Rep. Chris Cannon–who has a 96 score (out of 100) by the American Conservative Union–was beaten in a primary challenge today in Utah’s thrid congressional district.

His challenger, Jason Chaffetz, said Rep. Cannon wasn’t conservative enough.

As the nominee in this heavily Republican district, Chaffetz is expected to easily win election in November.

Chaffetz wants to shutter the Department of Education and return education policy to the states, to deny the children of illegal immigrants automatic citizenship and return the GOP to “its core conservative principles.”

What does this mean? Two things immediately spring to mind:

The Republican brand is not dead. The only landslide defeat the party has endured in the last 30 years was the 2006 congressional elections. And the White House party usually loses the sixth-year midterms. Indeed, the frustration of the conservative base with the GOP may be that the party is not conservative enough.

And while two primaries hardly make a trend, the Cannon-Chaffetz race comes after Maryland liberal Republican Rep. Wayne Gilchrest was defeated by a conservative candidate.

Finally, I had lunch the other day with a recently retired Republican congressman. He had a reputation as a staunch conservative. Gas prices came up. I suggested that the federal tax get suspended not for two months as McCain proposes but until oil falls to $60/barrel–roughly where it was when the Democrats came into office in November 2006. I added that federal highway funds should be conditioned on states also suspending their fuel taxes.

He was horrified. I know gas prices are making people angry, he said, but the government needs the revenue…

Whatever. The people need the revenue. This is why the conservative base is unhappy. The rebels all took jobs with the palace guard. That’s what Chaffetz’s victory means.