John McCain Returns $3 Million To Donors, Signals Public Financing

Boston Globe:

In another sign that John McCain is moving toward accepting public financing this fall, the Republican's campaign is returning about $3 million in checks to contributors who have given money for his general election campaign, funds he could not use if he opts into the public system.
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McCain's campaign, in letters to contributors, is asking supporters to write new checks to a special fund created to help the Arizona senator pay legal and accounting expenses related to compliance with the public funding system.

Read the whole story: Boston Globe

Comments

[1question]

12:16 PM on 04/05/2008

FACT: Mr. McCain was broke going into the primaries.

FACT: Mr. McCain used seven (7) separate financial maneuvers while “borrowing” against the public finance money.

FACT: Mr. McCain cheated the United States Treasury and needs to return that money ($3,000,000) or risk going to jail under an Obama administration.

FACT: Mr. McCain is having issues raising new money. Mr. Obama does not and will not.

FACT: Mr. Obama already has public financing [1.2 million separate donors averaging $96 dollars]. Mr. McCain needs public financing. Mr. Obama does not.
--------------------

QUESTION: Why should Mr. Obama trust Mr. McCain to suddenly obey the public financing rules now...!?!?

[dommyluc]

04:46 PM on 04/04/2008

Hey, he can always use Cindy's bucks, can't he? So they have to live in public housing after he oses the election. I'm sure he and Cindy won't mond. After all, they are just like "the little people", right? Yeah, if the "little people" have private jets and limos and lobbyists. Oh, my!

[sandiegoconservative]

07:58 PM on 04/04/2008

Please point out which one of the Democrat candidates represents the lifestyle of "the little guy". Heck, look at the main headling story of this website for the answer.

[batgirlevi]

09:11 PM on 04/04/2008

You aren't very bright are you?

[MBFLA]

03:58 PM on 04/04/2008

McCain has been violating the McCain - Feingold law that he helped pass . If he does not go with public financing, he will be in violation of the law that he agreed to and accepted money from early on in his campaign. No other candidate signed on for this so they are not legally obligated to restrict themselves to public financing.

[jsinclair]

02:46 PM on 04/04/2008

Why should Obama take taxpayer money (including much from non-supporters) when he already has a willing base of small donors "publicly" funding his campaign?

Obama already refuses corporate and lobbyist money. If he wants to refuse taxpayer money, too, I don't see a problem with it.

[paixa3]

03:36 PM on 04/04/2008

Sorry, look at the donor list, you are clearly NOT reading it.

[rrafiringa]

01:52 PM on 04/04/2008

Since the fatcats won't fund him, he's turning his smile to the American citizens.

[toobias]

03:34 PM on 04/04/2008

excuse me but I can't quiet trust a man who preaches one thing and sneakly does other things
its not all Hillary fault,Obama throws dirt also.and it seems to me that he looks down his nose alot
I am afraid that this man will win and we will all regret it just like electing the chimp,oh Bush is like a breath of fresh air we need a change well friends we got a change didn't we,a law breaking president and we need the press to wise up for a change they also have to take blame for what the country is dealing with by giving the chimp and his master a free reign

[research]

01:35 PM on 04/05/2008

So if Obama refuses to get down in the dirt with Hillary,

he "looks downs his nose"?

I guess he's disgusted with what he sees.

[Ping]

01:51 PM on 04/04/2008

The poor bastard cannot raise the money to make an effective run for the Presidency. Obama is going to grind him into the ground just like he's doing to Hillary.

This is a big test for Obama. It's about his much touted judgment. Anyone who claims to have judgment cannot give up the fund raising machine Obama has built. Proper judgment requires that Obama break his word. This time Obama has the money machine that can run the advertisements in key markets that make a difference in the general election.

[faeriewidow]

01:42 PM on 04/04/2008

First of all Obama only promised to consider and negotiate regarding public finance. Secondly, are we going to let the Rethuglicans do this to us again? They somehow always manage to back us into a place where we look like the ones who are being unfair when they are the ones being disingenuous at best. Obama would have a better chance if he broke his so-called "promise" than giving into these freaks and getting his ass swiftboated. Nobody blinked an eye when the Repugs did their caged voting. They are scared and desperate and now they are going to try and make it look like they are taking the high road, well too freaking bad! Obama is not doing anything illegal. He is raising money fair and square. The conservatives can only win by disenfranchising voters and having their guy appointed by the Supreme Court. Even all their swiftboating could not pull off a win all by itself. They still had to make sure they messed with Cuyahoga County in ohio. I live in Cuyahoga County. I know what went down here.

