Lessons learned from primary election

Pignanelli: Avoid being "Empeyed" — Political observers love to personalize various activities of intrigue. You "Eddie Haskell" someone when using backstabbing gossip (named after the duplicitous snitch from the television program "Leave It to Beaver"). An official is "Monsonized" when persuaded by party leaders, on the slimmest of reasons, to retire from office and make way for the VIPs' friend. (In 1986, the well-liked 2nd Congressional District Congressman Dave Monson stepped down at the behest of GOP bigwigs. The anointed replacement was thrashed in the convention, and Republicans lost the seat to Wayne Owens, a result Monson may have prevented.) "I was LaVared" is favored by some lawmakers when describing a long, one-sided conversation. (The reference is to former Rep. LaVar Christensen — famous for his stamina in speechmaking.) This is not to be confused with "That's just LaVarr," the line I use every Monday morning after readers offer a stinging critique of LaVarr Webb's contribution to this column.

The verb "to Empey" characterizes the actions of an arbitrator/liaison between political campaigns who releases the details of confidential discussions to the public, in order to benefit one candidate at the expense of the other. In the state treasurer's race, bank official Carl Empey offered his services as moderator between Mark Walker and Richard Ellis. He then blabbed the contents of their meetings to the lieutenant governor in a now-famous e-mail. LESSON: Always have a trusted companion along when meeting with the opposing candidate/campaign to refute any nasty allegations.

Incumbents: Beware the Ides of March — The 3rd Congressional District primary provides a blueprint for longshot candidates to overcome overwhelming odds when challenging longtime officeholders. By using extremist rhetoric and a strong neighborhood organization, Jason Chaffetz built support among delegates to establish momentum with little cost. LESSON: Smart incumbents will recruit and solicit delegates long before the March 2010 precinct caucuses.

Tip O'Neill was right — The deceased U.S. Speaker of the House was famous for his emphasis on retail politics. Tuesday night's incumbent victims ignored Tip's advice. Chris Cannon was effective on technology and immigration issues. The defeated lawmakers were active and well-liked on Capitol Hill. But constituents were either unaware or did not care about their efforts. The lopsided results in the 3rd District contest reveals voters went to the polls not for Chaffetz, but to dump Cannon. Although some Republican leaders are grumbling how Chaffetz secured victory, his timing and strategy was brilliant. Chaffetz spent time in the district and exploited Cannon's weaknesses. LESSON: Popularity with colleagues is less valuable than time spent with constituents.

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