Another McCain Connection To Anti-Obama Website

This past month, Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign paid tens of thousands of dollars to a vendor that was simultaneously working on behalf of a independent group attacking Sen. Barack Obama.

The $47,000 paid to the company Campaign Solutions for web services, on the surface, seems benign. But the expenditure brushes against the campaign's newly implemented policy which states: "No McCain campaign vendor may work with a 527 or independent group without a pre-approved legal 'firewall.'"

Campaign Solutions, records show, also provides web services to Citizens United, a conservative nonprofit group headed by David Bossie and founded by Floyd Brown, famed Republican dirty tricksters. The website for Citizens United features a bevy of sharp attacks on Obama -- sample: "BARACK OBAMA - THE CHOICE OF TERRORISTS" -- and solicits donations for an anti-Obama documentary film.

In addition, Brown runs the website ExposeObama.com, which was founded in March 2008 and describes itself as a "group of conservatives concerned that Barack Hussein Obama would be the worst possible President for America at this time, or any time." ExposeObama.com is paid for by a PAC, established by Brown, called the National Campaign Fund.

Asked about the expenditure, a McCain aide first noted that Citizens United is a 501c4 organization, not a 527 group. But the new McCain policy also restricts vendors that work with "independent groups," such as Citizens United, which are tax-exempt and can engage in political activity.

Later, another campaign aide said that an internal firewall had been in place at Campaign Solutions since last year, thereby restricting communication coordination. This was the case, the aide said, "long before this [new] policy was in place. So they are fully compliant with our policy." The campaign refused to offer documentation of the firewall.

Even if the expenditure is accepted under McCain's new internal campaign rules, it does, tangentially, create a problematic connection to Bossie and Brown, two figures renowned for aggressive attack politics. Bossie, who recently authored the book, "Hillary: The Politics of Personal Destruction," recently told Newsweek that he is "assembling material for TV spots about Obama's ties with [Bill] Ayers." Brown, likewise, told Time magazine that "he had established several other front groups to fund a long-range effort to erode Obama's support." He has already produced an ad attacking Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton for his 527 group Citizens for a Safe and Prosperous America.

McCain already has had to distance himself from one Republican operative who was spearheading an anti-Obama effort. Last Friday, the Senator's campaign appeared blindsided by revelations that an influential but unpaid adviser, Craig Shirley, had been hosting an anti-Obama website. Shirley resigned after Politico revealed his work for the 527 Stop Her Now -- an organization that was initially dedicated to taking on Sen. Hillary Clinton but had turned its sights on Obama.

Shirley, like Brown, worked on the infamous Willie Horton advertisements during the Dukakis campaign. And both individuals did PR work to attack Sen. John Kerry in 2004.

[The article has been slightly corrected from its original form]

Comments

[HuffPoJim]

I am a 57 yr. old conservative republican that will ABSOLUTELY NOT vote for John McCain. He scares me. While I do not agree with a lot of Sen. Obama's positons, I see the qualities of good leadership in him that hasn't existed in our president for many years. (He's got me reading the Huffington Post and watching Countdown to the surprise of my kids). There is a great deal of conservative opposition to John McCain. The surest way to defeat him would be to help fund Bob Barr's campaign. Given 40 - 50 MM dollars, Bob Barr could siphon off at least 5% of the conservative vote, thus giving the presidency to Obama in a cakewalk.

[JiminNC]

Yeah but ... they will keep the money seperate ... trust them, they are republican patriots after all ...

... now I gotta go puke.

[jeanrenoir]

I just hope Hagee helps wake up liberal American Jews to the absurdity of the whole McCain campaign's attempt, like Hillary's, to smear Obama as the enemy of Israel. AIPAC is terrified of Obama's financial independence of Jews because of his unique Net fundraising, because they are afraid Israel won't be able to control him the way it did Bush, and does Clinton and McCain, with wealthy Jewish donors. But Obama's no enemy of Israel, nor is he "naive," etc.

[realtalk]

McCain is a HYPOCRITE, we know that, HE IS NO MAVERICK, he has 115 lobbyists working on his campaign?! McCain is the ultimate Washington con-man? Looking forward to taking lobbyist money to line his pockets. As president will McCain will be working for the lobbyists who can pay the highest price. McCain man is so selfish he doesn't even want to give hardworking middle class people tax breaks, McCain himself accepting money from lobbyists, that McCain thinks is just a-okay!!
McCain is a huge hypocrite! I would like to know why McCain won't sign the G-I Bill, which helps soldiers go to college after they have completed their tours of duty . You know what McCain says "it's too expense"! TOO EXPENSIVE! This is a greedy man who lines his pocket with lobbyist money, has the nerve to say that helping the soldiers who put their lives on the line to protect this country is too expensive.

