Cliff LyonChris Cannon Meltdown on the “A” Word
Whew! Everything was going smoothly during a telephone debate last Friday hosted by the Provo-based Daily Herald until congressional candidate Christian Burridge mentioned Jack Abramoff and Cannon’s ethics problems.
As if almost on cue, the mention of Abramoff caused Cannon to have a mini-meltdown. Cannon is well versed in the republican PR tactic of attacking the messenger, so it came as little surprise when he interupted Burridige accusing him of a personal attack.
Cannon’s worse nightmare is that the good people of Utah will find out that Jack Abramoff’s partner David Safavian was Cannon’s Chief of Staff.
I highly recommend watching the recent TV channel 2 debate hosted by Rod Decker. Christian is a breath of fresh air next to Cannon. Chris Cannon represents the classic entrenched politician whose been there way too long.
Part I Part II Part III
A New Hope for a Better Utah (30 secs)
You gotta LOVE Christian Burridge. (8 mins) It’s a little cheeky in a Utah kind of way.
October 23rd, 2006 at 8:51 am
To me, the timing of the whole process says it all. Here are the steps, in order of their happening:
Safavian and Abramoff were partners in the law firm whose sole purpose was lobbying congress.
Safavian did not quit, he took a leave of absence from the firm, and went to work as Cannon’s chief of staff.
Two things with this event. 1) What self respecting congressman, with a lick of common sense, would hire a COF who was on leave from a lobbying firm? Answer: NONE! 2) Even Cannon should have seen this move as a direct conflict of interest, and been extremely suspicious of hiring a COF - who was still part of a lobbying law firm.
Next, ONLY after Cannon had changed positions on the tribal gaming issue and started supporting illegal immigration (he was not ALWAYS an ass) did Safavian move on to greener pastures. It took 16 months as I recall. His change of position, especially on the gambling issue surprised many, and even made some of our local papers who ran articles about his “surprising” change of position.
Cannon can deny all he wishes, but the connections are to well known and only a fool would believe otherwise. He is playing the game, exactly according to the rules. They are: Deny, deny, and deny. When that begins to fail, then seek to mitigate the consequences.
My question is: Do we have any honest politicians left?
Watchdog, I always enjoy your information and opinion. You know the corrupt Cannon very well. If Cannon survives the upcoming election (which I believe he will) you should run against him in ‘08! Personally, I don’t want Cannon to “retire” from office. I want to see him defeated at the polls. It’s what he deserves!
October 23rd, 2006 at 9:23 am
Is Cannon REALLY corrupt? you tel me
Certainly is not illegal to hire registered lobbyist, nor is it illegal to accept campaign contributions from tribal gambling operations.
So lets be clear, Cannon has not been found guilty of any wrongdoing.
Who cares if most of his DC office staff can’t find Utah on a map.
October 23rd, 2006 at 9:55 am
I prefer pure sleaze to Nancy Pelosi. Granted Cannon is a bit summy and may end up in jail some day, but think for a second about if Nancy Pelosi is the house leader.
If you saw 60 minutes last night, you saw that she is very good at forcing democrats to do what she wants. What is more fritening then government subsidies for abortion, outlawing of guns and raising taxes? Huh?
Vote for Noorlander
October 23rd, 2006 at 10:28 am
I saw the Nancy Pelosi interview as well, and she was not the least bit frightening. Nobody likes abortion, even pro-choice advocates– birth control is better, but what have the Republicans done to promote birth control? Nobody is talking about even registering firearms– maybe we should. “60 Minutes” did a story a while back about 50 caliber sniper rifles that are available to anyone, an ideal terrorist weapon. As for raising taxes, I’d rather not rack up historic deficits as Bush is doing and pass the debt to our children.
October 23rd, 2006 at 11:05 am
Oh yes, the dreaded Pelosi, under whom abortions would be mandatory for everyone except unwed mothers, we would all be forced to marry someone of the same gender, and churches would be burned. Be very afraid!
(brought to you by the Lavar Christiansen Campaign)
She is not perfect, but seems a decent human being who has the privilege of being the latest conservative boogieman.
October 23rd, 2006 at 11:10 am
Darkstar, there is a difference between legal and unethical. One can be corrupt without doing anything illegal at all–particularly when one is among a body of people who write the laws which govern their behavior.
October 23rd, 2006 at 12:33 pm
I blame it all on that ‘missing lick (how miniscule) of common sense.’ There may have been some money involved, I don’t really know, but that would only make it worse.
October 23rd, 2006 at 8:12 pm
I won’t waste my breathe trying to get rid of Chris, as he is unbeatable this election. Now Matheslime, he is another story. We can send a message on this one. I get the feeling you liberal bloggers have scared the bejesus out of him.
Now is the time to hit hard and drive the message home. An overweight but honest Lavar is better than a malicous, malevolent mathescum.
October 23rd, 2006 at 8:26 pm
Christian Burrige v. Chris Cannon…I’d give it to Burridge by one letter, though it should be an absolute skunking due to the repub malfeasance.
October 24th, 2006 at 8:53 am
email me for more information on the many, many Cannon/Abramoff links…
October 24th, 2006 at 1:04 pm
Actually, I am looking forward to seeing Nancy Pelosi shove a broom stick up the backside of Cannon and the rest of the Repug House machine. Moral of the story - be careful who you call a witch and when! Hahahahahahaha!
October 25th, 2006 at 9:35 am
FWIW, the Safavian story made page 5 of the Salt Lake Tribune today. Cannon is trying to get Safavian a “Get out of Jail Free” card.
October 27th, 2006 at 9:45 am
[...] More here [...]
February 9th, 2007 at 8:18 am
Awesome, man
April 27th, 2007 at 11:14 pm
sesso…
news…