Reformer Running into Problems
John McCain has a long trail of supporting reform in the electoral process, most notably his pairing up with Democrat Russ Feingold in sponsoring the Bi-Partisan Campaign Reform Act in 2002. He also was vocal in criticizing the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth on their tactics in the 2004 election and has a long paper trail of opposing big monied interests in politics. These past actions are drawing a lot of attention to his current fundraising habits. In the past week, both the New Moscow Times and the Washington Post have had front page features on McCain the reformer, cozying up to fundraisers and consultants he has criticized in the past.
Today, The Post pointed to McCain's alliance with A. Jerrold Perenchio, who donated $9 million to Progress for America, a group McCain criticized in 2004. Now Perenchio is raising money as a co-chairman of McCain's national finance committee. There are a number of others listed in the article who had connections to the 527's that McCain has criticized and called illegal who are now leading donors for his campaign. At least 6 of McCain's leading donors were heavily involved in 527's according to the report.
Last week, The Times pointed out that the producers of the Swift Boat ads that he called "dishonest and dishonorable" have now been hired to be part of his advertising team. It's worth noting that the firm, Stevens Reed, Curicio, & Potholm also worked for McCain in 2000.
One of the challenges McCain will face is that he will receive particular scrutiny when it comes to his relationships with fundraisers and his fundraising behavior...for good reason. As one of the poster boys for clean elections, the media always loves to point it out when politicians aren't if it practicing what they preach.
Today, The Post pointed to McCain's alliance with A. Jerrold Perenchio, who donated $9 million to Progress for America, a group McCain criticized in 2004. Now Perenchio is raising money as a co-chairman of McCain's national finance committee. There are a number of others listed in the article who had connections to the 527's that McCain has criticized and called illegal who are now leading donors for his campaign. At least 6 of McCain's leading donors were heavily involved in 527's according to the report.
Last week, The Times pointed out that the producers of the Swift Boat ads that he called "dishonest and dishonorable" have now been hired to be part of his advertising team. It's worth noting that the firm, Stevens Reed, Curicio, & Potholm also worked for McCain in 2000.
One of the challenges McCain will face is that he will receive particular scrutiny when it comes to his relationships with fundraisers and his fundraising behavior...for good reason. As one of the poster boys for clean elections, the media always loves to point it out when politicians aren't if it practicing what they preach.
posted by Caucus Cooler at 2/12/2007
16 Comments:
It's amusing to see how the media in now turning against McCain with this sort of thing. For over a decade he has been their favorite Republican. Now that he is for the war and has married the GOP establishment, the media feels jilted and is tuning their guns on him. The new media darling appears to by Hagel. Amusing.
THE COOLER SUCKS!
THE COOLER SUCKS!
THE COOLER SUCKS!
I HATE THIS WEBSITE
COOLER SUCKS SPORER
Cooler,
Close your comments!
Reardon sends
Cooler Sucks Yoda!
Boooooo Cooooooooler
I thought this site was in violation of campaign finance laws.
Bring down the House!
Is 1:51 AND 1:52 the same person.
Either way, this site still sucks my cyber-nuts.
World Net Daily: The man [John McCain] is morally bankrupt,
intellectually dishonest and emotionally unequipped for the Oval Office.
Christian McCainiacs
WORLD NET DAILY
Joseph Farah
Posted: February 12, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern
You could say I'm prejudiced against John McCain.
The idea of McCain's finger on the nuclear trigger brings shudders to my very
soul. The man is emotionally and psychologically unstable, in my opinion.
Imagining McCain as president brings to mind equally scary and morally repulsive
figures - Hillary Clinton, Captain Queeg or Charles Logan, the fictional
president in season five of "24."
Nevertheless, several major American Christian leaders seem ready to accept the
possibility of a John McCain presidency.
(Column continues below)
A week from today, for instance, at the National Religious Broadcasters
Convention in Orlando, a "meet and greet" paid for by the John McCain 2008
presidential exploratory committee will be hosted by several very prominent
conservative Christian evangelical leaders.
They include: My friend Jerry Falwell. My friend John Hagee. And the two men who
run Salem, the largest Christian radio network in the U.S., Edward Atsinger and
Stuart Epperson.
Is this just an act of Christian charity? Is it simply a way to reach out to a
man who is among the front-runners for the Republican presidential nomination?
Or are conservative Christians ready to concede that no one better than McCain
has a chance to beat Hillary or Obama in 2008?
The good news, from my perspective, is not all the conservative Christian
leaders have sold out or been fooled.
James Dobson of Focus on the Family is not ready to jump on the McCain bandwagon
- not by a long shot. In fact, he all but ruled out supporting McCain under any
circumstances.
"Speaking as a private individual, I would not vote for John McCain under any
circumstance," he said recently on a radio interview.
Dobson said McCain did not stand up for traditional marriage values. He also
criticized his campaign finance "reform" legislation that "kept us from telling
the truth right before the elections."
"I pray we will not get stuck with him," he said of the Arizona senator.
Maybe the biggest surprise is the willingness of Falwell to forgive and forget.
After Falwell endorsed George W. Bush in 2000, McCain characterized Falwell,
along with Pat Robertson, as an "agent of intolerance." He called them
"corrupting influences" in American politics.
Apparently impressed with the reaction he got from such name-calling, the next
day, McCain hit Falwell and Robertson even harder, blasting them for what he
called "the evil influence that they exercise over the Republican Party."
Later, recognizing that positive coverage in the nation's elite press doesn't
necessarily translate into voter support, McCain retracted the "evil" part of
that last statement.
Falwell and Robertson and their ilk were still "agents of intolerance" and
"corrupting influences" in American politics. But, they weren't necessarily
"evil."
The rapprochement started last year when Falwell invited McCain to speak at his
Liberty University. McCain accepted the offer - a rather strange thing to do if
you truly believe your host is an "agent of intolerance" and a "corrupting
influence" on American politics.
But, you know what they say - politics, indeed, makes strange bedfellows.
Now, I can tell you from personal experience that Jerry Falwell is a very
forgiving man. But in politics, we don't elect men to the presidency just to
show them there are no hard feelings. There must be other qualifications.
In John McCain there are none.
He may have withdrawn his own "evil" characterization of Robertson and Falwell,
but I'm not afraid to level at McCain today. The man is morally bankrupt,
intellectually dishonest and emotionally unequipped for the Oval Office.
This is no time for conservative Christian leaders to be playing footsie with
him. It's time to slam the door in his face - as Dr. Dobson has done.
Joseph Farah is founder, editor and CEO of WND and a nationally syndicated
columnist with Creators Syndicate. His latest book is "Taking America Back." He
also edits the weekly online intelligence newsletter Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin,
in which he utilizes his sources developed over 30 years in the news business.
that was annoyingly long
The cooler sucks!
What I can't figure out is McCain squinting because he drank a bad can of Ensure or is he winking at the 527 groups he created?
WAR The Police reunion tour opening with Sonny Humbucker
Why do you all hate the Cooler?
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