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Track The Lobbyist Money That Bankrolls McCain's Campaign (And His Advisers)
When it comes to tracking the lobbyists and companies who either work for or have contributed to John McCain's presidential campaign, now you can play the same game Beltway journalists engage in every day from the comfort of your own home!
McCainsLobbyists.com is the latest project from Campaign Money Watch, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization. Still, they don't tend to take a positive view of the big corporate money that's fueling the presumptive Republican nominee's latest run for the White House.
"At John McCain's campaign, you can't spit without hitting a big money lobbyist who is raising money for or staffing his campaign. McCainsLobbyists.com shows just how much McCain is embedded in, and wedded to, the old web of corruption in Washington, DC," said David Donnelly, director of Campaign Money Watch.
Featuring 41 key players who are grouped in six categories -- such as "ethics," "corporate regulation" and "pocketbook" issues -- visitors to the site are invited to click through and see where the big money comes from, and for what purposes.
If you're a political junkie who follows the daily conference-call wars, some of your McCain campaign favorites are well-represented in the mix, like senior foreign policy adviser Randy Scheunemann -- whose clients have given $135,000 to McCain while padding his pockets to the tune of over $2 million. Adviser Charlie Black -- who courted controversy recently by suggesting a terrorist attack before the election would do his candidate wonders -- has earned over $30 million representing clients who have so far donated over $1.5 million to the Arizona Republican.
Not all those on the list have profited so handsomely, however. Robert Aiken's clients have given $169,450 to McCain, but Aiken himself has only made $15,000 from those same clients. In this universe, that almost counts as charity work.
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August 4, 2008 10:13 PM