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John McCain Breaks Campaign Finance Law -- And Attacks Obama For It
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Barack Obama, Campaign Finance Reform, Common Cause, Democracy 21, Fred Wertheimer, Markos Moulitsas, Mary Boyle, Matt Stoller,
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Fred Wertheimer clarifies his earlier statement on John McCain and renders himself completely irrelevant in the process:
Democracy 21 did not say that Senator John McCain cannot withdraw from the presidential primary public financing system until the Federal Election Commission makes a decision in this case.
We said that the shut down of the FEC has "taken center stage" because there is no agency to make a legal determination of whether McCain can or cannot withdraw from the public financing system. That means that their will be no resolution of the legal question involved here until the agency is re-constituted to decide the legal issue, and if such an FEC decision is appealed, the case is decided by the courts.
Democracy 21 had no trouble interpreting Barack Obama's statement -- "If I am the Democratic nominee, I will aggressively pursue an agreement with the Republican nominee to preserve a publicly financed general election" -- to mean that he was opting into the public financing system for the general election. They sit around and parse this stuff all day, set themselves up as judge and jury about what the law is and how it should be interpreted. And now they want to shrug their shoulders because it's their good buddy John McCain and because there's no quorum at the FEC, and say he can do whatever the hell he wants?
If that's the case they just ought to shut their doors now, because they've just admitted they're completely useless and serve no purpose whatsoever other than to needle people when it's of no consequence. If ever there was a time for groups like this to be weighing in, it's now, during the height of campaign season when the official regulatory agency has been completely defanged by the Bush Administration.
The Common Causes and Democracy 21s and Public Citizens like to rail about "compromised" politicians, but they're proving in vivid color that they, themselves, are not immune to being compromised. And having invested too much in John McCain this past decade, they are incapable of calling him for his breaking the laws they supposedly champion.
Meanwhile, Common Cause director Mary Boyle has been reduced to firing off puerile emails to Matt Stoller telling him to "up his meds" and addressing everything but the very legitimate point he makes when he asks where they stand on this issue. And the McCain campaign, knowing it won't be held to account, has now "stepped up its criticism of Mr. Obama" on the issue of campaign finance. That's some high hypocrisy.
Just because George Bush shuts down the enforcement mechanism doesn't mean it's a free-for-all, and if that's the position the reform groups are taking, can someone explain what it is they're good for?
Jane Hamsher blogs at firedoglake.com
Follow Jane Hamsher on Twitter: www.twitter.com/janehamsher
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You know, with the 'Ship of State' sinking fast, we need a captain badly, or at the very least a large number of lifeboats(preferably not ones supplied by FEMA). But the way things look we are going to have to choose between these two erswhile(or ersatz) sailors.
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It really is simple. Obama's supporters don't give a damn how the alledged "pledge" is parsed by partisan gamers. We don't care because his distinct financial advantage in money is OUR money! We gave it to him in order to make sure he beats McCain and Hillaroony. We want him to use the advantage we have worked so hard to achieve. I hope they spend their entire war chests making this an issue.
McCain is an honorable man that lacks wisdom and misunderstands truth. Hillary is a scary woman who has no wisdom, compassion, or truthfulness. Obama inspires people with his wisdom, compassion, and truthfulness.
McCain has sold his soul and will sell his mother to the devil to win the election.
Yes, McCain (Captain Queeg) has sold his soul to the devil, and the devil's name in this case is AIPAC.
And because he has sold his soul to AIPAC he doesn't have to worry about money; there will be all kinds of money availale through existant loopholes. The Elders are ready to ante up far more than Obama can raise, if necessary. Once McCain is elected Bush will be given the signal to make the Middle East safe for an expanded Israel - and the nuking of Iran will be begun. Then there'll be Syria next.
That's the problem when one lacks wisdom and knows no truth. Hillary's mask helps in this sense.
I agree with you entirely.
By the way the question Tim Russert asked Obama was a hypothetical question about Al Qadea, and about what would happen if America pulled out of Iraq and Al qadea came in and started up new bases there and what would Obama do. Its not hypocritical to answer a hypothetical question since like Obama said Al Qadea was not in Iraq till we went in their taking our eye off the ball and not going after them in Afghanistan. where they were to begin with. Obama's answer was right no matter what the double talk express John McCain says. McCains the biggest hypocrit out there , he's no different then any other politician thats been in Washington for 30 years.
J.S.McCain III, having worked for the U.S. Government for more than fifty years, has learned very well how to talk out of both sides (and top and bottom) of his mouth. Truth, like straight talk, is what you say it is relative to the frame of the moment. What is true on Monday may be the opposite of true by Friday. If anyone has a problem, the Bush White House and the McCain campaign will be happy to fill in what is true for today. Just don't hold them to it tomorrow.
