Posted on 02/22/2008 7:00:11 PM PST by neverdem
For years, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has railed against lobbyists and the influence of "special interests" in Washington, touting on his campaign Web site his fight against "the 'revolving door' by which lawmakers and other influential officials leave their posts and become lobbyists for the special interests they have aided."
But when McCain huddled with his closest advisers at his rustic Arizona cabin last weekend to map out his presidential campaign, virtually every one was part of the Washington lobbying culture he has long decried. His campaign manager, Rick Davis, co-founded a lobbying firm whose clients have included Verizon and SBC Telecommunications. His chief political adviser, Charles R. Black Jr., is chairman of one of Washington's lobbying powerhouses, BKSH and Associates, which has represented AT&T, Alcoa, JPMorgan and U.S. Airways.
Senior advisers Steve Schmidt and Mark McKinnon work for firms that have lobbied for Land O' Lakes, UST Public Affairs, Dell and Fannie Mae.
McCain's relationship with lobbyists became an issue this week after it was reported that his aides asked Vicki Iseman, a telecom lobbyist, to distance herself from his 2000 presidential campaign because it would threaten McCain's reputation for independence. An angry and defiant McCain denounced the stories yesterday, declaring: "At no time have I ever done anything that would betray the public trust."
Even before McCain finished his news conference, uber-lobbyist Black made the rounds...
--snip-
Public Citizen, a group that monitors campaign fundraising, has found that McCain has more bundlers -- people who gather checks from networks of friends and associates -- from the lobbying community than any other presidential candidate from either party.
By the group's current count, McCain has at least 59 federal lobbyists raising money for his campaign, compared with 33 working for Republican Rudolph W. Giuliani and 19 working for Democrat Clinton...
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Vote for McCain. He's not a commie. He was tortured by the commies that his opponent secretly adored.
The GOP has to restructure its nominating procedure. Indepentents and RINOs have had way too much influence in this primary season. It didn't that help conservatives split their vote between Thompson and Huckabee.
The WaPost needs to write up the cost of their newsprint as a campaign expense for Democrats.
Kind of makes you wonder what they ARE holding onto to release a few days before the election, doesn't it?
But "The Anti-Lobbyist, Advised by Lobbyists (McCain)", Does have a certain smell to it! My daddy alway said, it it smells like chicken ==it then it probably is.
McCain is the worst candidate in GOP history. He is worse than Bob Dole who was at least a decent person.
That pretty much says it all.
You’re scaring me. Dude, back away from the kool-aid.
Is that you lord McCain?
Black said he does a lot of his work by telephone from McCain's Straight Talk Express bus.
Did you see this part? Seems one of the lobbyists works on the bus itself.
I am waiting to see just how ugly things get for lord McCain... I live within an hour drive of Ft. Leavenworth and IF lord McCain is determined to make Ft. Leavenworth a tourist trap for terrorists I WILL NOT vote for him.
Check this out:
“Paxson said he talked with McCain in his Washington office several weeks before the Arizona Republican wrote the letters to the FCC urging a rapid decision on Paxson’s quest to acquire a Pittsburgh television station.
Paxson also recalled that his lobbyist, Vicki Iseman, attended the meeting in McCain’s office and that Iseman helped arrange the meeting. “Was Vicki there? Probably,” Paxson said in an interview with The Washington Post today. “The woman was a professional. She was good. She could get us meetings.”
Paxson is comfortably retired and has absolutely nothing to lose by telling the truth.
Game. Set. Match.
But these allegations are making him look like a total hypocrite.
We know nothing of the sort. What we do know, is that John McCain is an unstable man who not only dislikes conservatives and our positions, but actively works against us in concert with Democrats.
A “stand up guy” would not have authored:
McCain/Lieberman
McCain/Feingold
McCain/Kennedy
A “stand up guy” would not have been one of the Keating 5.
Good old John McCain-campaign finance is for the little people. And of course it’s ckay if he talks to lobbyists all the while complaining about special interest money in Washington. He’s special. It seem the straight talk express has a forked tongue.
Yes, which is why I won’t be pulling the lever for John.
Unbelievable. The media is painting McCain as a hypocrite because he is a hypocrite. I am sick to think this man is the nominee of the Repub Party.
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