Then we learn McCain SKIPPED a Senate vote on a bill which was seeking equal pay for women, a bill which would have given women the right to pursue pay discrimination claims. When McCain was asked why he SKIPPED the vote in the Senate, McCain said that he would have voted AGAINST it anyway! McCain said that instead of equal pay protection, what women really needed was "education and training."

This man is no maverick, he is greedy, selfish, chauvantistic. McCain is just the biggest phony!!

[KarenKaren]

Sleezy. He needs to try to bring honor to his party. He needs to denounce that Hagee too.

[meltingpot101]

What is going on with the comments....they are taking a long time tonight. Recently entire pages disappear. It's frustrating.

[harriscrl3]

McCain is a CORRUPT LOBBY INFESTED FLIP FLOPPING LIAR!!!!

The straight talk express is TWO FACED.

Carol

[uhappytoo]

The Alice in Wonderland candidate. Who is really behind the smokescreen called McCain?

[WasteNJ]

These GOP hatchet guys are pure scumbags.

[somekid1234]

here's what obama needs to do...a lot of american flags at his rallies, a white southern and or military VP, ongoing attacks on Mccain's ethics, and make it more clear about why Mccains foreign policy is VERY dangerous for America

[meltingpot101]

General Wesley Clark??

[gladys46]

Obama needs to do exactly what he has been doing ... staying above the gutter! He's winning the nomination and he will win the Presidency! Bet on it!

[Geminess]

The perfect VP candidate that fits your description somekid1234 would be Senator Jim Webb of Virginia. That would automatically pick up the appalachian votes...as well as people proand con on the war. Webb was secretary of the navy under reagan (when he was a republican). Webb's son did a couple of tours in Iraq qnd/or Afghanistan. Webb is the best!!!!

Obama/Webb '08

[PioneerKing]

McCain is as ethical as Richard Nixon was.

[meltingpot101]

Remember that recent interview Cindy McCain just did, when asked about negative politics and she replied, "oh No, that wont be coming from our side, John doesn't believe in that."

I wonder how much more she doesn't lnow about her husband.

[LettuceB1]

She knows he'll call her the "c" word and that he votes against equal pay legislation to protect women in the work place, since women just need "more education and training to get ahead."

[Josefina]

Another flip flop from the once, maybe a maverick, McBush. The next time I hear him called a maverick I am going to scream.
Here is the defination of maverick: a lone dissenter, as an intellectual, an artist, or a politician, who takes an independent stand apart from his or her associates.
Now the media's defination of maverick when refering to McBush:
one who stands, never dissenting, amist a flock of Washington lobbyiest, one who parrots idiot savant's failed policies without using intellect or ethics. Slang. A McBushite.

[meltingpot101]

MAVERICK NO MORE.....that should be his name.

[gladys46]

McCain was never a "maverick" ... a very angry man maybe ... McCain went against repubs and Bush because he was maddd as hell about K.Rove dirty tricks played on him during the primary against Bush!! K.Rove disminated the nasty rumor throughout the repub community that McCain had fathered an illegitimate african american child!! Imagine what that did for McCain's campaign ... the same racist begots calling themselves "evangelical" "born-agains," etc. made a b-line to Bush camp! McCain was outraged and demonstrated his outrage by siding in the senate with a few dem. bills!!

Maverick ... nope ... Maddness ... yeppers!!

[nerakami]

Dirty, low-down, under-handed, back-stabbing political agenda still at play even though mouth says..."I will stay above the attack style politics""...

Important point here - McFLIPFlop cannot help himself! he is so enmeshed in the nasty politics of yesteryear that he just cannot extricate himself... he doesn't know any other way !!!!!!

Wheels are clearly falling off McFlipFlop's Forked tongue Express

[mongus]

So much for that "straight talk" from the Republican nominee.

He is almost as bad George Bush.

What a sleeze-bag.

[Peteyman]

Try going to that site. It's amazing that there were no mistakes due to dizziness from all that spinning.

[paulbikes]

McCain usually wears his age well, in that pic Johnny looks older than he is!

Honestly im glad that he has the nomination, because he's going to be so much easier to defeat come fall that perhaps huckabee or romney would have been. Thank god ron paul did terribly, he does a really good job of looking good and masking the bad parts.

[Daddio1]

Dear Americans: If you fall for those dirty tricks and personal attack adds, then shame on you. Is that the kind of world you want to live in?