turned in by ACORN, there has only been one employee chrged with voter fraud. He registered himself at four different addresses, and voted at three of them. For Republicans.

But, if you are Chaffetzing, don't let the facts get in you way.

Second, let's look at the Postal Service. As Rep Chaffetz says, there are about 750,000 postal workers, which happens to be about the same number that will be hired by the census. Rep Chaffetz says that we should just use the postal workers, because they know the neighborhoods.

Well, about half of them do. There are about 350,000 Letter Carriers. Those are the people who put the mail in your mailbox. The rest of the postal workers are clerks, drivers, or work in processing and data entry.

But, if you are Chaffetzing, don't let the facts get in you way.

Last, let's look at the census. Early next year, you will get a packet in the mail from the Census Bureau. You will be asked to fill it out based on how your household will look on April 1. Then, you mail it in.

After April 1, many of the 700,000 people hired by the Census Bureau will be going to the doors of the people who didn't fill their out to get them to fill it out. As anyone who has knocked on doors(whether in politics or on a mission) can tell you, it's hard to find people at home, so they'll likely have to make many visits to homes. After that, there will be a massive tabulation process (again conducted by some of those 700,000 people). The results will be presented to President Obama before December 31.

To think that this process could be handled by the Postal Service in just one day is...

well...

I need a word...

Chaffetzing.

And, if you are Chaffetzing, don't let the facts get in you way.

-Bob

P.S. And, am I wrong, or is Congressman Chaffetz advocating AGAINST putting 700,000 Americans to work?

Big Government Chaffetz

I saw this yesterday, and I thought "Hmm..... either I was wrong thinking of Jason Chaffetz as a small-government type, or he's a typical Utah Republican: Talks the talk, skips the walk."

But, I didn't have time to look it up. So, I defer to Curtis:

On Chaffetz’s campaign site, one of his big four issues is limited government – stating that “This principal works! I agree with President Regan: “Government which governs least governs best.” He goes on to expand on this point by stating that he is a strong supporter of federalism with the emphasis being placed on the states and that he will “seek to restrict the role of the federal government.”

Ah, but Chaffetz is also the ranking Republican on the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Post Office, and the District of Columbia and, therefore, is able to rule on all ordinances D.C. comes up with. You see, because Washington D.C. is not technically a state, rather a federal district, the Constitution grants Congress the right to pass all laws regarding the governance of the city. Everything from parking ordinances to the recognition of gay marriage is, technically, left in the hands of Congress.

But I ask Representative Chaffetz, how can you be a supporter of small government and feel that it is ok to intervene in the affairs of Washington D.C.? I understand that D.C. poses unique questions and can be treated differently than Utah – but does that mean that you should? Are the 590,000 of the District less entitled to local government than the 745,000 in yours – if not, do you consider District residents Americans? If so, why do you feel the need to interfere only in their lives but not the lives of residents who live in regular states?

Of course, Jason Chaffetz loves government so much, he is the only Representative to be represented by someone else.

-Bob

Utah Democratic Party’s Response to “Tea Party”

It's a one-two punch with an uppercut at the end:

As a party with a record of fiscal responsibility, Democrats understand the anxiety people are feeling over ballooning deficits. In January 2001 when Bill Clinton left office, it was projected that by now our national debt would be paid off. Instead, Republicans decided to cut taxes for those with top annual incomes and now we are facing record debt

The premise of these corporately funded, Fox News and right-wing radio orchestrated “Tea Parties” is that conservatives now can be trusted to spend our money wisely. They propose we put off needed investments in infrastructure, education, energy and healthcare during the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression. The decreased spending will magically revive a declining economy instead of driving up unemployment rates and thereby driving down consumer spending, and digging a deeper hole in revenue.

“Tea Party” participants complain a great deal about taxes. As of April 1st nearly one million Utahns began receiving a tax cut that will total more than $500 million. This tax cut took effect immediately in the form of less income tax withheld from workers’ paychecks. The only member of Utah’s congressional delegation to vote for Obama’s tax cut was Congressman Jim Matheson. Congressmen Bishop and Chaffetz, both speakers at today’s “Tea Party”, voted against this tax cut for struggling Utah middle class families.

