RadioWest Transcript: October 19, 2000
By Vince Pearson

HOST: In Utah's 3rd District race two-term-incumbent Republican Chris Cannon faces political new comer, Democrat Donald Dunn. Although analysts consider the 3rd District to be Utah's most conservative, the 29-year-old Democrat has made a stronger showing than expected. For one, Dunn has raised more money than Cannon and that has him feeling optimistic, even though a recent Deseret News poll places him 29 points behind. KUER's Vince Pearson has this profile of the race.

(Sounds of Geneva Steel parking lot)

PEARSON:
It's voter registration day at the Geneva Steel plant in Vineyard, Utah. Here in the parking lot activists have set up a registration table to recruit potential voters as they head for their cars. Hovering nearby is a young man in cowboy boots, slacks and a checked blazer. He greets each worker as he or she comes out of the plant.

DUNN: "How ya doing. I wanted to say hello to you. I'm Donald Dunn. I'm running for the U.S. Congress. I'm the guy running against Chris Cannon, so I'll need your vote November 7th."

In recent weeks Dunn has waged an aggressive campaign to unseat two-term Republican Congressman Chris Cannon. Dunn's been working long days, traveling throughout his 18 county district, shaking hands and raising money. It's an uphill battle. But workers here at Geneva Steel seem genuinely enthusiastic about Dunn's bid to unseat their former boss, the plant's former owner, Chris Cannon.

DUNN: "I'm gonna need your help on November 7th."

WORKER: "Yeah, that would be nice to get Chris Cannon out of there."

DUNN: "Every vote is going to count."

WORKER: "The guy is... he doesn't know what is going on! That's pretty obvious isn't it?"

DUNN: "Yes it is."

Perhaps it's no coincidence that Dunn's been frequenting his rival's old haunts. Or that he's not above a little negative campaigning. In the overwhelmingly Republican district, the Democratic candidate needs to capitalize on dissatisfaction where he can. But BYU political science professor David Magleby says Dunn also needs to prove, like Democrat Bill Orton did three times, that's he's not just a typical Democrat.

MAGELBY: "It has to be both. They have to be disenchanted with the Republican candidate and they have to see the Democratic alternative as acceptable."

In public appearances Dunn sometimes downplays his party affiliation. He calls himself a "Utah Democrat" or simply "the guy running against Chris Cannon." Cannon cites his Republican credentials as perhaps the most important reason to vote for him.

CANNON: "I think the best way to characterize this choice is to go to the Internet on a site called TaxClarity.org. That gives you the chance to compare your taxes under the Bush proposal and under the Gore proposal."

Cannon wants to see a Republican president and a Republican Congress handling the coming federal budget surplus, estimated at four trillion dollars over the next 10 years. That surplus means lots of opportunities, and Utah's 3rd District candidates mirror their national parties for how to use it.

(Sound of ringing phone)

RECEPTIONIST: "Utah County Democrats."

Here in Utah County Democratic headquarters, stacks of Donald Dunn signs and placards fill the main office. Sitting in a spartan room to the back, Dunn says he likes Al Gore's plan for the surplus: to pay down the debt, shore up Social Security and expand Medicare to include prescription drugs. Dunn also favors targeted tax cuts to assist middle- and low-income people.

DUNN: "We need to look at giving a tax cut credit for child care, that families that are working full time and put their kids in child care. We need to look tax credits there. We need to look at tax credits for families that send their kids to higher education. We need to look at look at ways where we can help people get into affordable housing."

Opponent Chris Cannon also favors using the surplus to pay down the national debt. He'd also leave Social Security surplus locked up for Social Security. Cannon differs from Dunn in his proposals for future spending and tax cuts. Cannon wants to hold the line on all new spending. He favors an across-the-board tax cut to the tune of 800 billion dollars over the next ten years.

CANNON: "I think targeted tax cuts are an abomination. They make the tax code more complex. They make it more difficult. The complexity that the Gore proposals would add to the tax code are massive and the simplicity that comes from the across-the-board tax cuts that Bush is proposing are good. So I really dislike the idea of targeted tax cuts."

Under Bush's plan some 60 percent of the tax cuts would go to those earning more than $89,000 per year, or the wealthiest 10 percent of taxpayers. That's according to the think tank, Citizens for Tax Justice. Critics, including Dunn, say that's squandering the surplus. Cannon says those who have paid more taxes would get more money back, but lower income families would benefit too.

CANNON: "If you are making $56,000 a year, as a couple, one of you making $20,000, one making $36,000, you have about a 50 percent tax cut under the Bush plan. Now people making $56,000 a year are not the monied elite in America. That is your typical, two-working-parent family."

Social Security is another issue where tough choices need be made. The problem is that as Baby Boomers stream into retirement, there won't be enough workers, or payroll taxes to fund their Social Security payments. By the year 2037, say economists, the Social Security trust fund will be exhausted. At that point either taxes have to go up or benefits must be cut. Utah's 3rd District candidates differ little on the solution. They both favor using surplus money to shore it up until 2037. Neither will commit to either less benefits or more taxes. Dunn says he is focused on paying down the deficit. Cannon wants to grow the economy now and make the tough choices later.

CANNON: "It comes down to being almost that simple, yeah. But that takes many, many actions with a coherent philosophy of government."

Prescription drug coverage for the elderly is an area where the candidates differ strongly. It's also an area where their different philosophies of government shine through. Like Gore, Dunn wants to expand Medicare to include prescription drug coverage, at an estimated cost of $253 billion over the next ten years.

DUNN: "We do have a surplus right now. And I think we need to take some of that money to put towards Medicare to expand Medicare to include prescription drugs. When Medicare was created we didn't have the technology that we have today as far as it relates to medicine and drugs. That Medicare will pay for somebody to be at the hospital. But it won't pay for that preventative medicine, which will save us in the long run."

Cannon also favors making prescription drug benefits more widely available. But he doesn't want to do it by making the existing Medicare program larger. He supports legislation which he says would provide additional money for Medicare patients so they can buy prescription drug benefits from HMOs or private insurers.

CANNON: "I personally clearly, definitively favor creating a more market-driven Medicare system. Because it is going to reduce costs as opposed to a bureaucratic system which would control prices and therefore affect innovation."

On wilderness, Cannon is proud of his record for innovative thinking and bringing people together. He cites his bill to protect 2.8 million acres of the San Rafael Swell as a perfect example. The bill was a collaboration between Emery County and federal officials. It would have created almost a million acres of "National Conservation Areas" in areas environmentalists want designated as wilderness. Because the Clinton administration endorsed the bill, Cannon expected to see it pass this year.

Then, facing compromises, Cannon himself pulled the bill. He blames environmentalists.

CANNON: "We got 98 percent of the people on the other side to an agreement. We have a few well-funded extremists out there who refuse to come to the table."

But where Cannon sees extremist environmental groups, Dunn sees problems with Cannon's leadership style. If Cannon can't pass the bill with a Republican House majority and an endorsement from a Democratic president, Dunn asks, when will he be able to? Dunn says he'll be more willing to listen and compromise and that's where he believes Cannon is vulnerable.

DUNN: "He is not being the listener. He's not being the advocate. He is not being the liaison. Instead he worries about partisan fighting. You know this seems like basic stuff. It is basic stuff, this is what you and I should expect from our member of Congress."

On many issues Dunn sides more with the Democrats, and Cannon sides more with the Republicans. Cannon would say this makes a simple question for 3rd District voters: Which party do you want controlling the House? Dunn is asking voters a slightly more complicated question: How satisfied are you with your current representation? I'm Vince Pearson, KUER News.

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