Sam Stein

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Sam Stein

The Huffington Post

McCain Camp Lashes Soros -- After McCain Took His Money

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April 10, 2008 08:01 PM


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About Sam Stein

Sam Stein is a Political Reporter at the Huffington Post, based in Washington, D.C. Previously he has worked for Newsweek magazine, the New York Daily News and the investigative journalism group Center for Public Integrity. He has a masters from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and is a graduate of Dartmouth College. Sam can be reached at stein@huffingtonpost.com.


Sen. John McCain's campaign aggressively fired back against news on Thursday that Democratic financier George Soros was taking part in a $40 million third-party effort to battle Republicans in the fall.

Hoping to raise funds from the news, campaign manager Rick Davis painted Soros as a "liberal megadonor" eager to "buy this election with [his] billions."

"P.S." Davis added, "Billionaire George Soros has shown time after time that he is willing to fund baseless left-wing smear campaigns."

What kind of "baseless left-wing" projects has Soros funded in the past?

Well, how about the McCain-founded Reform Institute, a nonpartisan 501c3 organization dedicated to promoting accountability and transparency in government.

Indeed, according to the Reform Institute's own website the "Constitutions & Legal Policy Program" of Soros' own Open Society Institute donated "above $50,000" to the group while McCain was with the organization. Reporting at Talking Points Memo today, Greg Sargent gets the actual figure of the donation: $150,000.

And who served as the top staffer for the Reform Institute? That would be Rick Davis, who according to news articles was earning $110,000 a year at his post. Davis, however, has severed his ties with the group. But currently serving as a senior fellow at the Reform Institute is Juan Hernandez, who also doubles as an adviser to the McCain campaign.

So, to draw this out a bit: Soros, the man Rick Davis believes funds "baseless left-wing projects" has not only funded McCain's own organization (we don't know how much over $50,000 he gave), but also portions of Rick Davis' salary.

Update: It gets even better. According to TPM, in 2002 the Open Society Institute gave $300,000 in grants to various groups that were defending McCain's campaign finance law against legal challenges to it. An OSI spokesperson, Laura Silber, confirmed the report. So not only did McCain's own organization and his campaign manager benefit from Soros' cash, but McCain's chief legislative issue was defended using money from the financier they are now deriding.

 
 

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There's a great article in the latest Harper's magazine regarding The Reform Institute also.

But do you know what I find truly amazing? There are only 60 comments on this McCain/Soros article, yet if you read Mayhill Fowler's latest 'Obama /Bitter Pennsylvanians' Off-the-Bus report, there are almost 4000. This article was posted a day earlier AND this article actually has real 'meat'. What is wrong with HuffPosters? Is it that they just go to articles with Obama in the headline so Hillary & Obama supporters can insult each other? They'd actually learn something from this one and actually have a reason to be so upset!

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:55 AM on 04/12/2008

Oooops...you took money from Soros too didn't Y'ALL McNasty?
"Any campaign donation in a storm huh Senator?"

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:32 AM on 04/12/2008

I have seven words for all you NON-ENLISTING Bush supporting Evangelical Fundementalcases who are actually swallowing this GOP crapolla:
"The Swift-Boat Whores For AWOL Bush"

So please, after you FINALLY go enlist for your AWOL President's and WAR DEFERMENTS Vice President War in Eye-Raq, stuff your disgust with George Soros' donations in 'yer' corn cobbed pipes and smoke it traitors.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:26 AM on 04/12/2008

mcbush and cheney are both hideous looking and straight out of some horror movie.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 06:26 PM on 04/11/2008

Add to dishonest, flip-flopper,pro-torture, anti-GI Bill, brain-damaged...add to these ingrate and hypocrite and you have the McCain Platform.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:48 AM on 04/12/2008

So basically Rick Davis thinks John McCain is a baseless left-wing smear campaign. And so is he.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 03:05 PM on 04/11/2008

Hey, Soros IS the American Dream: a refugee from a former Communist country who worked hard and earned his money (it's called Capitalism), didn't inherit it, and is now putting his money where his heart is. He's an American hero according to all the ideas we have about the American Dream. He just can't be President.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 02:03 PM on 04/11/2008

Maybe the trolls want to alert Bill O'Really.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:35 PM on 04/11/2008

C'mon - the man hasn't got a conscience. Remember - he condemned the Swiftboat people for what they did to John Kerry - hey, but he didn't mind taking money from them.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:24 PM on 04/11/2008

Time for Davis to folllow in Penn's footsteps.. otherwise one would get the impression that among other things, Senator Mcwalnuts is a hypocrite!!

