Open Letter to John McCain's Campaign

I read with interest the news reports of your campaign's decision to vet all the past associations, work, and conflicts of interest of your staff. As you may know, Campaign Money Watch has been increasingly concerned about the number of lobbyists working on and raising money for your presidential bid, the conflicts of interest they pose, and your retreat from supporting comprehensive reform that cuts the direct ties between special interests and candidates.

With 115 lobbyists raising money for or staffing your campaign, we believe that last weekend's revelations that two staff members of the campaign promoted the military junta in Myanmar are just the tip of the iceberg.

If you are interested in cleaning house at the McCain campaign, we urge you to start with Charlie Black, Tom Loeffler, and Peter Madigan.

As you will soon find out when these three fill out their forms, they have represented unconscionable foreign interests. Mr. Black and his firm have lobbied for Philippines's President Ferdinand Marcos, strongman Mobuto Sese Seko of Zaire, Mohamed Siad Barre of Somali, "rebel terrorist" Jonas Savimbi of Angola, and several other unsavory foreign clients. Mr. Loeffler and his firm have made approximately $11 million in their contracts representing the Saudi Arabian government. Mr. Madigan represented the government of the United Arab Emirates in a class action suit regarding the enslavement of children as camel jockeys.

Your vetting process will turn up many more conflicts of interest. For example, there have been widely reported connections between several lobbyists who serve as fundraisers and staff for your campaign and Airbus's U.S. affiliate when they secured a $35 billion Air Force contract. You have received more in campaign donations from executives of this Airbus affiliate, EADS, than any other candidate. In addition, your campaign manager, Rick Davis, has taken on lobbying and public relations work that has raised serious questions about conflicts of interest.

We remain concerned about your retreat from previously supporting public financing legislation at the national level. That you have built a campaign relying on lobbyists to staff it and raise money for it is a clear signal to us that reforming business-as-usual politics and the pay-to-play culture in Washington is a very low priority for the Senator if he is elected. We hope this will change.

We are encouraged that you have begun to correct this appearance with a thorough review of all those staffing for Sen. McCain's campaign. As an immediate step, you ought to immediately remove Messrs. Black, Loeffler, and Madigan, and extend your review to those you are depending upon to raise money for the campaign.

Sincerely,

David Donnelly

Director, Campaign Money Watch

Comments

[micahjrose]

It is amazing to me the negativity that the media and other groups cultivate against lobbying. Lobbying in and of itself is not bad. I've done grassroots organizing, and when you do it you are LOBBYING. Any individual who seeks to influence government policy, or action is a "lobbyist." Even people who do it for a living and potentially millions of dollars are not necessarily bad people. The ACLU lobbies. All the unions lobby. Environmental groups lobby. The NAACP lobbies. The AARP lobbies. Judge not by the fact that people are lobbying, but rather what they are lobbying for. This article, to it's credit, attacks the lobbyists mentioned on their merits. It fails, however, to break from the fact that it is lobbying John McCain, just as his 115 lobbyists have taken their requests to the government.

[OlderBudWeiser]

Great article! McCain, or McCrutch will soon be the only one on the bus. Wait till he sees how much it takes to fill it with gas, deisel is higher. $499.9/ gal in parts of Calif. Maybe he can have an Airbus tanker fill it on the "fly". I'm looking forward to the vetting of his staff, and hope that disgruntled Hillary supporters can see who it is they will vote for when Hillary doesn't win. We need a major change in direction unless you want to see how far out of control the economy can actually go. Learn about the "Great Depression" of the 30's.

[amazinggrace]

Are these 115 (make it 114 another resigned due to under the table $$) "good" lobbyists that McInsame claims. That is what he has claimed, only good ones work for him. Cannot wait for the drip, drip, drip of resignations and the stories that rock his campaign. So much for the "good" ones. A lobbyist is a lobbyist is a lobbyist.

Age DOES matter as well. I do not want one from the geriatric set.

Obama '08

[EvgenyLibek]

Bah -- McCain is the lone survivor of Keating-5, he's unbreakable.
The American public just wants better quality cartoons, faster fast-food, and free health care.

McCain-Romney = Arizona + FLDS = new hairdo mandates, and the sanctity of marriage, at age 12, to your great uncle. Oh well, it's not like there'll be any boys around anyway.

Every teenage boy's fantasy, but with wrinkles.

[GrandmaSue]

If he's got 115 lobbyists working for his campaign, he's part of it. That's not a mistake that's intention.

[realtalk]

McCain is greedy, pure and simple!!

[PioneerKing]

DAVID:

You have not even scratched the surface. There is so much contraband in McCain's baggage that when revealed will knock your socks off.

Find Vicki Iseman and see if old Jack Abramhoff is ready to talk.

[freshnotbitter]

Looks like straight talk and crooked action.

[realtalk]

I don't think McCain knows the definition of straight!

[Dachozen1]

Barack has been the only on vetted. We need to make sure these stories reach mainstream to minimalize these vicious attacks on Barack's miscellaneous at best associations. No one says anything about McCain's connections to G. Gordon Liddy etc. I think it is all irrelevant but when they are trying to paint you as a radical it becomes an issue. The Right's strategy is based on hypocracy. The very small miscellaneous connections they try to tie Barack too are the very same things you can do to McCain or any other politician. This is flat out McCarthyim where you are guilty by association. This is used to demonize someone and push them away from the center. It is good that these type of post exist to rebut the B.S. they throw at Dems.

[MikeMidCity]

McCain owns more flip-flops then a surfer.

[izAriver]

This so called "vetting process" is just another smoke screen. The lobbyists already own mcshame. They're not going to let him off the hook.

[Mitchell4A]

Yes, we have quite a live wire there with Mr. McCain.

#9 on a list of a dozen reasons why McCain can't win, I have suggested:

"The Skeleton Factor: The Keating Five and lobbyists."

There is also the "The Not So Straight-talk Factor" #7, and "The Anger Problem," # 10

http://msa4.wordpress.com/

[bimplebean]

Mr. McCain used to command a modicum of my respect, even as a Democrat. No longer. He has shifted so many of his positions in order to appease the right-wing base that he has just become an empty mouthpiece, devoid of reason, credibility or integrity. It's sad that he thinks he has to do these things in order to win the presidency, but this is just another example of the effects of the pervasive rot that the right-wing base of the Republican Party has perpetrated upon the American body politic.

[PashaM]

"Mr. Madigan represented the government of the United Arab Emirates in a class action suit regarding the enslavement of children as camel jockeys"
Why am I not surprized.
This is so f&*k'ed up I couldnt make something like this up even if I tried.
McCain is for the enslavement of children for use as camel jokeys, I smell a bumper sticker in there somwhere.

Mahalo

[loax]

McCain is nothing more than business as usual in Washington and an opportunist. He is no rogue Republican, he is plain and simply a war monger. Take heed Democrats, the GOP Smear Campaign is coming full on. Why doesn't anyone in the press take him on on Rev. Hagee - another war monger and bigot, hiding behind a clerics suit. Put your money where your mouth is McCain - dump those special interest lobbiests who have made millions off the backs of you soldiers. HYPOCRITE!!!

[iBgood]

Excellent article!