McCain Talks Tough On Lobbying Reform, Secretly Pumps K-Street For Big Contributions
McCain Talks Tough On Lobbying Reform, 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:
[L]obbying 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.
All aboard the Straight-Talk Express!
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48 Responses to “McCain Talks Tough On Lobbying Reform, Secretly Pumps K-Street For Big Contributions”
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Some days you're the dog, some days you're the hydrant.
March 8th, 2006 at 4:25 pmMcCain is the Repub's hydrant.
mccain is a whore. period
March 8th, 2006 at 4:30 pmsorry i've got to revise that : "birthday cake" mccain is a whore.
March 8th, 2006 at 4:31 pmMcCain is not some amazing figure who can take the central ground and reform washington - which is what he'll say when he runs for president. He's an ideologue that every once in awhile spars with Bush probably because of Bush's slimy tactics against him in 00.
If he ran for president it'd be a nightmare. First he'd win and second his true colors would come out.
Eh, he looks clean to the voters which is what counts I guess. Or cleaner than the rest:)
March 8th, 2006 at 4:31 pmHe just wants to be John(George Bush Jr) McCain President 44
March 8th, 2006 at 4:34 pmIf McCain was serious about reform he'd quit the Nazi party.
March 8th, 2006 at 4:40 pmOoops. Republican party.
March 8th, 2006 at 4:40 pmHow else is he going to get elected president as a Republican if he doesn't compromise his values and goes back on his word?
March 8th, 2006 at 4:43 pmJust lying isn't enough to be a Republican. You also have to hit your opponents with tasteless and baseless charges. McCain still has some work to do if he wants the nomination.
March 8th, 2006 at 4:46 pmMcCain has no values and I'm sorry for those of you who have been fooled by his "straight talkin' good guy patriot" message that he and his PR team have foisted upon the nation. He's a cowardly snake and his supporters are fools.
March 8th, 2006 at 4:47 pmMcCain was always a phony 'reformer'. Without his 'leadership', there might have been true campaign finance reform. The best way to stop a progressive idea is to join forces with it to force it into compromise.
Maybe some of what Rove said about McCain in 2000 is true.
March 8th, 2006 at 4:49 pmMcCain, you are a pimp. and I am not saying this to be mean to real pimps that work for a living.
March 8th, 2006 at 4:49 pmtoo bad he is such a two faced one, but that is how a pimp becomes a politico
Politi-whores
They will Screw anybody, anytime, for any reason, for any amount of money or material possessions purely for their self serving deeds and pleasures.[PolitiWhores]
March 8th, 2006 at 4:50 pmWell, I see doublespeak, doublethink, is still the game plan of lamebrain. Good, put this clown in with Specter, Graham and the rest of the Dino's...light a match, and the gas they spew will take of the rest. Until money is removed from elections, it will be impossible to distinguish the two parties. Evidently, "the best government money can buy" will continue into the next election cycle.
My biggest objection to these gas-bags, is that they raise false hope. They invite the electoriate into the process with luring words; then the next day...you're a whore...they never knew you. Nothing's going to change until the people who make up mainstream civilization, who are, or soon will be eating out of dumpsters, take their case directly into the streets and a few other areas.
March 8th, 2006 at 4:50 pmRhetoric McCain should sell oven chips thats all he's good for
March 8th, 2006 at 4:59 pmNo hypocrisy on the Clinton's and their duplicity in the Dubai deal. None there, at all.
ThinkProgress = ThinkHypocrite
March 8th, 2006 at 5:07 pmCLINTON IS NOT IN OFFICE!!!
WE CAN"T IMPEACH HIM..and HILLARY is a wishy washy war supporter.
how about we address those in power who are the MOST corrupt..rather than those who seek to gain power...
mmmmk?
March 8th, 2006 at 5:11 pmthanks.
Comment by Tour De Farce
Yes,you picked the right nick, describes you and your comments well.
