Team Chaffetz
Jason Chaffetz, candidate for Utah's Third congressional seat, has been tossed a curve ball in an apparent attempt to embarrass him with only days remaining before the election.Some liberal blogs are buzzing with word that Chaffetz's father, John Chaffetz, wrote a book, Gay Reality: The Team Guido Story, that they say supports gay unions. The book follows the adventures of a gay couple on the reality show The Amazing Race. A Genre Magazine reviewer writes:
"Team Guido" showed mainstream America that gay couples are not only charismatic, but also that they can be stable, loyal and devoted, with longevity.If that isn't enough to get Jason's supporters' guts churning, Rosie O'Donnell blurbs on the book's flap:
Here's a white, gay couple who are older, who are hysterically funny. . . . I gotta say, I love 'em!"I'm no Chaffetz supporter, but this attack is lost on me. Are these liberals implying that having a father who writes sympathetically about gays means the son has inherited a recessive pro-gay marriage gene? Besides, Jason Chaffetz argues his father's book does not promote gay unions.
[Team Guido] highlighed the idea that these issues are becoming more prevalent. It does not advocate a gay marriage position.Indeed, John Chaffetz says only that there are "political and sociological changes on the horizon with respect to homosexual/lesbian issues," and hopes his book will "invoke thought by all readers, should they hear a friend, relative or close family member is gay or lesbian."
Jason says the book was written years ago and is only being brought up now in an attempt to somehow smear his campaign.
On Daily Kos, Happy Valley Pilgrim, a Mormon, who opposes Chaffetz and California's Prop 8, which would ban gay and lesbian marriage, laments that 59,000 Mormon families have donated to Prop 8:
Most of these families live in the district where John Chaffetz's son Jason is running for Congress. I'd like to send all 59,000 a copy of John Chaffetz's book.Beyond questioning that "most" of the financial supporters of Prop 8 live in Utah's Third District, I doubt their reading Team Guido would change much (except make John best-selling author). Jason has read his dad's book, but still supports the LDS church's position on marriage being limited to between one man and one woman. He would support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to that effect.
I love my dad. He's written a book about a gay couple. I don't see any relevance to my campaign or my issues.
32 Comments:
Glen, Well written.
As someone that supports Jason Chaffetz, I had noticed the blogs.
Jason Chaffetz had been asked previously about his stand on marriage. It is obvious that the book out there doesn't change my vote for Jason Chaffetz.
This story is so gay.
How come no-one's buzzing about Spencer Bennion's book how Jesus would vote? It's like the Trib folks really want to forget they brought that up early in the season.
Better questions to ask Spencer are:
Where was he really during 1995?
Would Jesus have voted for him then?
How many times has he been married? (as in, marriages preformed, not necessarily to different people)
Regarding famly values, has any of his children sired children out of wedlock (a la Sarah Palin's)?
Hey, if the Dems can sling it around, surely an independant can pose a few quesstions. The answers to each of these can be verrified if an entreprising reporter who DIDN'T work at the Trib were so inclined to followup.
Wow -- I can't stand Jason Chaffetz, but I sure do respect his dad now! I wonder how an open minded dad can have such a hater for a son!
anonymous, 2:19,
While I have not been impressed with Bennion's campaign, I am NOT going to take shots at him personally, or his family - even if his wife is his official campaign manager.
I realize the questions listed are supposed to be a joke, but I am not going to stoop to the level of asking what his kids, if he has them, are doing.
Both candidates promised they wouldn't go there.
I am voting for Jason Chaffetz.
Um, I'm not sure I would categorize Jason as a 'hater' as a previous post suggested.
And I find no relevance, whatsoever, to his dad's dealings within the prism of Jason's campaign.
Questions for Jason:
Did you receive a ticket for exposing yourself to a transvestite in the 80's?
Have you ever used a company credit card, or asked for a reimbursement for providing a client or yourself with services that would be considered immoral to the voters of district 3?
Have you ever taken company property like a laptop?
