Posted on 06/27/2006 7:18:38 AM PDT by Spiff
Joe Cannon
Utah Republican Party Chairman Joe Cannon says he's trying to stay neutral in his brother Rep. Chris Cannon's primary battle, but it didn't come across that way in comments he posted online last weekend questioning his brother's challenger.
Cannon appeared to poke all the vulnerable spots in the campaign of John Jacob, commenting on allegations involving his employment of people with questionable immigration status and his published remarks blaming Satan for his campaign's financial problems. Joe Cannon starts off his post noting Jacob's "obvious problems."
"In your interview with Jacob did you ask him why he supports a 'Disneyland day pass' approach to illegal aliens? This approach is worse than any amnesty proposal," Joe Cannon wrote on the conservative Web site, Humanevents online.com.
Joe Cannon also raised questions about Jacob paying under the table a Chilean couple here on non-work visas and through a company created to possibly skirt immigration and tax laws.
The party official - who is barred by party rules from picking sides in an intraparty race - was responding to a blog post by a user named John Hawkins, who complained that Joe Cannon, a member of the board of directors of the Deseret Morning News, may have had something to do with a story in that newspaper about Jacob's past gambling. The newspaper ran an editor's note disclosing Joe Cannon's position.
"Draw your own conclusions," Hawkins wrote. "I've interviewed Jacob and I'd love to see him replace Cannon, so we can get rid of one more guy in the House who shares Ted Kennedy's views on illegal immigration."
In a post after Hawkins, Joe Cannon says that "to blame all of your business failures on the devil is also not typical of believers . . .. Personal responsibility is a hallmark of Republican philosophy."
Joe Cannon said Monday that Hawkins "ripped me," and "it really made me mad," and he felt he needed to respond.
He said that he has been careful not to publicly endorse anyone in the campaign and is staying neutral. That said, he added, "I happen to share my brothers' views on immigration, and that may have come through."
In a later interview Monday, Cannon did say he has assisted his brother behind the scenes though he did not describe how.
Jacob's spokeswoman Hayden Hill says Joe Cannon has "obviously crossed the line."
"I think it's pretty poor form for the person who's supposed to be representing all Republicans to pick a side, especially in such a heated primary election. . . . I think some of the things he says in this blog are inappropriate."
And former Rep. Merrill Cook, a Republican who lost his bid for the 3rd Congressional District in convention, charged that Joe Cannon has displayed no impartiality in the race.
"My experience with Joe is that it's not at all unusual for him to behind the scenes do some pretty awful things," Cook said. "It's very inappropriate, but I'm not surprised he's doing it."
But former Utah GOP Chairman Craig Moody says he doesn't believe Joe Cannon did anything wrong.
"I know how difficult a position you can find yourself in," Moody says about staying neutral as a party official. "I understand that with your brother running, how much more difficult that could be."
Cannon posted to the "Right Angle" blog on the Web site of the conservative magazine Human Events.
So, which FROBL Cannonbot who has been posting here lately is Joe Cannon? I wonder....
Why repeat the lies and smears about Jacob? That would be to distract from the primary issue of the race which is Cannon's terrible voting record on immigration and border security issues.
THIS is what the Cannon campaign, and his inappropriately behaving GOP Chair brother, want everyone to ignore:
Voted against amendment to end special amnesty for certain Central Americans in 2006
Cosponsoring bill to reward illegal aliens with amnesty in 2005-2006
Joe Cannon also raised questions about Jacob paying under the table a Chilean couple here on non-work visas and through a company created to possibly skirt immigration and tax laws.
Also notable is that the article states that Joe Cannon, who is using his influence as state GOP Chair to spread lies and smears about his brother's challenger, is also on the Board of Directors of the Deseret News which is either largest or the second largest newspaper in the state and the major newspaper in Utah's 3rd District.
Conflict of interest, to say the least.
PS, frankly it doesn't surprise me much re: Cannon doing this stuff. I think it would be good to get rid of both of them (from leadership positions).
Must be satan's work(ala John Jacob rhetoric).
Remember, that the above lie that Joe Cannon was spreading as the GOP Chair was invented by a pro-marxist Democrat illegal alien enabler named Yapias. Is there any lie or smear that the Cannon campaign and his brother, the state GOP chairman, won't spread?
Is there ANY WAY that you can get this data into the hands of the voters in Cannon's District? Even if flyers had to be photo copied at Kinko's and passed out hand-to-hand; this info needs to get out there.
What say ye?
Cannon went beyond a defense and began an attack. Additionally, his position as party chair is supposed to trump his relationship/support for the other candidate.
Additionally, I'm sure Cannon has his own supporters, Joe should've let one of them defend Chris.
I'm not in his district, but at this point, it's probably too late. Hopefully folks will see through the smear campaign.
Cannon went beyond a defense and began an attack. Additionally, his position as party chair is supposed to trump his relationship/support for the other candidate. Additionally, I'm sure Cannon has his own supporters, Joe should've let one of them defend Chris
Yawn, but hey if someone calls your brother a child molester or sister a slut, I'm sure you will stay silent.
And that's exactly the equivalent of what is going on... Give me a break. But hey, its obvious you don't want to rationally discuss this, so forget it.
Yep, and Joe Cannon's defense of his brother against gratuitous political attacks must be the work of satan(ala your and your candidate's John Jacob's rhetoric)
I'm being serious here: this Joe Cannon character really sounds like FReeper Dane.
Well so much for your "seriesness" there napkin user.
I ain't Joe Cannon, but I will say one thing, do you all get free dope passed around to you at the tancredo/bay buchanan PAC basement, as they do in the DNC basement?
"I ain't Joe Cannon, but I will say one thing, do you all get free dope passed around to you at the tancredo/bay buchanan PAC basement, as they do in the DNC basement?"
You would know I guess, considering you stated on FreeRepublic you were a registered democrat.
Correction: ARE a registered democrat, not were.
Not a chance. Dane is the Al Franken of Free Republic. Joe Cannon occupies an elected position. The only thing that Dane could ever get elected to is village idiot.
Or head cheerleader:
Yep I am a registered democrat, and as I have stated which seems to be a million times on FR, the area where I currently live, the most competive primaries are in the democrat primaries and I vote for the most conservative democrat, since the Pubbie candidate for the most part goes unopposed.
In the general election I vote for the Pubbie.
Of course like you and your hero tancredo, I don't set up PAC's to try to get rid of 100% ACU consersative Republicans, such as Chtis Cannon.
Maybe you will have an arguement when your heroes, tancredo/bay buchanan go after RINO's such as Chris Shays.
"Maybe you will have an arguement when your heroes, tancredo/bay buchanan go after RINO's such as Chris Shays."
I would surmise Shays is not a clueless RINO on immigration, like Chris Cannon, taking into account his membership in Tancredo's immigration caucus.
Cannon on the other hand links blog smears about Tancredo on his election page, and has said so many retarded things on immigration that he had to know that this was coming or he is hopelessly naive.
I look forward to the election results tonight, and really hope that Jacob can beat the odds and Cannon.
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