DNC: John McCain's Double-Talk on Pork & Lobbyists

January 7, 2008 -- Throughout recent weeks, John McCain has tried to separate himself from Washington, DC where he has spent the last twenty five years, but he's up against his own record.

Just this weekend, for example, McCain pointed to the Abramoff hearings during the Republican candidates' forum on Fox News Channel, noting that there are "former members of congress residing in federal prison because of the spending and corruption," and invoking Abramoff's name, saying "ask Jack Abramoff who is in prison today, a guy who was a corrupt lobbyist and his friends if I haven't cut spending." But when McCain had the chance to investigate his fellow lawmakers in connection with Jack Abramoff's bilking of Native American tribes as head of the Indian Affairs committee in the United States Senate, he made it clear he would not investigate anything his fellow members of congress had done. [FNC Republican Candidates Forum, 1/6/08; Roll Call, 3/10/05]

And despite blasting the pork projects of others, McCain has pushed for his own pork projects, and even hired a pork lobbyist to head his campaign's fundraising who created $40 million in federal pork. As a Washington Post report noted, "McCain has found himself assiduously courting both lobbyists and their wealthy clients" and in fact, a "study by the nonpartisan Campaign Finance Institute and the liberal advocacy group Public Citizen found that McCain has more lobbyists raising funds for his presidential bid than do any of his rivals." That same report raised questions about McCain's actions and connections with lobbyists as head of the powerful Senate Commerce Committee. [Washington Post, 12/31/07]

"John McCain's rhetoric is anything but straight when it comes to lobbyists and pork according to his own record," said Democratic National Committee spokesman Luis Miranda. "From staffing his campaign with pork lobbyists, to questions over his role as head of the Commerce and Indian Affairs Committees, McCain is sending a message to Granite State voters that as President he'd offer business as usual, all talk and no action."

McCain Hates Pork, Just Not His Own

McCain Fights Other's Pork, Pushes His Own. "Arizona Sen. John McCain is sponsoring two interesting pieces of legislation. One mounts a direct assault on congressional earmarks, those little morsels of home district pork that lawmakers slip into unrelated spending bills. The other steers $10 million to the University of Arizona to launch an academic center honoring the late Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Yes, McCain does seem to be saying to himself: Stop me before I sin again. McCain and co-sponsor Jon Kyl, Arizona's other GOP senator, insist their pork proposal isn't hypocritical because they aren't trying to hide anything. It is set out in stand-alone legislation to be vetted on its own merits. In Congress, it seems, the only bad pork projects are those sponsored by somebody else." [Chicago Tribune, 3/4/06]

McCain Broke His Own Pork-Barrel Spending Rules. "After years of crusading against 'pork-barrel' spending projects in Congressional appropriations bills, Senator McCain may be breaking his own rules. McCain pushed for, and got, $14.3 million for Arizona's Luke Air Force Base inserted into the just-completed fiscal 2004 military construction appropriations conference report. The only problem is the project to acquire more land near the base was not requested. [Roll Call, 11/6/03]

McCain's Chief Fundraiser Earned $3.9 Million for Creating $40 Million in Federal Pork. McCain's new Presidential campaign consigliere, and chief fundraising strategist, Tom Loeffler, founder of Loeffler Group has spent much of the last decade as a lobbyist. According to documents filed with the Secretary of the Senate, Loeffler and his associates have collected $3,920,000 over the years lobbying for the Texas cities of San Antonio, Houston, Pharr, Donna and Mercedes. In return, according to Citizens Against Government Waste, the cities received $40 Million and possibly more in Federal Government pork. [Politico, 4/4/07; Washington Post, 4/4/07; Lobbyist Disclosure Documents Filled with Secretary of the Senate, Citizens Against Government Waste Pig Book 2003-06]

Lobbyists Driving Double-Talk Express

McCain's Campaign Has More Lobbyists On Board, 32, Than Any Other. "As a presidential candidate this year, McCain has found himself assiduously courting both lobbyists and their wealthy clients, offering them private audiences as part of his fundraising...a recent study by the nonpartisan Campaign Finance Institute and the liberal advocacy group Public Citizen found that McCain has more lobbyists raising funds for his presidential bid than do any of his rivals. He has 32 "bundlers" of donations who are lobbyists." [Washington Post, 12/31/07]

McCain Made Name Attacking Special Interests, But Has Most Lobbyists at Campaign. "McCain, who made his name attacking special interests, has more lobbyists working on his staff or as advisers than any of his competitors, Republican or Democrat." [Huffington Post, 6/23/07]

Lobbyist Heavy McCain Campaign Has Lobbyist Even as Campaign Mananger. "McCain's campaign has also been guided by lobbyists. Davis, the campaign manager, is a former lobbyist who represented major telecommunications companies. The campaign's senior adviser is Charles R. Black Jr., chairman of BKSH & Associates, which represents drug companies, an oil company, an automaker, a telecommunications company, defense contractors and the steel industry, among others...Other occasional McCain advisers include lobbyists Timothy P. McKone of AT&T, Robert S. Aiken of Phoenix-based Pinnacle West Capital, John W. Timmons of the Cormac Group and John Green of Ogilvy Government Relations. Also at Ogilvy is a major McCain fundraiser, Wayne L. Berman. Their firms' clients have been a significant source of contributions to McCain's campaign. Executives for the clients of Ogilvy Government Relations gave at least $271,000 for McCain's presidential bid. Loeffler Group client employees donated $118,500, according to a Washington Post analysis. BKSH clients' executives gave $24,000." [Washington Post, 12/31/07]

McCain's Committees

McCain Pledged To Not Investigate Republican Colleagues for Their Illegal or Unethical Behavior. McCain's Indian Affairs Committee hearings failed to go after federal lawmakers who benefitted from Jack Abramoff's lobbying. "McCain said his committee continues to examine all the financial angles of where the $82 million ended up, as well as other political and charitable contributions the tribes made at Abramoff's request. But he reiterated that he was following the money trail, not the legislative actions taken by Members of Congress. 'We stop when we find out where the money went,' he said." [Roll Call, 3/10/05]

McCain's Conduct as Chairman of Senate Commerce Committee Questioned. According to the Washington Post, "McCain's conduct as chairman of the powerful Senate Commerce Committee between 1997 and 2004 has occasionally raised questions."

* "In 2003 and 2004, for example, McCain took two actions favorable to Cablevision, the cable TV company, while Davis, his chief political strategist at the time, solicited the company for a total of $200,000 for the Reform Institute, a tax-exempt group that advocated an end to outsize political donations. Davis solicited an initial donation from Cablevision chief Charles Dolan a week after Dolan testified before the Senate Commerce Committee in favor of a position backed by McCain. Davis said there was no connection between the testimony and the solicitation. Less than a year later, McCain wrote to the Federal Communications Commission recommending Cablevision's position on cable pricing, citing Dolan by name. Cablevision followed soon thereafter with a second $100,000 donation, the Associated Press reported."

* "In 1999, McCain wrote a letter as committee chairman on behalf of longtime political supporter Lowell 'Bud' Paxson, urging the FCC to vote on a long-delayed decision whether to approve the sale of a Pittsburgh television station to Paxson's company. McCain had flown on Paxson's corporate jet four times to appear at campaign events around that time, and had received $20,000 from campaign donations from Paxson and its law firm, the Boston Globe reported. The FCC chairman at the time, William Kennard, called McCain's intervention 'highly unusual,' but the senator denied doing any favors." [Washington Post, 12/31/07]

Source: DNC

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