Blaming Satan
The Devil Made Me Do It
By Daniel Muniz

In the 2006 congressional Republican primary in Utah, candidate John Jacob had quite a bit of momentum going for him. The five-term incumbent, Chris Cannon, had taken a beating from conservatives locally and nationally. Cannon, like many Big Business Republicans, sided with the president in the half-baked immigration proposals and was generally tolerant of illegal aliens, especially since they are a source of cheap labor for many low wage industries.

And since this race was in a solid GOP district, whoever became the party’s candidate would easily cruise to a win in the general election.

Incidentally, both John Jacob and Chris Cannon seemed to have been cut from the same cloth. Each man is a devout Mormon and each is a proponent of the free market as well as having solid credentials in conservative social ideology which suited both of them well for their Republican district in Utah.

The only major difference is the issue of illegal immigrants.

With the Minute Men bringing real immigration reform to the forefront of national attention, certain elected Republicans who quietly supported this cheap form of labor all of a sudden became vulnerable. Conservatives want this problem dealt with appropriately instead of waffling on it for the next few decades. As a result, popular revolts like the one against Chris Cannon began appearing across the country.

In essence, Jacob nailed Cannon on illegal aliens.

Consequently, Cannon had to do a lot of squirming and backtracking in order to reformat his image. Not surprisingly, almost overnight the incumbent became tough on illegal immigration. In addition, he was able to bring out the big guns. President Bush and his wife Laura recorded automated phone messages that were sent to the Republican faithful. With the backing of the president, this new effort helped stem the negative onslaught brought on by Jacob although it would still be a tight race for Cannon to pacify disgruntled Republicans.

But in the closing days of the election, Jacob made the gaffe that has hindered numerous conservative Republicans in other races in previous years.

At an immigration rally, Jacob proclaimed that the devil was ruining his campaign.

That’s right. Satan himself was the culprit that slowed down Jacob’s juggernaut to unseat Cannon. It wasn’t the machinations of the White House that showed support to loyal congressmen or the taped messages sent from the president. Nope, it was the Prince of Darkness.

Of course, every politician has a slip of the tongue from time to time. That is to be expected. The best thing to do in times like this is to sweep it under the rug and downplay its significance.

However, not long afterwards Jacob went on to explain to the Salt Lake Tribune editorial board about how the scheming of the devil undermined his political campaign. Jacob also explained to the media how the Evil One fouled up his personal finances so that less money was available to pour into the campaign.

If I was sitting on the Salt Lake Tribune editorial board, the first thing I would do is request a statement from the devil himself. We need to get him on the record or at least ask him to confirm or deny these serious allegations. After all, if the devil is indeed opposing Jacob, then by deduction, he must be aiding and abetting Chris Cannon. The next thing would be to get a statement from Cannon to see whether or not he actually made a deal with the devil. Or at the very least, find out from Cannon, when did the devil start working for him and when did he know it.

Okay, the above paragraph is a bit of parody on the subject but it demonstrates a vivid glimpse into the fodder that a candidate can provide to the media, to the blogosphere, and to anyone else who wants to make fun of this. It’s a ridiculous assertion that opens up a candidate to being lampooned.

Now I don’t want to step on anyone’s theology. However, the truth of the matter is that whatever private interpretation one may have about a religious experience, more often than not, it has to be kept one’s self, especially when they are unsubstantiated like this one. Like, how do we prove it or how do we interview anyone about it?

In the world of politics, every point has to have a counter-point. Although Jacob may feel that the devil's influence is a valid point, the counter-point to it is what will lead to disaster because there isn’t anything to authenticate it. By politicizing the devil, Jacob made himself the butt of a lot of jokes at a time when all of his efforts should have been focused on stopping illegal immigration. Immigration reform, not the devil, was Jacob’s real issue.

I in no way want to advocate that the removal of religion from politics. It has its place in its proper perspective and in the right context. Unfortunately, what Jacob did was in the wrong context and in poor taste. Politicizing the devil has too many implications that will backfire as did in this situation.

Ultimately, Jacob lost the primary although he did put up a very good fight.

But instead of maintaining his laser-like focus on illegal immigration, he strayed off course when the incumbent brought out his many resources. Even so, real immigration reform demonstrates that Republicans who are soft on illegal aliens are vulnerable to an angry electorate.

For now, Jacob can blame himself or he can blame the devil. I hope he chooses the former instead of the latter.

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