[KQuark]

03:30 PM on 04/04/2008

This is what the MSM never discusses. Obama never promised to take public funding he said he would talk to the Republican nominee like you said. The MSM is the one who should get bashed on this issue for not reporting all the facts.

[PioneerKing]

01:28 PM on 04/04/2008

SLITHERS LIKE A SNAKE

[carlgt1]

01:01 PM on 04/04/2008

as soon as Obama commits to limited public funding you can bet the 527 "Swift Boat" and their ilk will be incorporating by the thousands for the RepugliKKKans.

[toobias]

03:52 PM on 04/04/2008

any thing said to discredit Obama will bring up the race card why do you think the repubs are afraid of him I am not a obama fan and I really think if the repus try swift boating the streets will be bloody with riots.

[onedivasinger]

04:49 PM on 04/04/2008

Bloody with riots? What a cheap shot, under the table thing to say. Were the streets bloodied with riots after the 2000 election? How about in 2004? When the streets should have been taken to, and not bloodied but to pull Dick and George out and take their asses to be tried before a war crimes tribunal should have been yesterday! Get it? That my dear has nothing to do with race and everything to do with the Constitution of the United States!

[axt113]

12:43 PM on 04/04/2008

Obama will use Public funds only if Mccain agrees to rein in the Swift boats

[Ping]

01:40 PM on 04/04/2008

No way. That would be a reason to support Clinton. Anyone who is so stupid to give up $30 mil a month cannot be President.

[sandiegoconservative]

08:04 PM on 04/04/2008

I see, so on one hands liberals want limited spending and funding on elections and on the other hand, they are stupid not to go for the big money. Yeah, makes pefect sense.

[InnocentBystander]

12:42 PM on 04/04/2008

Big surprise. There's no way McCain can come close to raising funds from small donors, because the Republican base is corporations. They've done such a lousy job managing the economy, even corporations aren't giving. So what's left? Taxpayers. Obama should stick with the fundraising that works, millions of small donors who want a President whose agenda is promoting the interests of all Americans, not the 2% that fund Republicans.

[rrafiringa]

12:32 PM on 04/04/2008

Well just a few days ago, it seemed the corporate branches of his own party wouldn't fund him. Of course he has to turn to public funding!!!

[toobias]

03:42 PM on 04/04/2008

why do we have to fund these millionairs they don't listen to us any way,promises they know they can't keep,or can't get passed so what is the use of sending them any more money,look what happened when bush got elected he used the hard earned money we sweated for just to turn around and slap us in the face,oh one more thing where is all this money coming from I thought the times were tough

[JohnFromCensornati]

12:31 PM on 04/04/2008

See, this is why they love to pass laws that don't apply to them.
Pity.

[bwither]

12:30 PM on 04/04/2008

The reason for this is fairly obvious. He applied for public financing early on in the race as collateral for the $5 million loan he got from a bank after South Carolina. He has since been unable to get out of public financing because of a bureaucratic hold-up. So now he's trying to turn lemons into lemonade by making himself look like a holier-than-thou by making a big deal of accepting public financing.

[OverIt]

12:37 PM on 04/04/2008

You're right so far... but there is the ADDITIONAL reason that he is UNABLE to compete in terms of fundraising anyway. If he could compete, he would have his lawyers working on various angles to get him away from "public financing". This move is entirely self-serving and a booby-trap for the Democratic nominee is who is not similarly handicapped the way things stand right now.

[Ohg]

12:30 PM on 04/04/2008

There is no doubt that McCain is a man of great moral character - but that alone does not make him the best candidate......................
http://thefiresidepost.com/2008/04/04/narrative-lives-of-mccain-obama-mcbride/

[OverIt]

12:40 PM on 04/04/2008

Sadly, although I disagree with him on many policy matters --- I also believed that he was a man of great moral character UNTIL I learned of his recent vote on the torture ban. As someone who had lived through torture himself, I never thought I would see the day when McCain would not stand up against torture. Although I don't know if I ever could have voted for him, that vote put the nail in that coffin.

[paixa3]

03:38 PM on 04/04/2008

moral character............are you smoking again....he was clearly FORCED into this position.