June 23, 2004

Cannon’s Costly Victory

The Chinese say a journey of a thousand miles starts with one step. Former Utah State Representative Matt Throckmorton took that step by forcing four-term Republican incumbent Chris Cannon into a primary in Utah’s 3^rd U.S. Congressional district yesterday.

Throckmorton campaigned against open borders, Cannon’s support for the Bush Amnesty and speaking the truth about the folly of “No Child Left Behind.” But, last night, Cannon prevailed 58-42 percent.

Throckmorton was outspent nearly 10-1. And he also ran against much more than just Cannon himself. Among Throckmorton’s other opponents: George W. Bush, the Wall Street Journal, the Utah State Office of Hispanic Affairs , the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund, La Raza and lobbyists representing immigration profiteers.

After all the votes were counted, that muscle was too much. But Throckmorton has hurt Cannon. When Cannon’s agenda was exposed, he reacted poorly—to say the least.

Cannon’s odd behavior under pressure—first noted by Michelle Malkin in 2002—accelerated at an alarming rate. The more heat put on Cannon, the weirder he reacted.

Here is a recent chronology of Cannon’s bizarre actions:

In March, at the Dirksen Senate Building in Washington D.C., Cannon hosted with Utah State Senator Howard Stephenson an event at which Reverend Sun Myung Moon, leader of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification and whose followers are commonly called “Moonies,” publicly announced his supreme Messianic role.[The Rev. Moon Honored at Hill Reception By Charles Babington and Alan Cooperman Washington Post, June 23, 2004]

In May, in response to an on-line poll run in the Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret News and paid for by Project USA, Cannon was caught manipulating the poll results. And Cannon skewed the poll by using his Congressional staff and computers.

In May, Marco Diaz, a Cannon aide, illegally solicited campaign contributions from illegal aliens suggesting that the funds first be funneled through legal citizens. The transcript on Radio Unica, translated from Spanish, indicates violations of three federal election laws, according to Salt Lake lawyer Steve Staker. [Illegal plea for illegals' cash? By Lee Davidson Deseret Morning News June 15, 2004]

In May, Cannon refused to accept an offer from ProjectUSA director Craig Nelsen to submit to unbiased arbitration from the National Arbitration Forum to decide if the legislation Cannon supports represent amnesty. Throckmorton agreed to participate.

While Cannon’s victory is disappointing, it isn’t surprising. Defeating an incumbent is a tough assignment. The task is made more difficult when the incumbent has a $12 million net worth and is well connected in Washington, D.C. and Utah. [Vdare.com note: Congressman Cannon is descendant of Apostle George Q. Cannon, who had five wives and thirty-two children. He has a lot of connections inUtah.]

America owes a debt of gratitude to Throckmorton for taking on one of Bush’s pets right down to the wire.

Whether Democratic nominee Beau Babka has the wit to exploit Cannon’s now-exposed immigration extremism—he merely has to oppose the Bush amnesty while voicing the usual pious support for legal immigration—remains to be seen.

Plus Utah patriots have the opportunity to further needle Cannon by running an immigration reform candidate in the general election.

For Cannon, it is back to business as usual. On June 26^th, he’ll travel to Phoenix to address the annual conference of the National Council of La Raza, where he has accepted an invitation to be a keynote speaker.

His arrogance, so typical of immigration enthusiasts, guarantees he will remain a tempting target.

Joe Guzzardi [email him], an instructor in English at the Lodi Adult School, has been writing a weekly newspaper column since 1988. This column is exclusive to VDARE.COM.