Top McCain Aide Secretly Fired Last Week For "Trashing" Staffers

CNN reports that senior McCain aide, and chief foreign policy adviser, Randy Scheunemann was fired a week before Election Day for "trashing" McCain staffers to the press over their handling of Sarah Palin:

Randy Scheunemann, a senior foreign policy adviser to John McCain, was fired from the Arizona senator's campaign last week for what one aide called "trashing" the campaign staff, three senior McCain advisers tell CNN.

One of the aides tells CNN that campaign manager Rick Davis fired Scheunemann after determining that he had been in direct contact with journalists spreading "disinformation" about campaign aides, including Nicolle Wallace and other officials.

The New York Times adds that the McCain campaign pegged Bill Kristol as the most likely recipient of Scheunemann's attacks against fellow McCain staffers:

Whatever the permutations, the advisers said they strongly believed that Mr. Scheunemann was disclosing, as one put it, "a constant stream of poison" to William Kristol, the editor of the conservative Weekly Standard and a columnist for The New York Times.

Mr. Kristol, who wrote a column on Oct. 13 calling on Mr. McCain to fire his campaign because it was "close to being out-and-out dysfunctional," said in a telephone interview on Wednesday that the campaign advisers were paranoid. Mr. Kristol has been a strong supporter of Ms. Palin.

"I wasn't writing poison," Mr. Kristol said. He added that "Randy Scheunemann is a friend of mine and I think he did a good job. I talked to him, but I talked to a lot of people at the campaign."

Scheunemann himself disputes that he was fired. Fellow aide Michael Goldfarb tries to back him up, and doesn't really succeed:

However, Goldfarb did concede that Scheunemann's campaign e-mail was cut off, and his blackberry was taken away late Friday. Goldfarb admits that senior McCain aides were mad at Scheunemann, and wanted to fire him, but he insists they stopped short of that, and instead simply turned off his campaign communication.

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Comments

[KinC]

Scheunemann got canned for talking to Bill Kristol. Poetic. McCain showed class for firing him. And Nicole Wallace showed class when she said that if she was going to be thrown under the bus, the best thing to do would be to lie there and take it.

I think McCain may have succeeded in blowing up Rovian politics for good (whether intentional or not) and making folks like Bill Kristol look like the fools that they are. Bill Kristol has an irrational love for Sarah Palin. I bet he wishes he'd seen her in just a bathrobe.

[chf2go]

This seems like an attempt to throw everyone under the bus including Palin to keep blame away from McCain. In his gracious speech he said he was to blame for the loss and he is. All the decision making comes from him and he choose Palin. I find it very distasteful even as an Obama supporter that now they are trying to throw her under and run the tires back over a few times. It was McCains mistake for choosing her, no need to muddy her any more than she has been.

[JTJMOMEDTEK]

If she didn't want to shoot wolves from helicopters I would agree with you whole heartedly.Given that fact I'd say she's fair game.

[standup2them]

No kidding. I still can't believe that. Hey wolves are considered indanged species, at least I thought they were. And why kill one? What is the point in doing that? She is an enviromental disaster. And the polar bears, they are suffering as well because of the global warming, ice caps melting. They are turning and eating themselves for survival. Its so sad. If she cares so much for humans and wants to do so good, she can start with her own backyard, there's an indian tribe in Alaska thats been there for 100's of years, one of the oldest, and they don't have toilets. They use honey buckets. Where's the passion lady.

[pipp]

He was the one who ok'd her, but wasn't it Davis and Schmidt who sold him on the idea. They probably were very enthusiastic and persuasive, using all those marketing skills and against his better judgement--he went for it. Might be why he said he's the one to blame for his loss, because he was a G.D. fool to give the go ahead.

[spiffarino]

Precisely right. I believe it was Barbara Boxer I heard on the radio Monday who said that running the campaign is ultimately the responsibility of the candidate. It is an executive position comparable to CEO and, if the person can't manage his campaign, he's probably not going to be very good at governing.

We dodged a big bullet when McCain lost.

[emily00011]

Her actions and h.at.e-mo.ngeri.ng make her fair game. She played her part in the conservative machine very well.

[standup2them]

No kidding. They all did. They are not good people. They are the lowest scum of the earth. Every single one of them. He McCain is no angel. He is not well liked by many who have had the experience to get in his face. He was putting up a show, with this ignorant side-kick of his. It just shows you what kind of people he hangs with. Pond scum, leeches.

