Ed Brayton is a freelance writer and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of 
Chris Buttars may have some competition for the loopiest Utah politician if this guy makes it into office:
Republican congressional hopeful John Jacob believes the devil is impeding his efforts to unseat five-term Representative Chris Cannon.He says there's another force that wants to keep him from going to Washington and the devil is what it is.
Jacob says that since he decided to run for Congress, Satan has disrupted his business deals, preventing him from putting as much money into the race as he had hoped.
Jacob said during a Wednesday immigration event that the devil was working against him, then reiterated his belief yesterday in a meeting with The Salt Lake Tribune editorial board.
This reminds me of Mark Siljander, a congressman from Michigan in the early 80s. He was in a tight primary battle with Fred Upton and a few weeks before the election he sent a tape to all the churches in his district saying that a vote for his opponent was a vote for Satan. One paster was so offended by it that he released the tape to the local paper. He ended up losing the election, and 20 years later Upton is still in Congress.
Comments
Just another day in Zion, Ed. If we did have a contest for loopiest Utah politician, Buttars might be the favorite but his odds at post time wouldn't be better than 6 to 5. And they'd have to use a second gate to get the rest of the field on the track.
Posted by: flatlander100![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/nav-commenters.gif)
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June 26, 2006 11:48 AM
I am convinced that Satan is keeping me from winning the lottery in SC and is also instrumental in the utter failure of the Atlanta Braves as a baseball team this year.
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/nav-commenters.gif)
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June 26, 2006 12:25 PM
It's true! The devil made me buy this dress!
Posted by: Sastra![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/nav-commenters.gif)
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June 26, 2006 2:42 PM
..and no doubt responsible for that wide Livan Hernandez strike zone back in 1997...
By the way, that wasn't Satan, it was the Angel of Providence.
Signed, a Marlins fan.
:-)
Posted by: tacitus![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/nav-commenters.gif)
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June 26, 2006 4:35 PM
Even in this country there is a sliding scale of what people will believe. Perhaps 80% of the population will accept that God intervenes in people's lives, but fewer than that accept the existence of Satan, and even fewer would accept that such an entity had the power to affect people's lives in any meaningful way.
So, fortunately, I suspect most people in Utah know that this guy is simply blowing smoke.
Posted by: tacitus![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/nav-commenters.gif)
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June 26, 2006 4:40 PM
Tacitus:
But, on the other hand, George Bush is president....
Posted by: flatlander100![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/nav-commenters.gif)
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June 26, 2006 7:20 PM
But, but, God told Pat Robertson that was His fault.
Posted by: tacitus![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/nav-commenters.gif)
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June 26, 2006 10:43 PM
Vote for John Jacob.
I voted for John Jacob at the State Republican Convention in May as did all the other state delegates in my precinct and as did the majority of delegates that day. There is a reason. We spent several months studying the incumbents voting record and listening to the candidates positions on the issues. It is time for a change and to have our representative in Congress truly listen to us and represent our views. "Temporary Guest Worker Programs" are the height of arrogance from our elected officials - they are not guests and they are not here temporarily. It is time for a change. VOTE FOR JOHN JACOB.
Posted by: ProvoDon![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/nav-commenters.gif)
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June 27, 2006 9:40 AM
flatlander100:
(Additional hyperlink mine.)
My feelings exactly. But - having grown up in Utah - I wonder how people unfamiliar with Utah culture take that phrase.
tacitus:
I can believe that as long as I stay inside the small slice of Utah I call home. (our representative , our mayor) But whenever I wander to other parts of Utah, I suspect most of Utah really does think a lot like Chris Buttars or John Jacob.
Posted by: ulg![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/nav-commenters.gif)
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June 27, 2006 10:41 PM