McCain Camp Lashes Soros -- After McCain Took His Money

Sen. John McCain's campaign aggressively fired back against news on Thursday that Democratic financier George Soros was taking part in a $40 million third-party effort to battle Republicans in the fall.

Hoping to raise funds from the news, campaign manager Rick Davis painted Soros as a "liberal megadonor" eager to "buy this election with [his] billions."

"P.S." Davis added, "Billionaire George Soros has shown time after time that he is willing to fund baseless left-wing smear campaigns."

What kind of "baseless left-wing" projects has Soros funded in the past?

Well, how about the McCain-founded Reform Institute, a nonpartisan 501c3 organization dedicated to promoting accountability and transparency in government.

Indeed, according to the Reform Institute's own website the "Constitutions & Legal Policy Program" of Soros' own Open Society Institute donated "above $50,000" to the group while McCain was with the organization. Reporting at Talking Points Memo today, Greg Sargent gets the actual figure of the donation: $150,000.

And who served as the top staffer for the Reform Institute? That would be Rick Davis, who according to news articles was earning $110,000 a year at his post. Davis, however, has severed his ties with the group. But currently serving as a senior fellow at the Reform Institute is Juan Hernandez, who also doubles as an adviser to the McCain campaign.

So, to draw this out a bit: Soros, the man Rick Davis believes funds "baseless left-wing projects" has not only funded McCain's own organization (we don't know how much over $50,000 he gave), but also portions of Rick Davis' salary.

Update: It gets even better. According to TPM, in 2002 the Open Society Institute gave $300,000 in grants to various groups that were defending McCain's campaign finance law against legal challenges to it. An OSI spokesperson, Laura Silber, confirmed the report. So not only did McCain's own organization and his campaign manager benefit from Soros' cash, but McCain's chief legislative issue was defended using money from the financier they are now deriding.

Comments

[ChiGuy]

This is getting as entertaining as Bush at his idiotic apex.

McCain and his camp are pulling a blunder a week.

By the time he and Obama debate, the old man will be ripe for the taking.

[kravitz]

As the line goes

we know what McCain is. ..

we just have to agree on a price.

[PioneerKing]

Ouch it burns the republicans to know that all of the fat cats are not giving to them.
When Soros was giving to republicans they loved him and everything he has ever done. Once Soros started to give to the democrats they got stark raving mad.

[UncleSquinky]

Apparently not only McNasty but his campaign staff as well don't know feces from feinola. I trust everyone here read his comment about planning to be as fiscally responsible as Regan was -- who, BTW, tripled the deficit with tax cuts and wasteful military spending. At least the Gipper, when he had onset Alzheimers, didn't confuse Iran and Iraq four times in a week.

[sillyseason]

Did you honestly expect anything different from John Bomb Bomb McCain? Get to know him. They said that Bill & Hillary had been fully vetted too.

[condew]

But hey, McCain, champion of campaign finance reform, has broken the campaign finance law; a criminal act with a penalty of up to FIVE YEARS IN PRISON, and Hillary calmly sat down with Richard Melon Scaif; the right-wing mega-donor and architect of the movement to get Bill any way he could. You just couldn't make this stuff up.

[PTTY]

THE U.S. VETERAN DISPATCH

http://www.usvetdsp.com/nov07/mccain_deceit.htm

Betrayal, deceit, corruption and John McCain
By Ted Sampley
U.S. Veteran Dispatch
November 14, 2007

Meet the real, unwashed John McCain

http://www.usvetdsp.com/jan08/mccain_deceiver.htm

http://www.usvetdsp.com/mcaindiv.htm

McCain's Divorce

Before John McCain's tour of duty in Vietnam, he married Carol Shepp, a model from Philadelphia. On his 23rd bombing mission over North Vietnam in 1967, McCain was shot down and captured.

While he was imprisoned, Carol was in an auto wreck (1969), thrown through her car's windshield and left seriously injured.

Despite her injures, she refused to allow her POW husband to be notified about her condition, fearing that such news would not be good for him while he was being held prisoner.

When McCain returned to the United States in 1973 after more than five years as a prisoner of war, he found his wife was a different person. The accident "left her 4 inches shorter and on crutches, and she had gained a good deal of weight."

[littleblackcat]

Perhaps we need to know more about the personal life and integrity of john mccain. I wasn't there, don't know them, and so won't comment on what the reasons were for the divorce. If any part of it was was due to her physical changes, he most certainly does not have the "moral high ground" and character to be leader of this very troubled nation.

[ChimpmasterDJ]

What can I say? He's senile, he forgets stuff.

[Davwbaird]

WOW, McCain is very confused.He has good days and bad days.I shudder to think of McCain as president. I am taking my dogs and going into the wilderness never to return or be found. My friends you can count on that.

[karmafriend]

third parties should be hitting mccain hard NOW, since the dems are too busy beating on each other and the msm refuses to be objective when it comes to mccain's pandering and flip flopping.

WAKE UP!

[stonepier]

Poor old Republicans - they're so accustomed to being the Fat Cats. Oh, the irony.

[noneIn2008]

Irony in two ways. Realize this also means the Dems are in the pocket of big money.

[SignifyingMonkey]

McCain has got to be kidding about "magadoners" trying to buy elections. He was flat as a three day old pancake the day Lieberman and Krathammer announced what a winner he was. Only two weeks later, with an infusion of Israel Lobby cash, a few manipulated poles and a Dibold voting machine here and there, he won New Hampshire and has been on a neo-con run ever since.

[riverhouse]

Hypocrisy, thy name is McCain.

[trevor01]

I don't know if McCain is really a hypocrite. He fervently and truly believes what he believes as long as he believes it. He's like the gold fish in a bowl swimming in circles and trying to make sense of its world - Oh! the fish thinks, a rock! Oh, the fish thinks, grass! Oh, the fish thinks, a rock! Oh, the fish thinks...

[Law35]

If not a hypocrite, let's try this

oblivious

1. (followed by 'to' or 'of') lacking conscious awareness of; "oblivious of the mounting pressures for political reform"; "oblivious to the risks she ran"; "not unmindful of the heavy responsibility"
2. failing to keep in mind; "forgetful of her responsibilities"; "oblivious old age" :

Wow! It's unbelievable that no other news service seems to be bothered by John McCain