[TheBlueArsenal]

Schadenfreude, oh how I love to wallow in you over Republican dysfunction.

[davidhilton1]

do u ever wonder if they do it just for the money?

[TheOldSchool]

Some do it for money.

Some do it for outfits from Saks and Neiman Marcus.

Some do it for the beer.

Some do it for the Nashville record agent.

Some do it because they're hoping they can use the latest topsecret military technology to increase the speed of their snow machine.

Some do it because they used to be on the ticket eight years before with a different political party, but in the intervening years they developed a man crush on someone who seems to actually enjoy being around you -- well, certainly more than Hadassa, anyway.

And some do it because they never made admiral and they'd like to one-up dad and grandpa, while hanging out with sychophantic senators from South Carolina and Connecticut about whose sexuality you'd never ask, nor tell.

[mounthood]

"Some do it for money."

Birds do it,
Bees do it,
Social-climbing politicians do it.

[jaslyn]

Kristol's such a tool, he called the historic Obama campaign 'competent' !! Each of these guys is creepier than the next: Davis, Schmitt, Scheunemann, Kristol, all liars, delusional and would sell their mother's to get what they want. I have to go wash my hands.

[elizaconnors]

Omygosh! Tool is the word that I have been looking for all week. Thanks!

[standup2them]

Just like McCain is a tool. Especially when he smiles. Creepy tool.

[Nooneyouknow]

I don't think they're delusional. They're amoral and probably sociopathic liars.

[L3ftofC3nter]

Calling them sociopaths sort of excuses the behavior.

They are amoral, narcissistic opportunists!!

[standup2them]

Hey the Kristol dude, is a creep. Is he married? Just kinda curious.

[maggieblue]

yes. that makes it even creepier.

[PeppermintPatty08]

He's one of the original members of the Project for the New American Century. With Rumsfeld, etc. etc. Neocon Warmonger

[SoD1]

Ahh but it is in many ways “human” behaviorism; “Greed is Good”, “The Best and the Greatest”
create such easily if paired with below average Intellectual ability. Which then armed with with religious Indoctrinations, resulting in 'infinite' god-given” power to do a lot of stupid as self-harming things. As not only kristol and palin alone are evidence enough for.

Regards.

[Amazed42]

I think we shall all be surprised and possibly shocked at what is finally revealed from the McCain/palin trainwreck of a campaign, how little Palin was vetted, how Little she knew period, about geography, world leaders, etc, how much she actually spent for clothes, hair make-up for herself, Todd and their kids, the possible rage and dissent that was tearing the campaign apart from the inside though, I truly wonder if we shall ever know the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help us God, of that miserable campaign.

[afgail]

Why were they so exercised? She sounds like a female version of John McCain himself.

[Seldomright]

The fact that Bill Kristol said "Randy Scheunemann is a friend of mine…” should tell you everything you need to know about Scheunemann. Do people like Kristol have friends?

[Madmac]

Get Your Popcorn Ready. This is going to be good

[L3ftofC3nter]

I love how they are turning on each other. It's quite entertaining.

[pipp]

Justice for how we suffered through 2 months of living with the idea that there was a possibility she and the Dude could have been our next V.Ps.

[DoctorDonut]

Whoopsie doodle

http://www.theweeklydonut.com/index.php/category/2008-presidential-election/

[DownWithFakeHockeyMoms]

Train wreck

[obamagramma]

I'm sure America didn't even notice that McCain's campaign was dysfunctional.

[jwatso7]

I think this is just the beginning. There's going to be a FLOOD of behind-the-scenes information coming out in the coming weeks about what really went on behind the scenes. It's gonna get good.

[mounthood]

Not much time for postmortems. We are in a Himalayan range of national and world problems demanding our full attention.

[planetjeffy]

Maybe the Pubs will now fire Fox News for disclosing more damaging Palin info.

[Texdude]

Hmmm, seems like Rick Davis was looking into Randy's phone records? Or maybe tapping into his calls? Republicans love that stuff.

[suemag]

Falls under the Patriot Act

[hmmmmm]

for now

[standup2them]

That Rick Davis guy looks like Jeffery Dalmer.

[suemag]

what the hell i disinformation?

[Rapid Ray]

According to Websters Dictionary....

...disinformation:

misleading information that produces a desired response.

Example: Phoney CIA reports that lead to war in Iraq.