Cato president “very disappointed by this embarrassing display of immaturity” in Cannon's Twitter post
Written by Media Matters Staff
Published
From a March 4 Politico article:
The Cato Institute's health care expert, Michael Cannon, shocked the Twitterverse when he took to the social networking site Thursday to comment on the Senate's possible use of reconciliation to pass health care reform.
“The part's on order, the check's in the mail, I won't *** in your mouth, and we'll fix it in reconciliation,” Cannon wrote.
Cannon's personal tweet -- which also landed on the institute's Twitter feed -- was picked up by Media Matters and has since been taken down, but the damage is done.
Ed Crane, president and founder of Cato, told POLITICO through a spokeswoman: “We are very disappointed by this embarrassing display of immaturity on Michael Cannon's part.”
When asked if Cannon had been reprimanded, the spokeswoman said she wasn't at liberty to say.
An e-mail was sent to staff Thursday afternoon, stating: Twitter and Facebook are “great tools to reach both the media and the public directly, but something to keep in mind: If you identify yourself with your Cato title or link to your research on Cato's site, anything you post on those platforms does reflect on Cato and many of the people who read your posts will assume you are speaking in your capacity as a Cato staffer. As such, if you choose to use your Cato affiliation on any of your social networking sites, you must keep your posts professional. Rule of thumb: If you don't know how to justify your post to Ed, don't post it.”
Previously:
Cato's health care expert Cannon weighs in on reconciliation (NSFW)