McCain Talks Tough On Lobbying Reform Secretly Pumps K-Street

[cal04]

Secretly Pumps K-Street For Big Contributions

John McCain presents himself as a reformer, particularly in the area of lobbying reform. From Fox News Sunday, 1/22/06:

Lobbying is out of control. But the reason why the lobbying is out of control is because of the process, the system that prevails here on Capitol Hill… We need to have the lobbying reform. We need to close those loopholes.

Behind the scenes McCain is slow-rolling real reform and pumping lobbyists on K-Street for big contributions. From The Hill:

Good-government advocacy groups working on lobbying reform say their longtime ally Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has played a smaller leadership role on the issue than they had expected. McCain’s lower-than-hoped-for profile on the sensitive subject coincides with what prominent lobbyists describe as a quiet effort by his political team to court inside-the-Beltway donors… McCain has been reaching out to K Street to strengthen his national fundraising network.

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/03/08/mcain-lobbying/

[Avalux]

1. What a scumbag.

Speak out for reform, then collect money from lobbyists. The man has absolutely NO integrity. Just because the man was a POW doesn't mean he's a good person.

[AtomicKitten]

5. ditto

well said.

[babylonsister]

2. Just when I thought my opinion of McCain couldn't get lower,

whoops! he again surprises me. :mad:

[Double T]

3. McCain talks out of both sides of his mouth much like his mentor.....

and idol, bush. Eat cake!!!!

[Totally Committed]

4. Yesterday's Boston Globe: Marty Meehan...

has a HUGE (the largest, actually) war chest in Congress:

Finance reformer has huge war chest
Meehan leads US House with campaign funds

By Rick Klein and Douglas Belkin, Globe Staff | March 7, 2006

WASHINGTON -- Representative Martin T. Meehan has gained national exposure in recent years as a champion of efforts to reduce the influence of money in politics. Now, the Lowell Democrat is poised to achieve a new distinction: He is days away from becoming the only House member in the nation with a campaign war chest that tops $5 million, with an eye on a possible run for the Senate.

At the end of 2005, Meehan's campaign reported having $4.97 million on hand -- some $2 million more than any of the other 434 House members, and $2.7 million more than any of the nine other representatives from Massachusetts. A pair of fund-raisers Meehan hosts Saturday in his Merrimack Valley district should bring in enough to push Meehan's campaign account past $5 million.

The representative, now serving his seventh term, raised the bulk of his money during the 2003-2004 election cycle, in anticipation of a Senate run had Senator John F. Kerry won the presidency. Most of Meehan's cash has come from smaller donations in his home state -- he boasts that he won't take donations from political action committees -- and he has accepted contributions from more than 8,000 individuals during his 13 years in Congress, rather than a handful of corporations or wealthy donors seeking influence. Nevertheless, that a representative who has been at the vanguard of campaign finance reform has the largest campaign bank account in the House speaks to the huge advantages of incumbency, said Celia Wexler, vice president for advocacy at Common Cause, a government watchdog group.

''It doesn't matter that it's Marty Meehan; what it says is that the system is broken," Wexler said. ''Members of Congress really are like little hamsters on this wheel, trying to raise all this money. In almost every , the guy with more money wins. This is a real problem. Voters need choice." Last year alone, Meehan added $508,000 in donations to his campaign account, according to federal reports -- adding to a formidable campaign fund that so far has intimidated any serious challenges to his reelection this year. With ready money and political security, Meehan is well-positioned for a Senate bid in 2008 or whenever the next Senate vacancy occurs. ''There's no other reason to be raising that kind of money in a safe congressional district," said Dan Payne, a Democratic political consultant in Boston.

Entire Article:

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/03/07/finance_reformer_has_huge_war_chest/

Molly Ivins is right -- everyone but a selsct few in Washington is dirty up to their eyeballs -- even in our own Party. That's why their positions are so easily bought and sold. And why we are so easy to sell out.

TC