Cannon tries to remove his foot from his mouth

If Willard "Mitt" Romney becomes the Republican nominee for president, I want to hang Rep. Chris Cannon, who endorsed him (just like Sen. Lary Craig endorsed him...more on Craig below), around Romney's neck.

Rep. Chris Cannon's vote against a revised law to hold private contractors in Iraq legally accountable is being questioned by his congressional seat competitors.

However, Cannon asserts the bill is poorly drafted and is damaging and redundant to a law already in place to provide contractor accountability — something outside onlookers might not have seen.

Which is why Chris Cannon opposes vouchers...oh wait, never mind.

However, Cannon explained he isn't in favor of immunity, either, and that accountability has always been in place through the National Defense Authorization Act, passed in 2005.

The act expanded the definition of who could be prosecuted for crimes to include civilian contractors and employees from other federal agencies who support American military missions overseas, according to the congressional document.

For some reason, though, no one has used that old law to prosecute independent contractors, said members of Cannon's staff. So rather than trying the legislation, a new, poorly worded bill was created, Cannon said.

This proposed law would limit the scope of prosecutions to individuals who are contracted or work in an area, or in "close proximity to an area where the Armed Forces is conducting a contingency operation," according to HR2740. That could mean a crime committed in Germany, away from the heated conflict in Iraq, could go unpunished.

Even if what Cannon says is true, why isn't it a good idea to be doubly sure that these mercenaries are under U.S. Law and to send a message to these private armies--and the muslim world--that we are serious about curbing abuses like Blackwater's? I mean, even Leavitt and Chaffetz gets it.

And if the 2005 law really did cover Blackwater, why has the State Department refused to do anything to Blackwater? I don't see Cannon's name on any of those letters that went out to State regarding Blackwater.

Oh and if you are in a men's bathrooom in Washington DC, let Larry Craig know if you have found his watch. Sen. Craig lost it in some bathroom. Don't ask how or which one, he visits so many, to you know, "use the bathroom." I can never keep up with all the slang.