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June 26, 2006
The Debate
Recording the web stream as I write this and have listened to the last 15 minutes or so. Jacobs has done OK, but you can certainly tell that Chris Cannon is polished like a politician, even though he doesn't characterize himself as one. Cannon set Jacob up a bit on taxation of the internet. Jacob is decidedly a "State's Right's" guy and his answer reflected his beliefs. The sandbag came when Cannon informed Jacob that because the internet crosses state lines, that it becomes difficult for the Federal Government to not get involved and that he just happens to chair the committee that will be reviewing this issue. The implication, obviously, is that if Cannon is ousted, we lose the chairmanship of the committee.
Jacob correctly pointed out the importance of this Primary pointing out that the President has gotten on board with the Cannon campaign and Jacob wondered, rhetorically, how often a President has gotten involved in a Primary.
Overall, I thought Lonsberry did a fair job of moderating the debate, allowing each candidate to ask each other questions and keeping close watch of the time. I agree with Lonsberry in his recap that Cannon just crushed the less expirienced Jacob because he is, after-all, a polished Congressman. There is no question who won. What difference that will make in tomorrow's Primary, I have no idea. This immigration issue is a gut level issue and as passionate as the base is right now, it could go either way. We can't forget what happened with the delegates in May.
08:10am Listener reaction is just coming up: Predictable. The first few were obviously plants. Once Lonsberry weeded those out, they became more reflective. The universal consenus was Jacob lost big time. There is something to be said for the polish that comes with a 10 year Congressman. The polls still show it too close to call, but the danger was in the vast amount of undecided voters.
08:30am The callers reaction are getting interesting. More and more are starting to say essentially, "Yeah, Cannon waxed the floor with Jacob, but he was a little too smooth doing it. We'd rather have the un-polished, but passionate neophyte who will give us what's important to us rather than have the polished stiff telling us how stupid we are and that the government knows better than us."
One caller made a rather apt analogy, stating essentially that he would rather have the monkey that can be trained rather than the snake that will bite us. A couple of callers brought up the fact that we really need to limit the terms of Congress and that while 10 years produces polish, doesn't it also produce complacency?
Interesting.
08:39 Congressman Tom Tancredo just called in and levied some of the same responses as the callers. He is beating up Cannon on immigration, citing his House votes. Tancredo denies supporting or opposing either candidate and says he only called in because his name was brought up in the debate. He is stating that his PAC is involved in the race because the primary issue is illegal immigration. Tancredo just stated that whatever the outcome of the Primary, it should bring the immigration debate to the forefront of any future Primaries. He pointed out the fact that this Primary should have never happened, as Cannon is a long term congressman with a strong base, and if it wasn't for the immigration debate, he would have been essentially unopposed. The fact that Jacob forced a Primary is big. I would have to agree.
Posted by Jonathan at June 26, 2006 7:49 AM
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