According to Utah Democratic Party Chairman Wayne Holland, Bishop and Chaffetz’s vote against a tax cut for working Utah families was a real slap in the face. “Over the past eight years the average working family has seen their income decline by about $2,000 and their healthcare costs mushroom. Meanwhile the wealthiest one percent of Americans saw their income literally explode and their taxes cut.” Chairman Holland concludes, “Utah deserves representation that will stand up for working families when they need it most. By voting against the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Bishop and Chaffetz both failed us.”

Republicans in the Utah legislature dutifully voted against any proposal that involved increasing anything with the word “tax” in it including: gas taxes, cigarette taxes, centrally assessed property taxes that hit big business, income taxes, or severance taxes. Instead, they decided to increase the cost of nearly everything else: vehicle registration fees, business fees, court fees, college tuition, public employee health insurance co-pays and premiums, public school student fees, and even marriage license fees.

Utah Democrats have been a consistent voice against the ballooning of the national debt during the Bush years. It’s these past Bush and Republican policies - and not the Recovery and Reinvestment Act - that is to blame for the current economic and fiscal crisis. Some of the Bush policy supporters speaking at the downtown SaltLake “Tea Party” should be the focus of participant’s rage.

Tea Baggers' irony

As I'm sure you've heard, the GOP is going to do what they do best today: solve the mote in Democrats' eye by complaining about it (but not actually DOING something), all the while ignoring the beam in their own eye. They have called today TEA BAG day to protest how much taxes have gone up (really? really. Someone forgot to tell them who's been running the show the past 8 years...), and are having tea bag parties all over the country, including here in Utah.

Nobody informed Jason Chaffetz, Rob Bishop, or Mark Shurtleff (all of whom are attending the SLC tea bagging at the Federal Building) how gay a term that is. Chris Buttars knows it's a form of sexual activity practiced by gay people, and is getting a good laugh at it.

I might add that my Utah tax liability is 462.5% that of my federal tax liability. That's because of a huge tax increase at the hands of the GOP legislature, but that's for another post.

There is some irony about today's events (aside from all the gay talk), from Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog:

I wonder how many tea baggers will be protesting against "socialism" while gathering at publicly financed parks and outside publicly financed buildings -- you know, socialist facilities that wouldn't exist without taxes and wealth redistribution. In Georgia, for example, almost every single tea bag event is taking place at a county courthouse, at a park, at a town square, at a city hall and so forth.

Socialism huzzah!

-Bob

P.S. I wonder if, in Utah, they are going to be tea bagging herbally. I don't even want to know what that means.....

Jason Chaffetz Part of gNOp Goon Squad

Jason "Carpetbagger" Chaffetz is part of a gNOp group attempting to "win" an argument by changing the subject and asking asinine questions.



Really, he should stay in his closet and dream of his glory days kicking field goals, or maybe doing something productive.

-Bob

Gov Huntsman Needs to Come Out of the Closet

No, not that closet, even though I had someone tell me last night they thought he was, you know, not straight.

And I don't mean Jason Chaffetz's closet, either.

What I mean is that Jon Huntsman needs to come out and admit what he really is.

A Democrat.

Hold a press conference, and let the Republicans know that since they don't want him any more, he's leaving.

And joining the other team.

Pulling a Jim Jeffords, if you will.

Heck, he'd be more of a leader than our party has seen in a really long time.

So, go ahead, Republicans. Tell Jon Huntsman he isn't a good Republican.

'Cause we'd take him in a heartbeat.

For more on Huntsman's Democratic credentials, check out this from Paul Rolly:

The latest clue to Huntsman's true political identity came Monday in a Salt Lake Tribune story when a spokesperson said he
favored having a domestic partnership program in Utah in which same-sex couple could claim many of the same rights afforded to married couples without the declaration of marriage.
If that isn't enough to make the Utah Republican hierarchy lose its vouchers, he also believes in cap and trade agreements and other initiatives to reduce pollution, a softer, more humane approach to illegal immigration and a relaxation of some of Utah's stringent alcohol control laws.
Holy Buttars.
He even believes in bonding and dipping into the rainy day fund to save education and health care programs.
A close look at Huntsman's policy positions should convince anyone that he fits the political profile of the moder, conservative western-style Democrat.

