STRAIGHT TALK BACK:

Attacks Escalate In Depositions (Amy Keller, October 21, 2002, Roll Call)

The battle over campaign finance reform has degenerated into a downright slugfest, with Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) trading harsh personal jabs and punches in depositions and cross-examinations in the ongoing court case.

The war of words first erupted during a deposition last month when McCain repeated charges that McConnell, as chairman of the National Republican
Senatorial Committee in 1998, encouraged Senators to support the tobacco industry on a legislative matter in return for soft money- financed issue
ads.

It escalated when McCain reiterated the charges Oct. 10 in a cross-examination, calling McConnell's actions the "most egregious incident" demonstrating the appearance of corruption he has ever seen in his Senate career.

Last week, McConnell struck back at his nemesis during a brief cross-examination in which he defended himself and yanked some of McCain's skeletons out of the closet.

"This smear has now been repeated by Senator McCain and I want to make a point that I've never been the subject of an Ethics Committee investigation, such as he was during the Keating Five scandal," McConnell stated Oct. 11, according to a transcript.

"In addition to that," McConnell added in his sworn testimony, "it seems that my colleague has a rather active imagination when it comes to the subject of corruption, since he finds no corruption in a book party being sponsored by a FedEx chairman but does find the issuing of regulations by the Federal Election Commission corrupt."

Whatever else you may feel about John McCain, the evisceration of our First Amendment rights to speak about politics seems a high price to pay to cleanse his Keating-tainted soul. Posted by Orrin Judd at October 25, 2002 8:24 PM