At one time, Chris Cannon was my Congressional Representative in Moab, Utah, before redistricting sent him off to torment other small towns with his insufferable representation.

Yet for over a decade, he was a fixture not just of Utah politics, but increasingly in the Intermountain West as a whole. He is currently the Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus, a group that, tomorrow, will introduce its latest bill seeking to plunder and pillage the public lands under the guise of "energy security" -- a worn out and delusional rhetorical trope that too many Democrats, including our nominee, unfortunately still embrace.

Nonetheless: last night, in a small primary in the 3rd District of Utah, Chris Cannon got an astounding 20 point kick to the door from voters who overwhelmingly supported former Gov. Hunstman aide Jason Chaffetz's right-wing challenge to Cannon.

If you know anything about Chris Cannon, you know that a right-wing challenge to Cannon has to be far, far to the right. And since Chaffetz is virtually guaranteed to defeat his Democratic opponent in November, the seat will stay Republican, and one right-wing kook will be replaced by another right-wing kook in the congressional delegation of Utah.

As John McCain would say, that's not change.

Still, it's good to see Chris Cannon go, and his crushing defeat is further indication that the Republican party is officially in a political wilderness, and that the disillusionment of its base may soon turn to a fury that radically transforms the face of the party.

And that disarray will make it awfully difficult for them to win national elections anytime in the near future.