I would put forth that McCain has been in Washington so long that he has learned to talk out of another orafice as well.
There is nothing so prevalent in today's political scene as hypocritical GOP politicians.
I think Democrats are just as hypocritical.
What can be more hypocritical than saying your are going to pull the troops out of Iraq but if al Qadea is there, you will put them back in and that you know they are there?
Because we owe the Iraqi people something for destabilizing their country. Quit thinking
My guess, as a public financing professional (local, not national) who has been reading experts' takes on the McCain-FEC mess, is that Common Cause has not taken a position because it really isn't clear that McCain has done anything wrong (or clear that he hasn't). Assuming that he has, without knowing the law and the facts, is no more ethical than what McCain is being accused of. As a former board member of Connecticut Common Cause, I wish Mary Boyle (the communications director, by the way, not the director) had been clear about this, but silence can mean that people are trying to figure out the complexities of the law, not that they are compromised by their relations with a presidential candidate. Common Cause has criticized McCain in the past, and there is no reason to believe that it won't again -- unless it's not clear he has done anything wrong. Disagree with Common Cause, certainly, but don't be so cynical to assume it's sold out.
Mc Cain will be shown up for the phony he has always been! The Democrats are just doing a little 'poking', so far. The real exposures will come when he is formally nominated!
Right-on! John McCain is a W clone that had the courage to serve in the military (since he comes from military roots - 5th generation!). McCain is too used to the "military way" of thinking and will comprise his principals to gain the office of President.
I can't agree more. The appropriate word in DC is now - Rovian- anything goes and answer no questions, admit nothing, have no hearings, grin and go to Texas. Can't imagine any one of the White House folk knowing anything about the military, but McCain certainly does and his principals be damned. He's a one trick pony. O.K. for now but not for the long, long haul. Whatever happened to the Lobbist? Yep! Rovian.
ready know what they will throw at HRC,but one can only guess what they have instore for Obama.
Thank you and welcome back from the dark side Ms. Hamsher.
Lies lies and more lies. McCain did not break any laws. Stop lying.
Question. Can unused money from the primary elections be used in the general? Because if this is so, perhaps Hillary should stay in the race while Obama could continue to amass donations that could ultimately be used in the general without violating the agreement McCain keeps whining about to stick to limited funds. Anyone know?
Thank you Jane . . . mccain will do anything for money ... it's amazing how low and how useless every single institution including Congress has sunk under the neo-cons . . . no accountability no responsibility is their GOP motto . . . just keep taking from public funds . . .
What? The FEC is being shut down because Bush has nominated one of his henchmen into the committee that runs the FEC and congress has pigeon holed the nominee? This means the after the 31rst of Decemeber '07' there will be no control of the '07' presidential election? Sounds like the neocon returds and the turd bosem buddies have hatched a plan to steal the third presidential election in a row.
I have studied the situation. The people are so fed up with the criminal behavior of some in government, that I, as a patriotic American can't stand another four years of criminal madness
as manifested by emporer Bush. If there is not a change to more enlightened government I must
stand in armed resistance to the false government which says it is the government of the United States.
Regardless of what conervative puke others will want to set in front of our readers, the time has come to play by the rules. And if you don't wnt to play by the rules, you won't play anymore, anywhere, ever.
Sorry to disappoint you, Sen. McCain's feet of clay are mired in the muck of high hypocrisy.
McBush is not a naturalized citizen. He can't be elected president, so why does he care what the campaign finance laws are.
You're right; he's not a naturalized citizen. He was born an American citizen, and therefore not only does not need naturalization, he CANNOT be naturalized. I'll be voting Obama, so this isn't an attempt to defend McCain; it is only an effort to inject a little truth and sanity here. The truth is, if you're born of American parents, you're an American citizen. It doesn't matter if you were born on Alpha Centauri, as long as you were born to American parents. If they still taught civics class in middle school in this country, this never would have been news.
The Washington Post more or less wrote the same story as the NY Times about McCain and lobbyists.
Lobbying is part of the consitution (Read the first amendment). I wrote a letter to the editor with a copy to the ombudsman of the Washignton post. She was circulating it to all the journalists.
My point was that EVERYONE has a right to petition the government and it is the duty of congressmen (and women) to listen to the petitioners. If they find something amiss, they have a duty to act on it. They also have a duty not to take bribes or have sex with the lobbyist - which there is no evidence that McCain did have.
I also asked "If everything was true in the Washington Post story, exactly what laws did McCain break?"
So you are calling McCain guilty of everything including not being an American without haveing anything but good feelings about doing it. Centrist in the U.S. will turn against such obvious shenannigans.
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