March 8th, 2006 at 5:22 pm#16-Troll De Farce,
Thank you for demonstrating with remarkable clarity and precision the monumental stupidity required to be a McCain/Republican supporter.
I would suggest that you wait until you are out of diapers and have developed at least one brain cell before you deliver your opinions. This is far too serious of an issue to be distracted by some moron yelling "Clinton".
March 8th, 2006 at 5:26 pm#17 - the most corrupt person in power is Hillary Clinton. Criminal.
March 8th, 2006 at 5:29 pm#20-Troll De Farce,
Since it is apparent you cannot read, this thread is about McCain and his ever-changing positions. Do you want us to call you when there is a thread that relates to Ms. Clinton? Don't worry, if it is nap time we will leave a message with your mother.
March 8th, 2006 at 5:34 pmYou really are a farce. Why can't you all just get over it. Clinton beat big daddy Bush and grandpa Dole. It is history, we are talking about now!
Exactly what crime did Hillary commit? Also, where is your proof? I mean, your party spent enough to investigate her, surely you have something to show fo Lay's hard work!
March 8th, 2006 at 5:34 pmSorry optimist - I shouldn't feed the troll!
March 8th, 2006 at 5:36 pm#22,
If you feed a troll, they will just spew more BS. Then you will try to have a discussion with them and they will just spew hate and lies. Then you will try to educate them with facts and truths and they will then blame someone or something else. In the end, all you will have is a slobbering troll and you will feel the need to take an immediate shower.
Or, you can just ignore the troll BS.
March 8th, 2006 at 5:37 pm#23-Jules,
Holy crap! You read my mind before I even finished my post.
March 8th, 2006 at 5:38 pmGreat minds think alike, as well as evil ones. Which is why McCain is no different than Bush et. al.
March 8th, 2006 at 5:41 pmLobbying leads to destruction look at what we have here
DEDICATED TO ALL THE TROLLS - THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK
March 8th, 2006 at 5:51 pmMcCain is not to be trusted. All respect I once had for him is gone. He let Bush piss on him and then hugged the man and supported him. He trumpets campaign reform and he quietly employs the tactics for himself.
March 8th, 2006 at 5:52 pmHe is a party man, first and foremost.
Double talk. Don't believe him. Don't believe Republicans.
They will say what you want to hear and do what they want.
Once again, McCain exhibits his firm grasp of the obvious. Solutions? Eh, not so much.
March 8th, 2006 at 5:54 pm#20, in re: your "the most corrupt person in power is Hillary Clinton. Criminal."
Is that because she has breasts and a vagina?
March 8th, 2006 at 6:14 pmYes, McCain is a shameless whore. He cannot be trusted.
March 8th, 2006 at 6:19 pm#20
HAHAH!!!
omg thats so funny.
tour..have you ever considered a career in stand-up comedy?
March 8th, 2006 at 6:26 pmThe only kind of "lobbying reform" I've heard any politicians talk about involves "full disclosure", not stopping them from doing what they are doing. They can still take pols out to meals (why should they be allowed to at all?), and they can still pay for things, but they would have to disclose it. If it's still going to be perfectly legal, then "full disclosure" won't stop anything.
Lobbying reform must be accompanied by Campaign Finance reform, and that can only happen when the rules are changed and candidates for Representative and Senator are only allowed to accept money from people they will be representing in Congress (I call this "Indistrict Financing" because I couldn't think of a pithier name for it.) Otherwise, there is no reason why someone with billions of dollars couldn't buy all of your state's representatives and make them beholden to him.
And we citizens need to keep emphasizing to our congressional representation that they are there to serve us, not enhance their own personal standards of living. There is no excuse in the world for a lobbyist to arrange a golf outing to St Andrews for any member of Congress. None.
Members must also be reminded that they must avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest. This is a very difficult one for them to obey, but they must.
Without campaign finance reform, lobbying reform means nothing.
March 8th, 2006 at 6:44 pmJohn McCain is one of the biggest asskissers in the political arena.