Why are you really not working for Governor Huntsman?
Have you ever been accused of sexual harassment?
Not "particularly" related to the story, but did you know Mrs. Cheney (you know the second-lady in charge) wrote in her youth about soft lesbian porn?
Just something to know: Q bloggers were all over the place with this "gossip" few years ago.
Sometimes is good for democracy to have those darn liberals talking about things that are in the closet...
Jason has #1: never been fired. #2, never hired strippers. His DIRECT BOSS at Nu-Skin addressed the Utah County Republican women and said that there was ABSOLUTELY no truth to that rumor. None. Zip. Zilch. Nada. He also said they really wanted to keep Jason, but he chose to leave.
I don't know about your other weird assertions, but I assume they are made up on the fly, just like the rest of your post.
Hey "Republican" or should I call you "Questions for Chaffetz"? Almost 24 hours ago you posted the SAME unfounded allegations on MY WEBSITE and I asked you to provide proof (as I do not allow unfounded rumors to be posted on my site). Since then several posters have given citations to PROVE YOU WRONG while you have been deathly silent. That couldn't be because you can't prove any of it now could it?????
LL
It is pretty low to base your entire campaign on trying to smear someone’s good name.
Is that all the democrat candidate is getting for his $6000 of political consulting? Somehow I would doubt that he would not knowingly support this kind of trash.
I am sure Bennion is a good person, but what is with the back biting rumors that have no foundation of truth?
Wow. This is getting ugly. Where was Bennion Spencer in 1995? Jason ticketed for exposing himself?
This isn't a story. However, I have seen Jason Chaffetz build his career by encouraging intolerance towards illegal aliens. Jason's father seems to be as tolerant towards gays and lesbians, as Jason is intolerant towards illegals.
You Chaffetz supporters that are assuming that this came from the Spencer campaign might be jumping the gun. The Dkos posting is from a disgruntled Republican, and there are many of us.
This story does not change the fact that Jason is NOT a very good candidate and that some Republicans are still voting for Bennion.
Bennion Spencer just received a resounding endorsement from the Tribune. He's done well in the debates and his people have twice knocked on my door. Bennion is running a pretty good campaign.
Some of you that are assuming this story came from his campaign, and are in return smearing him, are not putting a very good face on the Chaffetz campaign.
Arc and Mom to Many are longtime Jason supporters. For you to attack (anonymously) Bennion Spencer is premature and pretty nasty yourself.
Bennion is beating Jason on the issues. He doesn't need this 'smear'.
I hate Jason Chaffetz. I do. No punches. I hate anyone who builds themselves up by putting others down and that is what Jason has done. He rallied a bunch of you freaks to hate illegal aliens and he beat Cannon.
That said, there are a lot of people who DO NOT LIKE JASON. He is one of those polarizing figures (like Rolly wrote) in politics that you either love or you hate. I happen to hate him, some of you love him. Fair enough. Let the voters decide.
Utah deserves a phony like Jason Chaffetz. A phony conservative for a state full of phony fake Christians who wallow in gay bashing and immigrant hating.
I have never said anything bad about Bennion Spencer as a person. I have never heard Jason Chaffetz or his campaign manager say anything bad about Bennion as a person.
That said, I wish I could say the same thing about Bennion or his official campaign manager saying bad things about Jason.
Bennion has publicly stated that he has been on the radio around the country saying bad things about Jason. He said he was getting donations around the country, who after listing to Bennion, think Jason is a nazi.
The problem is that Bennion has not received hardly any real donations, leaving him in the hole, as of Monday. So how is he going to win? Smear Jason and twist Jason's ideas.
Local Fox News did a great job of showing Bennion distorting Jason's views on the last report.
Add to all of this, and you start looking at Bennion's $6000 paid senior political consultant, and the likelihood of me voting for Bennion is zero, even if I wasn't impressed with Jason.
@Mark D you said,"I hate anyone who builds themselves up by putting others down ... [Jason] rallied a bunch of you freaks to hate illegal aliens and he beat Cannon"
First, I hope you see the irony in your words and learn to love yourself again.
