I am very impressed with John Jacob and I think one of his strongest points is his signing a contract with the constituents that if he doesn't fulfill his obligation that he set out to do as a congressman then he will not run. Self-imposed term limits are rare for those in congress; so anyone who is willing to say that if they do not try and accomplish what we wanted them to accomplish then they will not run again is enough for him to be my congressman.

I am very impressed with John Jacob and I think one of his strongest points is his signing a contract with the constituents that if he doesn't fulfill his obligation that he set out to do as a congressman then he will not run. Self-imposed term limits are rare for those in congress; so anyone who is willing to say that if they do not try and accomplish what we wanted them to accomplish then they will not run again is enough for him to be my congressman.

I've been following all three candidates pretty closely, and the one thing I am sure of is that I won't vote for Chris Cannon. I've posted a few reasons for this, but I will try to compose something that really lays out my thinking. However, I will say that I used to see Chris' approach to immigration the same way that you do, but after the debate with the other two candidates I have changed my mind. It is clear from comments that Chris made that he favors the interest of big business when it comes to immigration. He is couching this bias in rhetoric that he is trying to solve the problem. However, his voting record suggests that he is probably part of the problem more than he is part of the solution.

Let’s all get behind Chris Cannon!

I am supporting Chris Cannon this Saturday for a number of reasons.

1-Access – How many Congressmen do you know that call personally and walk through issues and concerns one-by-one? Chris is the only candidate that has done that. The others simply drop recordings on my voice mail – not impressive.

2-Relationships – I know that the only way to be an effective Congressman is through building relationships that matter – Chris has been in DC and has those relationships. He helped get our Majority Leader elected a few months ago and has therefore positioned himself in a situation that can make a difference for our state. This is especially important in the context of leadership. We are a state with only three Representatives. Utah is not like Texas (32) or Florida (25), we don’t have our Members spread out like those states due to sheer numbers. We must be thoughtful about this.

3-Leadership – What kind of Representative do you want – one that takes up hard issues or one that sticks his head in the sand while holding his finger in the air trying to see where the wind is blowing? Chris has taken up this immigration issue and has take arrows for trying to come up with solutions to a very difficult problem. Whether you agree with him or not, you should recognize that he is there in the fight instead of running from it. Instead of doing the simple thing, he is doing something that isn’t politically easy.

I also think his role as the Chairman of the Western Caucus is important to us along with the fact that he is only like the 5th Member from Utah to Chair a subcommittee.

4-Lies – Cook has attacked Cannon for being soft on illegal immigration and then sent out a card with all sorts of votes that Cannon made. Well, I went to Cannon and asked him about them – he explained to me the context in which the votes were cast. This was largely a vote for people that came here fleeing their own country and persecution. If I understand correctly the US only takes in 10,000 asylees per year. So the option was to grant these folks a stay of deportation under a Temporary Status Protection or send them home to possible torture and death - seems to me that the humane thing to do would be to allow them to stay. Cannon told me to look up the vote and its context.

I was AMAZED to find out that Cook voted for the SAME THING!!

I guess that’s just Merrill being Merrill. And as far as Jacob is concerned – he can’t articulate an issue to save his life. All he gives is anecdotes but doesn’t take a stand on any issue.

Hey Corey,

Don't you work for Cannon?

If you like LaRaza you will love Chris Cannon.

Interesting that Howard Stephenson has some sililar views to Cannon on immigration and yet it was a nonfactor in his race.

Chris Cannon is a true statesman. He tries to find real solutions to problems. He does what he believes to be the best public policy even when it may not appear the most popular course. He is a leader and the most influential member of Utah's Congressional delegation.

Our country is facing tough issues right now...let's keep someone representing us who can work those issues and not have someone new who has to spend these years figuring out who's who and what's where.