McCain Calls Lobbyists "Birds Of Prey"

Politico.com:

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) called lobbyists "birds of prey" Wednesday and vowed to enforce a lifetime ban on lobbying for members of his administration.

"Whenever there's a corrupt system, then you're going to have these birds of prey descend on it to get their share of the spoils," McCain said in a half-hour interview with Politico following a town-hall meeting in the southern part of this swing state.

McCain, clearly weary of vice-presidential speculation, began by saying preemptively that he was not going to say anything about the hot topic. His mood initially seemed sour, and his answers were clipped, although he warmed as the conversation went on.

Read the whole story: Politico.com

Comments

[chs1965]

This old man is dangerous and if elected he will put all of us in greater danger, however he continues to appeal to an uninformed electorate and will probably be the next Pres. What a sad set of circumstances for all Americans.

[jinxed]

That's rich. Does he have any clue that lobbiests are running his campaign? What a hypocrite!!

[MizLiz]

What an idiot...arem't most of his staff lobbyists? There's going to be a lot more of them in January, when all the ousted republicans are looking to get their asses back in the butter.

[hexham]

An eagle is a bird of prey. What he should have said was "vultures".

[olivia]

Does that particular slur also apply to the lobbyist who was his mistress?

Since he called his wife an even uglier slur, I have no trouble believing it.

[nerakami]

This is such a travesty and the rest of America sleeps while this man enacts a "do as I say but not as I do" behavior. His campaign and entire political career is riddled with lobbyists and he gets away this saying hypocritical garbage like this....

[DFutureIsNow]

This is what McCain has said about lobbyists:

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)
Southern Republican Leadership Conference
Memphis, Tennessee
March 10, 2006

Now whats wrong? Whats wrong? Is it lobbying? Look, lobbyists are good people; they're decent people. Every American has the right under the Constitution to petition their government .

[hexham]

thank you for that.

[Hatchibakku99]

Someone needs to educate McCain on the difference between "birds of prey" (eagles, hawks, falcons, etc.) and "scavengers" (vultures, condors, etc.). Scavengers would fit his lobbyist analogy better.
Also, he says there are "too many lobbyists in Washington". Is that still true, considering how many of them he took on the road with him?

[JaseAllen]

McCain should be as close as anyone to being an expert on what kind of bird they'd be. After all, he employed enough of them.

[demfriend]

If anyone would know who and what lobbyists are it would be John McCain! He has had them attached to him and his speaking out of his arse like this and calling them names likewe would think he doesn't like them is almost funny. It is another vote pandering let us try to convince those too lazy to see the reality of how close Mac has always been to these slimers. But iit is banking on the people who will believe him no matter how many times his positions changes with the wind blow.

[edwarvir]

John is insane and I would not trust him with the RED phone because my LIFE
depends on it.

[iswideopen]

McExxon should know. They run his campaign.

[loax]

This jerk has more obbyists running his show than I can begin to count. The straight Talk Express may as well be called Liars Express. I do hope Obama's campaign hits him hard for this bold faced lie!

[hexham]

since he booted journalists from it, it should be the

No Talk Express

or the

Fvck Off Express

or how about the Express Bus to H ell

[jinxed]

like the last one LOL

[mont0307]

John McCain knows how to not have lobbyists in his administration, my friends, and he will not have lobbyists in his administration.

Just ask the flock of prey birds running his campaign.

How does he keep getting a pass on this stuff?

[rinpochet]

If he considers them "birds of prey", why does he allow them to run his campaign?

[NoblesseOblige]

Why? Because, my friend, John McCane talks through both sides of his mouth.

[hexham]

Again, and ad here suggests itself. "Who is the real McCain?" and show a pic of the guy with a Janus style two faces. "one says he's a maverick. the other voted with bush 95% of the time. one opposed bush's tax cuts as 'inappropriate'. the other now backs them. Who IS the REAL McCain? Will the real John McCain please stand up?"

[hexham]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janus_(mythology)

[emmaspeaks]

How can he be doing so well in the polls? He is such a hypocrite, yet his numbers are going up. What is wrong with voter?

[MizLiz]

Nobody wants to read the truth. They want short platitudes, and they want someone "just like them"...read WHITE. If the "uninformed voters" put one over on us again, I may follow my husband's advice and move to Canada, because this country won't be fit for our dogs, much less us.

[jinxed]

They keep listening to the lies ... remember, character assassination works, BIG TIME!

Can you imagine running an advertising campaign doing what McCain's camp is doing and still being in business? I think when campaign reform is addressed again it should include truth in advertising regulations. These outright lies are disgusting and the campaigns that puts them out should be held accountable. My suggestion is if the ads can be proved to be distortions and/or lies, the campaign responsible should be required, stating exactly what they lied about or distorted, pay for a retraction and run it for the same amount of time and in the same markets as the original ad was run. They should also be required to pay a hefty fine as well as make a public apology.

How many slanderous commercials do you think will be run then?