Second, I have no hatred towards illegal immigrants. I do not tolerate illegal behavior. If someone parks their car in front of the fire hydrant near my house every day, I don't hate that person by calling the police to come and ticket their car. I also don't choose to petition the government to have the fire hydrant removed so that this person can park legally.
Third, as to this article about Jason's father's book. Since when is it news that other people, even ones closely related to you, might have different opinions about complex subjects?
I don't doubt the statement made that most of these attacks are coming from Republicans. There were many Republicans who were upset when Chris Cannon lost. Again, even people within the same party can have differing opinions on issues. The problem is, the attacks really have no substance.
Good article. Bottom line, my favorite comment is Chaffetz's response to his dad's book. After following this campaign closely, I find it so refreshing how Jason stays positive. He does care about people and his family, yet remains principled. He'll be a great congressman.
Anonymous says he/she is a "disgruntled Republican, and there are many of us."
I am at a loss to understand how anyone who claims to be Republican can find anything wrong with Jason's positions.
Maybe the problem is in your interpretation of what the Republicans stand for. If you're looking for a more liberal political home, why not try the Democrats?
Questions for Bennion:
1) Is it true you were hospitalized for treatment of an STD in 1995?
2) Have you ever engaged in a homosexual act?
3) Have you ever hosted a 'swingers' party in your home when your children were present?
Can you GOP losers get any more desperate? This was supposed to be a coronation for Jason! It was supposed to be easy. Bennion is a good candidate with a brilliant endorsement from the Tribune. Jason is sweating.
It is Jason who has shot his mouth off and proposed a ridiculous and 'extreme' immigration proposal. (Huntsman's words, not mine) It's Jason who says stupid things like he wants to get rid of social security. It's Jason who called global warming a farce, all to the delight of you so called conservatives.
Jason is to blame for his campaign tanking. Bennion Spencer is going to win. Your desperation is apparent.
Shame on Chaffetz supporters for these vicious attacks on Bennion's family. Shame on the Trib for posting them.
It's true about Jason building his career by attacking illegal immigrants, running to the right of Chris Cannon, and pretending to be the champion of immigration reform.
But he went to far. I am from San Diego, I know that we need to seal the border, but 'tent cities surrounded with barbed wire' for human beings is way overboard. I cannot support the Republican in this race and am glad to support Mr. Spencer
I must say that I'm disappointed with anyone who would stoop so low as to post rumor and innuendo be it about Jason or Bennion. This race should be about the issues and where each candidate stands on each issue. I assure you that no one even remotely related with helping Jason on his campaign was responsible for posting any of this. Jason has made it clear to his 1,000 plus supporters NOT to engage in such attacks and to stick to the issues. The dumb questions asked about Bennion were either written by an independent Chaffetz supporter, or by a Democrat trying to make the Chaffetz campaign look bad. It's poor form and I think that people who engage in such attacks are lowlifes who don't deserve any time or attention or heed paid to their words.
As a member of "Team Chaffetz" as you say, none of us have ever engaged in dirty politics, no matter what you've thrown at us. If it's someone questioning BS, it's not one of us. Believe it or not, we don't control all comments about Chaffetz. There is no need for personal attacks on Jason's opponent - we are perfectly comfortable sticking with the issues. We are also perfectly comfortable endorsing such a stellar candidate. I do agree with Warchol that not only will Chaffetz win the election, but the Trib's endorsement of his opponent just gained him some more votes.
Oh, and Mrs Bennett - you are right that I am a long-time supporter of jason. I also don't feel the need to stoop to anonymous comments. I post under the same name every time. I am neither desperate, nor do I stoop to personal attacks. Even when I'm called a freak (among other things).
I think I can safely claim to speak for all Chaffetz supporters when I tell the people who are posting the anonymous questions to Spencer to
GET OFF OF OUR SIDE WE DON'T WANT YOUR SO CALLED HELP!
