McCain Campaign Manager's Lobbying Firm Worked For Client With Ties To Iran

The McCain campaign's lobbyist ties have proved to be a persistent source of criticism as well as questioning during this election season, and it shows no immediate signs of letting up.

Talking Points Memo reported Friday that McCain campaign manager Rick Davis' lobbying firm worked for a client with ties to Iran:

Before Rick Davis began serving as John McCain's campaign manager, his lobbying firm had a pretty cosmopolitan set of clients.

For example, Ukranian billionaire Rinat Akhmetov, who has several business links to Iran.

To be sure, there's a good crowd of lobbyists in Washington who work for international firms with ties to Iran.

But Davis isn't just any lobbyist. He's a lobbyist-turn-presidential campaign manager who just a couple weeks ago was drawing up rules on how to build a wall between lobbyists and McCain's political operatives. And McCain has been more hawkish than most of his colleagues about confronting Iran.

And as Politico's Jonathan Martin notes, McCain's senior aides are continuing their courtship of K Street:

John McCain's campaign manager and other senior officials met with about 70 top Republican lobbyists yesterday, making the case for why McCain is well-positioned and explaining why they've enacted tough rules barring the involvement of registered lobbyists in the campaign.[...]

The session, held at the GOP's Capitol Hill Club, was the second of three meetings planned between McCain's campaign and members of Washington's powerful lobbying community. Yesterday was aimed at those who work for multi-client firms. The campaign has previously met with representatives of trade associations and will later address those from the Washington office of corporations and businesses.

Comments

[Sneakerface]

Oh, McCain ! (smiles mock admiringly a la Jon Stewart ) - is there anything you WON'T do to show us you are completely clueless about the Middle East ? This guy can't even go for a week these days without making a conplete fool out of himself on this issue. Can't you at least wait until Obama makes it official that he is the nominess, John ?

[BTN]

But at least McCain is correct on the war.
We are winning. Those are the facts.
Even left-leaning Washington Post says so:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/31/AR2008053101927.html

[JiminNC]

Surprise ... the greatest military power in history is winning the body count against people with decades-old soviet technology. There has never been any doubt about the overwhelming victory of our fighters over their fighters. The point is and has always been that the Iraqi government is making no progress. They can only stand up when they are propped up. Success now is coming from the certain knowledge that change is coming. If they thought McMurder would win the election, they would go right back to purging their enemies and handing over control of the country to Iran. We were always winning the war. We are not winning the peace.

[cariintexas]

BTN, WE are winning this war? Who is this WE? What branch of service did you serve in? I am so sick and fed up with all this WE. At least give credit where credit is due, To our TROOPS.

[Oldbuck]

Poor old John has more problems than a one legged man at a rear kicking. He been to Iraq six times and has no ideal how many troops we have over there, then he does not know the difference between a shite or a Sunni. He was against Bush's tax cut before he was for it. He keeps depending on the RNC to hire is campaign manager and finds out they have more lobbyist connections than a Washington DC Madam. Then he and Bush have this buddy Joe Liebermann who is a drag.

[Sneakerface]

For a minute there, I thought you wrote that Lieberman is IN drag....

[darthdarcy]

Chris (the idiot goon) Matthews was talking about McCain today on his little show and yet would not mention that McCain has surrounded himself with the biggest swindlers in American history..

Especially that crook swindler former Texistan Senator Phil Gramm who is directly responsible for the Sub Prime Crisis being a shill for UBS, and the Gas prices which are a total scam by the same crooks of Enron who Phil Gramm enabled with his Enron loophole he slipped in back in 2000...whi­ch is why there is all this artificial speculation which is nothing less than asymmetrical economic warfare against the American people based in the rouge state of Texistan..

Texistan which has a $10.7 billion dollar state surplus from the ill gotten gains and proceeds of this asymmetrical economic warfare which John McCain is a part of against his fellow Americans.­.

From Hero to Traitor is a short trip, remember Duke Cunningham was a Vietnam war hero much more of one than John McCain ever was ..and we know where Cunningham ended up...

[obamanation31]

This is not being coverd in MSM. McCain is getting a free ride while everyone is distracted.

[suzyhein]

Citizens of Colorado:

Our governor has chosen to remain silent during this historic nomination fight. We voiced our opinion in our caucuses and i for one want our state to proudly help Obama clinch the nomination on Tuesday. This would require a flood of superdels to endorse on Monday. Please contact Governor Ritter through his webpage and phone number and encourage him to endorse Monday. Thanks.

[trollsbwild]

Another indication of what a MyCane presidency would look like. K street would be given a wing of the WH.

[nyc4obama123]

straight talk express take this for straight talk express

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ioy90nF2anI

http://youtube.com/watch?v=GEtZlR3zp4c

[Tommygun264]

Grampy McSame - a bitter, corrupt relic of a by-gone era in American politics. The worst part of it is, he threw it all away and chose the regressive path in an act of naked political ambition.

Obama '08, '12

[Dachozen1]

Teflon John!! This guy has way more shady associations than anyone. Everytime you look up there is someone in his campaign that has ties to some bad group of people or regime.

[boomer1949]

If this man is elected come November..­.I'll need to have my anti-depressants increased.

[Tommygun264]

If this man somehow manages to win or steal another Republican victory, I'll be downing every bottle of pills I can lay my hands on.

[rasthedestroyer]

sounds like a chickens coming home moment maybe.

[NYCdowntown]

McSame OLD DDADDY OOOO, is showing that he has a lot of monsters in the closet...

I have to say to run a campaign by supporting a war in Iraq and Bullying his way around, I mean what a bad choice this guy is, and for republicans to VOTE AGAIN for this disastrous administration and party, you most like to eat the defecations of Lobbyist and corrupt people...

[6WaysToSunday]

I am shocked. We're all shocked. That renown anti-lobbyist, Senator Maverick who rides the Straight Talk Express? How can this be true? There must be a mistake. Huff Po...pleas­e double check your sources.

[cimwright]

McCain: Old man yells at cloud!

[DrDemon]

A New Class Of Presidency Coming Your Way in 08' !


----> "Obama the Great" in 08'!