More Chaffetz Colbert Goodness

Stephen gives the Congressman a facial then plays Rock Band, where the Congressman gets a 24% on Easy.

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Will Jason Chaffetz Come Out of the Closet?

Utah's Cot-sleeping Congressman, Jason Chaffetz, is once again making the news.

Well his cot in the closet is making the news. This time, it's KSL:

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

Here's the line that got me:

"It's this idea that we're going to have to tighten our belts and do more with less."

You'd expect someone like this to live in a nice modest house, right? I mean, he's living in a closet for crying out loud!

Of course, you'd also expect a congressman to actually live in his district. but I digress.

How's 6 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 5800 Square Feet on 1.45 acres in Alpine sound?

For a family of 5?

Really?

Jason Chaffetz Leg Wrestles Stephen Colbert

This is easily the best episode of "better know a district" ever. And not one mention of the cot.



What did you think?

Jason Chaffetz and His Cot -- ABC News

Click here to see the story from ABC WOrld News Tonight about Congressman Jason Chaffetz and his Cot.

Oh, and one major mistake the reporter made.

The reporter mentioned that Chaffetz was living in his congressional office while his family stayed in his Utah district. Which is false. The Chaffetz Family lives in Jim Matheson's District.

That is, assuming anyone can find Congressman Jim.

-Bob

Congressman Chaffetz On ABC, Colbert Tonight

I remember a time when you could hardly turn on a TV on Sunday morning without seeing Orrin Hatch. After he revealed classified info on 9/11 to CNN and FoxNews, he stopped giving as good of interviews. And, if you become a bad interview, nobody wants to talk to you. Chris Cannon seemed to fill that role for a while, but only if the camera belonged to Fox. Then, when he bacame a lame duck, he vanshed from the airwaves.

And now it appears someone has taken their place.

My sources (Facebook) tell me that newly-sworn in Utah Congressman Jason Caffetz (who lives in my district yet does not represent me) will be on the last segment of ABC World News Tonight with Charles Gibson tonight talking about his cot.

And, even later tonight, you can catch Congressman Chaffetz on The Colbert Report.

I probably won't catch him with Charlie, but I promise video of Colbert tomorrow.

-Bob

Some Past Forays into my being a candidate, Part 1

This open letter to Jason Chaffetz reminded me of something:

I saw your TeeVee spot this morning. When you mention "kicking the game-winning field goal" as a qualification for United States Congress, it's very hard to lend you credibility or take you seriously. You're running for a federal delegation slot, not student government.

That got me thinking about times I ran for office in Jr High and high school.

In eighth grade, I had gym for first period. Every homeroom got to elect one person to the School Senate. After calling roll, the teacher had everyone who wanted to run for Senate step forward. I didn't step forward, I was pushed. Because I was no longer standing on the out-of-bounds line, the teacher considered me one of the six candidates. Because my last name came at the start of the list, I was the first to give my 30-second stump speech. Mine was something like this:

"Um yeah, my name is Bob, and you should vote for me because um, well, ah...." The someone blurts out "because he wears Wilson Athleticwear!" "Yes! That's right! You should vote for me because I wear Wilson Athleticwear!"

The rest of the candidates gave great speeches talking about how they would make smart decisions, and represent us well. Then, it came time for a vote. we all closed our eyes, and the teacher asked for a raise of hands for each candidate.

Of 40 kids, 5 were absent. Ben got one vote, and I got 34. Nobody else got any.

I was the lone vote for Ben. I thought he'd do a better job.

I went home and asked y mom for new gym clothes. Ones not made by Wilson.

-Bob

Stay tuned for part II -- Stunning defeat and part III -- Cockyness, and the thrilling conclusion: part IV -- God's Endorsement