Buyer Beware (Or Read The Fine Print)

We are almost to the silly end of this very silly election season. That's right folks - the endorsements are coming fast and furious. The one that seems to be generating the most local buzz (besides the SLTrib endorsements) is probably the Esquire endorsement.

Esquire endorsed candidates in every federal race nationwide - even Utah. The winners of the coveted backing: Rep. Rob Bishop, Rep. Jim Matheson and 3rd District challenger Bennion Spencer. And, in Utah's biggest state contest, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.

The SLTrib goes out of it's way to make sure that they mention the flaky Citizens Against Government Waste endorsement of Chris Cannon (instead of Jason Chaffetz who is on the ballot and not Cannon) for the 3rd CD race.

Citizens Against Government Waste, an aggressive watchdog group that fights against increased government spending and earmarks, has a crush on Rep. Chris Cannon.
So much so that the group's political-action committee last week formally endorsed Cannon in the 3rd District race, calling him "a true fiscal conservative" and saying he would "work for the best interest of citizens in the 3rd District in Utah and for taxpayers nationwide."
Only one problem: Cannon won't be on the ballot.
The incumbent lost in a primary months ago to Republican Jason Chaffetz. Apparently Citizens Against Government Waste didn't get the memo.

What the didn't mention is the endorsement that Jason Chaffetz received from the National Federation of Independent Business.

The National Federation of Independent Business, the nation's leading small business association, has endorsed Jason Chaffetz for the open seat in Utah's 3rd Congressional District.

The endorsement comes from NFIB's Save America's Free Enterprise (SAFE) Trust, the organization's political action committee, and is based on evaluations of the candidates' views on legislative issues affecting small business.

"Jason Chaffetz is the proven pro-small business candidate in this race," said Lisa Goeas, NFIB's vice president, political. "A small business owner himself, Chaffetz is well-versed on the issues facing our members. In addition, his policy positions have indicated his support of many of NFIB's priority issues including healthcare and tax reform, as well as opposing labor initiatives such as card check that would hamper an entrepreneur's ability to run a business without union interference."

Of course there is no bias here. I'm sure that the NFIB endorsement - an endorsement that probably means more to more 3rd district voters than the Esquire endorsement does - was just an oversight on the SLTribs part. Right?????

To be fair, the SLTrib's Culture Vulture blog asked the most pressing question of the week. What are endorsements really worth?

But will the Tribune's endorsement move Utah from the red column to the blue? Will it have any more effect on Utah voters than the number of lawn signs each candidate has (Obama is well ahead in that count in Utah) or how many 7-Eleven coffee cups were sold with each candidates' names on them (Obama came out ahead there, too)?

Which brings me to this....regardless of who you are voting for this November, do your OWN research. Don't rely on what the paper says alone or what your friends and neighbors say......look at the records (where there are records) and look at how the candidate lives their life. If they are honest and truthful about their controversial friends, they will be honest and truthful when the get to the state or national capital. If they have a 30 year track record of supporting (or not supporting) a certain issue well then you can be sure that they are not going to vote the opposite way just because someone takes them out to lunch. Don't listen to what everyone else say - do your own due diligence and decide for yourself. Take things like endorsements into account, but make sure you take them ALL into account before you decide - not just the ones that the SLTrib decides to report on.