06-01-2008, 12:08 PM
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#8 (permalink)
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Banned
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McCain on his own economic expertise, (begins at 1:40)
Quote:
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4210251
McCain's Lobbyist Friends Rally 'Round Their Man
Group: Campaign Finance Reformer Has the Most Lobbyists Raising Campaign Money
By AVNI PATEL and JOANNA JENNINGS
Jan. 29, 2008
.....While McCain did not attend the event, a <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/images/Blotter/080122_mccaindcfundraiser_1.pdf">copy of the invitation obtained by ABCNews.com</a> shows that donors who paid between $1,000 and $2,300 were invited to rub elbows with some of the 32 members of Congress supporting McCain for a reception at the Charlie Palmer Steakhouse. Donors who raised at least $10,000 were designated co-chairmen for the event and were treated to a "VIP Roundtable" before the main reception. The invitation lists 24 lobbyists as "co-chairman" for the event. The lobbyists represent a range of industries, including the finance, telecommunications, technology and healthcare sectors.
<h3>McCain has 59 lobbyists raising money for his campaign, more than any of the other presidential candidates</h3>, according to the latest finding from government watchdog group <a href="http://www.whitehouseforsale.org/">Public Citizen</a>. The group, which advocates for public financing of elections, has identified more than 2,300 well-connected individuals, known as "bundlers," who have solicited contributions from friends and associates on behalf of a presidential candidate.
McCain is known as a champion of campaign finance reform. His <a href="http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/cb15a056-ac87-485d-a64d-82989bdc948c.htm">campaign Web site</a> touts the senator's credentials as a reformer, stating that he has fought for "greater transparency regarding the official activities of lobbyists" and the "disclosure of how candidates and campaigns are funded."
When it comes to disclosing how much lobbyists are raising for his presidential campaign, however, the group found that McCain has fallen short, even by standards set by the Bush/Cheney 2004 campaign which voluntarily disclosed on its Web site the names of bundlers who raised at least $100,000 and $200,000.
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Quote:
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articl...yists0526.html
Lobbyists on John McCain's team facing some new rules
Several exit as campaign tackles influence issue
by Jerry Kammer - May. 26, 2008 12:00 AM
Republic Washington Bureau
......In late 2006, as McCain pondered a bid for the presidency, he proudly announced that eight prominent Republicans had joined his exploratory committee as national finance co-chairmen.
"Their dedication to the Republican Party and their renowned financial savvy are essential to any successful campaign," McCain said at the time. "And I am so grateful that they have chosen to bring their talents and wisdom to our team."
One of those men was Tom Loeffler, a former Texas congressman turned lobbyist who founded a Washington lobbying firm that bears his name. Loeffler resigned May 18 as the McCain campaign confronted the gap between the idealism of the senator's longstanding fight against special interests and the necessity of raising the money it takes to run a national campaign.
Four other lobbyists also have departed, and the McCain campaign has instituted a series of rules intended to eliminate conflicts of interest. Those rules prohibit campaign workers from working as lobbyists or participating in the independent groups that conduct advertising campaigns intended to influence federal elections.
One rule, formalizing a previous McCain commitment, attempts to nail shut one of Washington's revolving doors between the White House and K Street, Washington's lobbyist corridor. It declares that "anyone serving in a McCain administration must commit not to lobby the administration during his presidency."
Those rules were laid down by campaign manager Rick Davis, who - like many campaign operatives both Republican and Democrat - has made his off-the-campaign-trail living as a lobbyist. For the past 10 years, Davis has been on leave from the lobbying firm that bears his name, Davis Manafort.
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