March 8, 2005
REPRESSION FOR THEE, NOT FOR ME:
McCain Allies Want Reform (and Money) (CARL HULSE and ANNE E. KORNBLUT, 3/08/05, NY Times)
In a small office a few miles from Capitol Hill, a handful of top advisers to Senator John McCain run a quiet campaign. They promote his crusade against special interest money in politics. They send out news releases promoting his initiatives. And they raise money - hundreds of thousands of dollars, tapping some McCain backers for more than $50,000 each.This may look like the headquarters of a nascent McCain presidential bid in 2008. But instead, it is the Reform Institute, a nonprofit organization devoted to overhauling campaign finance laws and one whose work has the added benefit of keeping the senator in the spotlight.
The institute has drawn little notice, but it offers a telling glimpse into how Mr. McCain operates. In the four years since its creation, it has accelerated its fund-raising, collecting about $1.3 million last year, double what it raised in 2003, a sizable sum for a group that exists to curb the influence of money in politics.
Mr. McCain, the institute's most prominent spokesman, defended the large donations as a necessary part of advocacy work, and drew a distinction between the progressive agenda of the Reform Institute and political efforts to which campaign finance laws apply. The institute is different, he said, "because it is nonpartisan and issue-oriented."
Even he can't be egomaniacal enough to believe that, can he? Posted by Orrin Judd at March 8, 2005 5:03 PM
Never underestimate this man's ability to think he can fool us.
Posted by: Oswald Booth Czolgosz at March 8, 2005 5:26 PMI think McCain's hopes for 2008 just flew out the window
Posted by: Timothy at March 8, 2005 5:35 PM"Even he can't be egomaniacal enough to believe that, can he?"
He is a politician. Is he not?
Posted by: Robert Schwartz at March 8, 2005 5:50 PMIf McCain thinks the press is going to be his friend in a general election in 2008 (as opposed to a GOP primary election), he is delusional. Were he to make it into the fall '08 race, "60 Minutes" and other outlets would be doing a story a week on this, or the Keating 5, or anything else in his past, just as they did with Bush this past election year.
Posted by: John at March 8, 2005 6:16 PMi used to like mccain, back around 2000, but now he seems like any other hack politician. oh well, too bad for him; you can't get the republican nomination by courting democrats (funny enough).
Posted by: cjm at March 8, 2005 7:16 PMMcCain is Ralph Nader with a family and a war record.
His arrogance is probably borne from always being near the bottom, and wanting MORE.
Unless this whole setup is changed, his debate opponents in 2008 now have all the ammo they need.
Posted by: jim hamlen at March 8, 2005 9:01 PMFor further examples of McCain's mendacity, poke around the blogosphere for links to one of his chief advisors, Rick Davis. Some interesting Kerry-Heinz connections to be found. Plus, it seems the NYT is finally pulling back the curtain on Senator Cable. How long before he starts writing legislation to limit the press itself?
Posted by: ratbert at March 9, 2005 9:30 AMMcCain is Bush's deep cover political operative, his campaign finance "reform" bill actually hurt the Dems more than helped them, as it forced them to rely on 527s out of the mainstream that turned off as many people as the media lies they bought with the money helped them. Then, after making "bipartisan" noises that made people think he could be lured as a running mate, he endorsed Bush and couldn't then be labeled as a right wing radical because he already expressed a willingness to buck the party trend, and the failure of Kerry to name McCain as his running mate made whatever leper with the most fingers he ended up with look lame by comparison. (who was that again?)
Posted by: MarkD at March 9, 2005 8:38 PM