LL
@note to Fe2O3: So do you have a problem with the barbed wire around a penitentiary? Decker Lake Detention Center takes young children away from their families and throws them behind barbed wire, I don't see a lot of tears and protests.
Jason has only ever used the word "tent" when referencing what Joe Arapaio has already done to detain prisoners. Jason has repeatedly said we need to detain the 600,000 fugitive aliens. A fugitive alien is someone who is in the country illegally, has committed a crime, has been ordered by a judge to leave the country, and hasn't complied. Non-violent offenders are not incarcerated because there is a shortage of space in the Federal detention system. Jason wants to add space to this system using a low-cost method that is being used elsewhere. Jason has only called for Federal Detention Centers, which is what the W.G.A. has also called for. The only difference is the building material.
This has been distorted by many into a picture of families being herded like cattle into some concentration camp. It makes an emotional appeal, but it is completely false. No matter how many people begin to believe the horror stories they will never be true.
You don't get it man. Illegal immigrants should not be dehumanized. They too are God's children. While I understand your attempt to deflect criticism of your candidate, the criticism is warranted. Jason has taken advantage of the hate spewed by right-wing talk radio and 'journalists' like O Reilly and Rush, and built a small following.
Your rationalization of 'tent cities' falls short of decency.
Chris Walker
Magna
It is pretty low to base your entire campaign on trying to smear someone’s good name.
Is that all the democrat candidate is getting for his $6000 of political consulting? Somehow I would doubt that he would not knowingly support this kind of trash.
I am sure Bennion is a good person, but what is with the back biting rumors that have no foundation of truth?
Those that are blasting Jason Chaffetz, should not be, as he is a voice of reason and is not promoting the ideas he is accused of.
There are supporters of both sides that are much more restrictive than Jason Chaffetz is.
Jason is more a voice of reason compared to:
There are people that want to round up all 12 million illegals, and are mad that Jason DOESN'T want to do that. Jason only wanted facilities where the government wouldn't have to catch and release felons. There are 600,000 they have let go. We wouldn't have to build facilities for that many, as we just need a temporary facility for convicted criminals, to be held prior to deportation.
There are people that don't want anyone new moving in, where Jason wants to fix LEGAL immigration so it doesn't take so long to legally come here.
There are people that think providing any temporary worker visa is wrong, where Jason agrees it is a great way to bring people out of the shadows, get rid of the fake IDs, but this in NO WAY provides a pathway to citizenship in front of those wanting to immigrate who have followed the rules.
LOL!!!! Holding my lunch in!!! It is hilarious, if it weren't so NOT funny! (Some people don't even understand the words of their very own comments.)
registered voter says, "Jason Chaffetz build his career by encouraging intolerance towards illegal aliens. .....Jason is intolerant towards illegals."
Jason, you just keep right on being intolerant to things illegal and you'll have my vote ANY day. (WHAAAA, an HONEST politian who calls a spade a spade even if it means he called a spade a spade, thus he expresses prejudice because of the terminology?)
The rest of you can just bring anything illegal into your house and enjoy it to its fullest, criminals, drugs, contraband, prostitutes, murders, rapists, and all those other illegals and things related to illegal-ness and more.
I ask, what part of "illegal" don't you understand, registered voter? YOU, YOURSELF couldn't have called it better yourself.
Illegal is as illegal does.
I believe Jason would like to clean up crime and oust lawbreakers from our midst. If you have a problem with that, DO NOT VOTE FOR JASON CHAFFETZ!!! for MY oh MY that would be WAY too conservative of views for YOUR liking, where a little liberal criminality is more becoming to "diversity" in the neighborhood.
(Good thing I don't live in YOUR neighborhood. Wouldn't want to think my neighbors were harboring ILLEGALS.)
For the future record, the Politically Correct terminology is "undocumented immigrants" -- helps soften the "illegal" issue of the situation to be a bit more tasteful terminology for the masses. Call a spade a spade and you just MIGHT be accused of being as racist as Jason has been. :)
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