WASHINGTON - Rep. Chris Cannon doesn't give high marks to the new Democratic Congress.

"Maybe a 'C' for effort and I guess an 'F' is the lowest letter you can get for accomplishment," said the Utah Republican. "They've really done nothing."

In two months of Democratic control, Cannon has relished his role as Republican counterpuncher, repeatedly defending the Bush administration or taking on Democratic chairmen.

Rep. Rob Bishop finds things not much better. A baseball fan, he sums it up by quoting Earl Weaver, the fire-breathing, foul-mouthed former Baltimore Orioles manager: "Is this as good as it gets?"

Bishop bemoans the legislation Democrats have passed, he dislikes the process they've relied on, and he doesn't hold out much hope of things getting better.

Rep. Jim Matheson, the delegation's lone Democrat, is doing just fine, thank you. For the first time since he came to Congress in 2001, House leadership is consulting him on legislation and he's getting real consideration for bills he has introduced.

This is life for Utah's House members in the 110th Congress, where the 2006 election has turned the status quo on its head, spawning a sort of Bizarro-Congress that has forced members from both parties to adapt to new and unaccustomed roles.

"For me, personally, I think there's just been an opportunity to have my voice heard," Matheson said. "It gives me an opportunity to talk about moving things forward that I think are really important and that's something I'm going to continue to push."

Matheson gets it done

Matheson has consulted with and confounded House leaders trying to hold together the Democratic caucus.

On two notable occasions, leadership has listened to Matheson's input on legislation.

In January, Matheson persuaded leaders to tweak parts of a Democratic energy package to remove parts that he said could hinder refinery expansion and investment in new production.

He and a group of other Democrats from energy-producing states then took the unusual step of briefing industry executives on what the Democrats' bill would mean for them, said Tim Stewart, a lobbyist who attended.

Then, last month, Matheson and others met with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, urging him to move quickly on a tax incentive package for small businesses, which Hoyer did.

In the second week of the new Congress, he was able to pass his first bill, a major change from his six years of legislative struggles under Republican leadership.

Former Utah Rep. Bill Orton was elected as part of a Democratic majority, then saw them fall out of power because, he says, the leadership was arrogant and ignored its conservative members.

"Now the Democratic leadership has recognized that you simply cannot do that," said Orton, a co-founder of the Blue Dog Caucus, of which Matheson is a member.

"You can't ignore the conservatives and moderates," Orton said. "It's the conservatives and moderates who put them back in power, so now they're paying attention and now they're giving Jim Matheson the recognition that he and others deserve."

But Matheson has also been an outspoken critic of a push by more liberal Democrats for a withdrawal from Iraq. Matheson voted for a nonbinding resolution opposing the president's plan to deploy an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq, but resisted efforts to attach strings to funding the war, part of a move that one publication characterized as pushing moderate Democrats "to the brink of open revolt" against leadership.

"If there's anything that's going to hamstring our troops on the ground, that's not something I can support," he said.

Critics fend and defend

If Matheson has played the role of occasional critic, his Utah counterparts have turned it into a full-time job.

Bishop has derided the Democrats' legislative agenda as "empty rhetoric," accused them of raising taxes and complained that leadership has run roughshod over Republicans.

"I would like to vote for a lot more things," he said. "They just haven't given me a whole lot of really good stuff to [vote for]."

He supported a move to revoke pensions for members of Congress convicted of crimes, but said at the time that he hoped he wouldn't have to wait another six weeks to vote yes again.

And both Republicans have had the chance to use their long-neglected "No" vote.

They have been part of 16 votes on substantive legislation - excluding such noncontroversial matters as naming post offices or honoring sports teams. Bishop and Cannon voted no on 14 of them.

"When it comes to naming post offices, we're working together very nicely," Bishop said.

Cannon, meanwhile, has spent considerable time trying to fend off inquiries from Democratic committees. He questioned whether humans are contributing significantly to global warming. He helped a major Iraqi contractor, Blackwater, defend itself against claims it had sent workers into the war zone without adequate equipment. "Do you skimp on equipment?" he asked. A company executive assured they do not.

And last week, he accused several U.S. attorneys, fired by the Bush administration, of being disingenuous and said there was "not a shred of hard evidence" that their firings were political.

"These are hearings that have no substance and they hope that they'll find something that will stick," Cannon said in an interview. "Let's not do these witch hunts that are just trying to embarrass the president."

Still, they say there is reason to hope there will be better days ahead. Cannon is optimistic that he will be able to work with Democrats to craft comprehensive immigration reform legislation.

Bishop, who lost his spot on the Rules Committee, has been active on the House Resources Committee and is the top Republican on a public lands subcommittee.

"I'm not chafing under the new regime," Bishop said. "I'm enjoying this, except that I'm talking about silly things and we've got bad bills to vote on on the floor."