Accidental Incumbents
Politicians Who Want To Lose
By Daniel Muniz

Perhaps the scariest thing for partisans to endure is when an elected official who is in their party doesn’t really want to keep their job. As a result, he or she isn’t all that interested in serving the needs of the constituents and worst of all; the kind of vigor and enthusiasm needed to win a re-election race isn’t there.

Having a warm body occupying a chair when a vote comes up is absolutely necessary for a party to achieve its objectives but that is about the limit of its value. And because of the absence of an authentic commitment, it is through the effort of third-parties and other outside forces that keeps the longevity of that elected officeholder in place. Matters are made worse when that seat is in a safe district. Incumbency has its perks, such as a fundraising apparatus and deep connections, which then makes it very difficult if not impossible for a primary challenger to overcome.

Chris Cannon from the 3rd Congressional District of Utah is the epitome of such a “spent” politician.

The 3rd district is one of the safest in the GOP so there is not much concern about a Democrat taking it away or spending a lot of money to fight for it. In addition, Party officials throughout the country go out of their way to prevent a credible challenge to a safe incumbent from taking place. Interestingly, the 2008 primary election represented the third consecutive time that Cannon had to fight for his political survival because of a determined challenger.

The ironic twist is that according to the American Conservative Union, Chris Cannon is almost the perfect conservative. Incidentally, the operative word is “almost” because he sided with big business interests in inviting millions of illegal aliens to enter the United States. Stopping illegal immigration is an explosive issue for the GOP and the candidates who don’t take it seriously enough will incur the wrath from their conservative electorate.

But it wasn’t illegal immigration that did Cannon in.

It was really his lack of enthusiasm for holding on to his congressional seat. He did a great job on being a “yes” man to the Party but the GOP is no longer representative of the conservative movement. As what has been shown all too often, conservatives have been rewarding fellow conservatives instead of just Republicans.

Consequently, Cannon was thrilled that he lost.

“I'm actually pretty happy about last night's results. I think I'll be able to do many of the things I would ordinarily do in Congress on the outside without having to suffer the sort of difficulties that come with that job.”

Source: News.Yahoo.com

From the big picture, such an outcome is perhaps the best thing that could happen to the Republican Party.

For far too long the Party has drifted to the left and such a new direction was engineered by the GOP leadership who began embracing too many liberal values. Accordingly, it is of no surprise that the conservative rank and file across the country rebelled against their elected officials. For far too long, Republican officeholders have been completely out of touch with the pulse of the conservative movement. And if it weren’t for their re-election bids being so rigged, they would have been kicked out a long time ago by an angry electorate.

And then there are a lot of conservatives who feel that as long as the person has an (R) attached to his or her name, then that is all that is needed for a general election. Nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, a warm body helps the Party but it does absolutely nothing to further the conservative movement. All it accomplishes is keeping Republicans in a position where they continue to inflict damage to the conservative movement.

Does that mean that Republicans losing elected offices is a good thing?

It hurts in the immediate future because that reliable vote isn’t there but Republicans need officeholders who are really committed to representing conservative values for the long haul. And that is why the beating that the GOP is taking is really the best thing that could happen to the Party. It works even better when there are Congressmen like Chris Cannon who want to get out of politics but can’t. The pressure from the Party is what keeps them in office. Democrats are in the same boat too with their own people who want to move into new things but can’t.

Overall, the best possible outcome is for more primary challengers to emerge.

The rank and file conservatives are fed up with their Republican officeholders’ spending money like drunken Democrats so the mood is just right to get rid of them. The only drawback is that the GOP has already alienated so many Republicans that these registered voters may not be there when a credible challenger arises. And that would be a shame because the only way to fix the Party is to participate in its elections. Without this participation, then there is no way for a real conservative to win and sadly, that has already happened in too many districts.

Although it is very possible that the cure may be worse than the ailment, reforming the GOP has to begin somewhere. In essence, the more of these Republican officeholders who get tossed out, then the better off the Party will be without them.

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