Lawmaker helped brother's lobby clients (Chris Cannon)

Associated Press ^ | August 17, 2006 | Ted Bridis

[EternalVigilance]

The problem isn't even necessarily that he is his brother:

Cannon has a financial interest in his brother's success: The lobbyist owes him more than $250,000, according to the lawmaker's financial disclosure reports.

[BigSkyFreeper]

I'm thinking maybe their office suite is some small box at some Mailboxes Etc. somewhere.

[Torie]

To be fair, is it standard operating procedure for "non profits" to request extensions, the way many for profit privately held corporations do, and many individuals with complex returns, or is it not? In other words, is this outfit an outlier, among its peer group?

[EternalVigilance]

That's not an answer and I still see no effort on your part to correct any "misinformation" that has been posted about you.

I'm not going to be baited into revealing personal information just so you can satisfy your malicious curiousity. Too many kooks on the internet. Shame you're joining in with them these days.

[phoenix0468]

Of course they are going to say this. So he owes his brother money. There are loads of politicians who owe lobbyists who aren't their brother money and do them the same kind of favors. I think what needs to be scrutinized here is if his involvement unfairly helped his brother's client. I.E. is there any reason to believe that the client did not deserve this contract. If that's the case then yes, there is impropriety. If not, then what harm was done other than some influence peddling. Something that goes on between more than just brothers in DC.

[Howlin]

Cannon has a financial interest in his brother's success: The lobbyist owes him more than $250,000, according to the lawmaker's financial disclosure reports.

As opposed to:

According to the Federal Elections Commission (FEC), 28 campaign committees have been formed by or for Keyes since the mid-1990s, but most of them have closed down. Alan Keyes for U.S. Senate, which handled his 1992 Maryland bid, was terminated in January 2003 after a debt-reconciliation plan allowed the committee to pay $22,000 of $54,000 it had long owed to four companies. Two other active committees—Alan Keyes for President ’96 and Keyes 2000—are laden by combined debt exceeding $500,000 and have a grand total of only $4,000 cash on hand. To make matters worse, Keyes 2000 was assessed a total of $2,250 in FEC fines for this year and last for failing to file required disclosure reports. It looks like Keyes will be starting from scratch in Illinois.

Nearly half of the combined debt of Keyes’ two presidential campaign committees—about $225,000—is owed to Politechs Inc., of the same Alexandria, Va., address as Keyes 2000. Another $52,000 is owed by Keyes 2000 to its own treasurer, William Leo Constantine, an accountant based in Reston, Va. Thus, like the 1992 U.S. Senate committee, Keyes’ 1996 and 2000 presidential campaign committees may be headed toward debt reconciliation—though at least two of the major debtors are close to the campaigns, and thus presumably agreeable to taking pennies on the dollar.

Politechs is indeed close to Keyes. Its president and CEO, Mary Parker Lewis, is also Keyes’ longtime chief of staff.

“I’m not worried about what is owed to me by the committees,” Lewis said over the phone on Aug. 6. “No one has ever been substantially harmed financially” by the shoddy record of payments by Keyes’ committees, she explains, adding that “these things have always gotten out ahead of him,” and that “now we’re better at” managing campaign finances.

[The Spirit Of Allegiance]

Having said that, I think that both Keyes and the Minutemen have done quite a lot for the movement, and for grassroots conservatism.

It is a fact that Keyes and the various MM groups have called attention to social Conservative issues and the overall national sovereignty/border/law enforcement/immigration mess. I pray that this attention will result in the victory of moral libertarianism/social conservatism vs. social liberalism/amoral libertarianism regarding the former -- and in enforcement of mostly adequate existing laws regarding the latter.

Sorry you've had a bad experience with fungible mailing lists. I hate that myself. But, you are going too far when you call the sale of mailing lists "fraudulent". It's standard practice...the same people who you are pointing a finger at vis a vis Keyes also work for the RNC, the NRA, NRTL, Heritage, etc., etc., etc. If it was fraud, they'd have all gone to jail decades ago. You might not like that fact. I may not like that fact. But it remains a fact.

The whole online scene is fraught with Privacy Policy statements that are clear as mud. Long before the Web, offline list usage was far from a noble proposition, in many cases. Fund-raising of all political persuasions indeed is involved with list rentals in a big way, for the most part. Some organizations offer an opt-out or assurance of privacy. But corruption can thwart even the best intentions by organizations (witness the theft of AOL's list a few months ago).

EV, perhaps it's too much to expect Army Corps of Engineers levels of productivity on the border, with mostly volunteers, literally being shot at from the Mexican side, with enormous ambivalence and political resistance from the U.S side. I want to believe you and Keyes and Simcox are all on the level. I pray you all are. Do what you can to get the border wall up and the books open. I've seen these people stand up for what I consider important principles and so I'm withholding judgment for the moment. Please do keep me posted on verifiable progress. Thanks.

[Howlin]

In other words, is this outfit an outlier, among its peer group?

Most file on time.

[EternalVigilance]

No, of course not. Unlike you, I don't steer a handful of shady organizations with all the appearances of a PAC, set up for the express purpose of fleecing good, decent, hardworking Americans.

Ridiculous libel.

[Torie]

Then we have a bit of a problem, and it is fair to ask why the outfits in questions are outliers.

[Howlin]

and it is fair to ask why the outfits in questions are outliers.

It's not fair to ask that at all; we dare not question "those in the know," you know?

This is not the first time some of Keyes' "organizations" have had this problem. In fact, it's pretty well SOP with most of them.

[Ms. AntiFeminazi]

Personal information?! LOLOLOLOLOL Oh my! Since when are PUBLIC WEBSITES considered "personal information"? You are the one who has often boasted of your affiliation with DF and Keyes. What's so personal and secret about that? Baiting? I think you meant to say "switch and bait" - I would think that's the only baiting you're truly familiar with.

You know what EV? I don't care what you have to say anymore because everything you've already said tells me and everyone else here all we need to know. You don't want the truth out because it's not a pretty story. I don't blame you. I'd be horrified to think the truth might come out too, if I was you.

Registered was right. Thanks for the confirmation.

Please ignore my previous remark about having time for you. Life is too short to waste on losers.

[EternalVigilance]

Something that goes on between more than just brothers in DC.

To borrow a phrase, that is an "understatement of epic proportions"! ;-)

[Texasforever]

EV are you working for the Constitution Party candidate in Utah or have any connection to him?

[BigSkyFreeper]

Call it what you want, the fact of the matter is, you're heavily involved in at least one organization which you yourself are the founding member of.

[phoenix0468]

yeah well, ok.

[EternalVigilance]

Don't go away mad. Just go away.

[Howlin]

Too many kooks on the internet.

You, for example.

[EternalVigilance]

To be fair, is it standard operating procedure for "non profits" to request extensions, the way many for profit privately held corporations do, and many individuals with complex returns, or is it not? In other words, is this outfit an outlier, among its peer group?

I have no idea.

But, I could easily understand how an underfinanced startup grassroots org, especially one that is enjoying a measure of success, could have a hard time meeting deadlines. It's not like they're an org that has been around for decades and has tens of millions flowing in every year. They don't have the luxury of having an office building in DC full of accountants and lawyers.

Remember, the FEC and IRS rules are constructed by incumbents and established lobbyists. One of their primary goals is to restrict the competition.

[EternalVigilance]

EV are you working for the Constitution Party candidate in Utah or have any connection to him?

No. Are you? What's his or her name?