He is thankful to Bush that the shrub did not go ahead in 1999 and use other information he had on McCain when he swifted him. McCain thanked Bush for not using his record as a POW against him.
March 8th, 2006 at 6:52 pmJohn McCain is a thumbsucker ever waiting for Bush to allow him his chance at the teat. Waaaaa Waaaaa
March 8th, 2006 at 7:15 pmJohn McStain.
He is beneath contempt.
-GSD
Oh Yeah, and Tour De Douche-bag. You smell as bad as Garry Ruppert.
March 8th, 2006 at 7:26 pmHe's an opportunistic scumbag. We should've left his pasty ass in that North Vietnamese POW camp. Just when you begin to hope that he really is a maverick, he goes and sucks Bush's dick at High Noon or pulls some shit like this.
Republicans would be lost without K Street. It's their guiding star that gets them around the rest of the Beltway.
Anyway, I have two new posts up, for those of you tuning in late. First, MoDo's shorts sabbatical is over and not a moment too soon since she's back giving the Bush madministration hell from the NY Times. I have her newest up at my place, for those of you who also loathe the NY Times' Select bullshit.
Seondly, I have some original material of my own up about the unrest in Iraq and how it all seems to devolve on Bush’s idiosyncratic definition of “civil war.†It may appear to mirror the Dowd screed but the truth is I didn’t even read her article before I’d posted it until after I’d posted my take.
Anyway, enjoy and stayed tuned tomorrow as I’ll have a kick-ass post out by early tomorrow night that draws a parallel between the Cheney Bush administration and McHale’s Navy, with photoshopped pics by none other than the incredible Dood Abides of My Left Wing/DKos fame! Ciao!
March 8th, 2006 at 8:46 pmGood bye McCain considering that I am Az resident. I hope to see that he's voted out of the office coming this 2006!
March 8th, 2006 at 9:39 pmThey form these movements and then weaken at the end to let them fail or to redirect the results or in some way to sabatage.
Co-opt. Co-opt. Co-opt.
March 8th, 2006 at 10:30 pmhttp://thesanitycheck.com/
March 8th, 2006 at 11:28 pmMcCain is a Bush apologist and a fraud! The citizens of Arizona must demand that he resigns from the Senate and gets anger management therapy! Shame on McCain's hypocrisy!
March 9th, 2006 at 1:03 amI believe McCain will be 78 yrs old in 2008. If he should decide to run for Prez, we can always play the senility card.
March 9th, 2006 at 1:11 amI'm telling you guys, he has early onset Alzheimer's. He just seems so disconnected.
March 9th, 2006 at 8:43 amMcCain is suffering from the same disease as Bush....denial. His (McCain)people are doing him a disfavor, by not informing him of the change in public opinion of how trustworthy he is. He's done so many flip flops, it amazing he's not standing on his head full time. Sadly, his hidden agendas are coming out. People have lost respect for him. If he plans on running for president, he's got a rude awakening ahead. He's yesterday's news.
March 9th, 2006 at 10:07 amare your stocks counterfeit? http://thesanitycheck.com/
March 9th, 2006 at 1:46 pmGuess we can't trust Senator McCain. Looks like he is heading down the same road as Bush&Co.
March 9th, 2006 at 5:12 pm[...] Sen. John McCain is quickly and surely losing any and all credibility he once may have carried. Between kowtowing to the “W Camp”, kissing Jerry Falwell’s ass, and ignoring his own Campaign Finance Reform, McCain has made it perfectly clear the mountain of integrity he once stood upon, has since withered away and gone. [...]
April 13th, 2006 at 12:18 pm[...] McCain has engaged in a pattern of flip-flopping on lobbying reform. Prior to his most recent reversal, ThinkProgress reported McCain has been soliciting contributions from K Street lobbying firms while talking tough against lobbyists, and he has been trying to scuttle the lobbying reform effort by adding a “poison pill” to the bill. [...]
January 18th, 2007 at 10:23 am