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:15 PM on 04/11/2008

McCain's disloyalty shouldnt suprise anyone. Ask his wives!
he has this politician's ability to use a situation to further his ambitions and goals, but the real people he has contact with should ALWAYS watch their backs!
his filthy mouth and irratic temper are there, but I don't think they're the real story about McCain. His dishonesty and chronic inability to remain loyal to the people in his life is the big story.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:17 AM on 04/11/2008

McCheney needs to be medicated and retired to some lovely grounds in the AZ desert, preferrably a locked facility.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 10:53 AM on 04/11/2008

Personal opinion only, but I do not think it is wise to have anyone serving as president whose temper is so out-of-control as to be part of fisticuffs in our halls of government. Childish behaviour belongs on the playground and should be dispensed with by the age of eleven. Good judgement should be developing then and arguments should be settled by reason. mccain is too old, too war-happy, too hot-headed, too out of touch with the working people. He and Cindy may have a prenup that leaves the money in her name but he still gets all the perks and does not want for a thing by riding on her money's coat-tails.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 10:26 AM on 04/11/2008

they say the Dem's are pulling each other apart with thier back and forth. What's going on in the repub's party is just as bad, but just not as loud! Conservatives do not want Mccain------Republicans like me are jumping ship! I don't feel a bit bad that I refuse to stay and vote for some one like Mccain! I respect he is a War Hero, and served us well in the Senate! But I'm a woman and I will be darnn if I'll stand by and vote for some one who lose's his temper and call his wife a Cunt! Nore, will I vote for a woman who lies to us, and who's husband committs adultry, Who has does things in foreign countries behind our Goverments back! Also I will not vote for a woman who gets away with foreign entertainers from the U.K. come here and raise money for her---------when I know we have a law against any foreigners trying to pick our President or gov. officials of any kind by Financeing , raiseing or giveing money to thier campagnes. So I don't think Either Mccain or Hillary use's good judgement at all! Niether are Presidential material!

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 10:53 AM on 04/11/2008

I just hate this photo of McCain.....baring his teeth in a humorless grimace. You can see chimps do exactly the same thing.

Come to think of it, I hate McCain no matter what. If he should get elected I guarantee you, this country will not just circle the bowl, it will go directly into the septic system.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 10:18 AM on 04/11/2008

Since the MSM will probably give McWar a free ride(all positive) this media attack on him is necessary.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 09:56 AM on 04/11/2008

I bet this won't be in the news for long...

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 09:48 AM on 04/11/2008

Oops.

One of the puppet strings got tangled and pulled the wrong way.

McSame needs money, since the Core has their pockets sewn shut.

Ugh. --UB.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 09:36 AM on 04/11/2008

they'll wait until the dems settle on someone and then donate en-mass to make the numbers look impressive and look like they've got the same support as Dems.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:18 AM on 04/11/2008

To expect rationality from a GOP operative is to expect the sun to appear in the sky for a few minutes around midnight.

Rick Davis is raising funds. Any GOP meme or lie will do if it gets him even $10.00.

Before getting a job with the GOP one must submit to having his or her ethics and morals excised in some ugly fashion.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 09:26 AM on 04/11/2008

STOP IT!

Enough of these close ups already! I don't want to see these ugly mugs this close, give us some space already. The headlines make me cringe enough, I don't need to see John McCain's or Hillary Clinton's warts. I'm not a dermatologist.

PLEASE!!! STOP IT!

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 08:54 AM on 04/11/2008

bundlers are responsible for most of Obama's campaign war chest



Among the group are businessmen such as Kenneth Griffin, a famously private 39-year-old billionaire who threw his support behind Obama's presidential campaign just as he hired a team of lobbyists to urge Congress to preserve a lucrative tax loophole.

A year ago, Griffin invited Obama to speak to employees of his Chicago hedge fund, Citadel Investment Group, and in subsequent months, employees and their families gave the candidate nearly $200,000. Griffin had previously backed Republicans, including Obama's initial U.S. Senate opponent

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/10/AR2008041004045.html?hpid=topnews

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 08:54 AM on 04/11/2008

Oh please.

As much as mcsame flip flops the press should be spinning in their shoes.

Oops my bad, the press is spinning and spinning when it comes to the republican party.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 08:36 AM on 04/11/2008

WOW....$50,000. I bet thats about all the money Soros has.
I hope McCain, Clinton, and Obama unloads his pocket book.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 08:26 AM on 04/11/2008

I know we are supposed to wait on McCain until closer to the GE but it is still nice to see something on McCain while Dems slog it out. Call it a breather.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 07:52 AM on 04/11/2008

Gee speaking of money. Great article in WP about Barry's "grassroots fundraising." Billionaires, bundler's, trial lawyers, Hollywood peeps....on and on. Guess he fooled those who fell for his "parallel public financing" argument. Each day more and more of the real Barry is revealed. Somehow this will be blamed on Hillary.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 06:42 AM on 04/11/2008

What is the problem? That he doubled his contributions by grass roots and larger contributers combined? Or that Hillary lacked the know how to leverage a grass roots fundraising campaign that compares? For every complaint leveraged at Obama, be it fundraising or experience, it doesn't change the fact that he is ahead. A Junior Senator beating the Clinton machine. Power to the little people.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 07:50 AM on 04/11/2008

John McCain could be the lead in a leather-face, chain-saw horror movie.

Please, tell me that America is not stupid enough to vote for him for President.

Even his crippled, cheated-upon first wife (who stood by him while he was a prisoner-of-war) cannot wish for that. He's right on the precipice of senility now. What happens when he starts actually drooling (will Joe Lieberman step up and wipe his mouth)?

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 03:54 AM on 04/11/2008

I think he looks more like the guy at the begining of "Tales From The Crypt"

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 08:26 AM on 04/11/2008

Sounds like a job for Lindsay Graham.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 06:34 AM on 04/11/2008

Does anyone working for the McCain campaign NOT have business before his committees? Reform yourself.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 03:47 AM on 04/11/2008
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