NOTE: I’ll be on with Rachel Maddow in a bit. Thought folks would want a heads up…you can listen live here on the website.
You tell me – is the "Straight Talk Express" really all about the Benjamins?
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) took a break from the presidential campaign trail in March to fly to a posh Utah ski resort, where he mingled with hundreds of top corporate executives assembled by J.P. Morgan Chase for its annual leadership conference.
McCain’s appearance at the Deer Valley event, arranged by J.P. Morgan Vice Chairman James B. Lee Jr., a top McCain fundraiser, put him in a room with the chief executives of companies such as General Electric, Xerox and Sony. It was, Lee said, "a chance for him to let them see him for who he is and possibly decide to support him." The effort paid off: J.P. Morgan executives have donated $56,250 to McCain’s campaign, two-thirds of which came after his Utah appearance. And his visit there was quickly followed up by dozens of smaller private meetings with corporate executives in New York City arranged by leading Wall Street figures.
"We tried to get him around to a lot of those kinds of things," said McCain campaign manager Rick Davis. "We were very much in the friend-making business."
It is common for politicians to court big money during a campaign. But private schmooze sessions such as the gathering in Utah pose a particular dilemma for McCain, who has spent a long career decrying "special interests" and politicians who offer special access to them in order to raise money. 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. He also counts more than 30 lobbyists among his chief fundraisers, more than any other presidential contender. (emphasis mine)
Straight Talk Express…just leave the money in an unmarked envelope under the table…
(H/T to John Anderson’s Follow the Money on the "all about the Benjamins." Sadly, that phrase comes to mind far too frequently…)
Related posts:
- Obama: If Private Insurers are Such Crack Businesses, How Can “Incompetent” Government Put Them Out of Business?
- Okay, You Influence Peddlers, Listen Up… Public Option Action Making a Difference
- Why We Need Genuine Campaign Finance Reform
- Evan Bayh, Big Oil and Coal’s Great White Hope, is Open for Business
- Offshore Banking Business: Obama’s Rich Donors Threaten Him over Closing Foreign Tax Havens
Spotlight
Support this site!
Subscribe to the newsletter
Advertise on Firedoglake
Send
us your tips
Make us your homepage
About Firedoglake
Advanced search
We’ll listen. ;0)
We were very much in the friend-making business.
Now we know whom he is addressing when he says “My friends”.
Explains a lot.
Well, liberals can’t be accused of hypocrisy because we don’t have any morals.
(That’s what Ann Coulter said when William “One-Armed” Bennett got caught with the one-armed bandit.)
It’s always about the Benjamins…! 8-(
Isn’t this a legacy of Tony Coelho?
Bob in HI
“now you have a friend in the diamond business”
(Tom Shane, Bay Area radio ad king)
OMFG. Perhaps THE stupidest article I’ve ever seen from the AP, and that’s saying a lot.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200…..nged_women
The people responsible for this article should be fired for unbelievable sexism. Seriously.
And plenty of Hillary-bashing. Cindy is so much stronger and respectable than Hillary according to “reporter” Libby Quaid.
John McCain supports torture by the United States of America.
Well, like they used to say in the ’50s, “Behind every great man is a woman”.
good article on TPM today on McCain very ornate, and very hypocritical and sleazy maninpulation of the public campaign finance system. A recent move of his campaign is called a ‘legal masterpiece’, and I don’t think that term can be construed in a good way.
But no sex with tall thin pretty blonde woman lobbyist involved, so gets put up on geeky political blogs…
So his base is the same as Bush’s – “the haves and the have-mores.”
One of my favorite lines outta that tripe:
Cue the John Williams score.
“Behind every great man there’s a woman – pushing”
Ooh, Rachel’s all fired up today…!
I am fucking stunned.
Please tell me this is a sinister spoof site.
DALLAS — Security details at Barack Obama’s rally Wednesday stopped screening people for weapons at the front gates more than an hour before the Democratic presidential candidate took the stage at Reunion Arena.
-G
“Sure,” said Lawrence, when asked if he was concerned by the great number of people who had gotten into the building without being checked. But, he added, the turnout of more than 17,000 people seemed to be a “friendly crowd.”
John McCain is a maverick and a straightshooter, except when he’s not or it’s inconvenient.
My guess is that John McCain has gotten away with everything except murder, since the MSM loves him. I’ll bet there’s a mountain of really scuzzy stuff on him that will never get published.
No, no, no…
“Behind every great man there’s a woman who knows he’s a schmuck.”
An RFK plot!
You gotta love Texas – not
That’s because in Texas they believe it’s safer if everyone is carrying a gun.
that is pretty stunning
Members of the MSM tend to not go after Republics because either they already work for Murdoch or hope to one day.
CHS!!
OT: US fears backlash over Terror Flights
Um, duh!
Yeah, right. More like LIES WERE TOLD!
I hope the actual backlash is significant and lasting. This sort of thing does not make me proud of my country. Actually, I feel like I haven’t lived in MY country for a number of years.
FunnyDiva
BBC’s American telecast on now repeating the attack on John McCain by the “liberal” NYT and interviews some CNBC ditz saying yes, this will help St. John by rallying the conservatives around him. No mention or exploration of the lobbying improprieties angle. The BBC election coverage has been really, really lame. It has the tin ear quality that I would have commenting on a cricket match.
Hmmm, seems as though I’ve heard that a few times before.
Sounds like an attempt to scare voters out of voting for him. I still have people tell me he’s in danger by running since there are so many racist nutjobs out there, and now these people can feel fine about using that excuse to vote for someone else. The Obamas addressed this before saying they’re tired of living in fear.
Rachel is running down the whole Keating 5 deal for the enlightenment of her listening audience.
Oh dang. the linky thing ususally works for me.
Try this?
“A former California Republican Party official who resigned last year in a controversy over his immigration status had no valid visa or work permit during his high-profile career as a Washington lobbyist for conservative icon Grover Norquist, newly filed court records show.”
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/…..BV5RJR.DTL
The only thing the GOP has left in their black bag is bile and venom and hate.
After reading Limbaugh’s ‘Democrats are the enemies’ screed, they are in the bunker and running low on ammo.
Keep digging you sick stooges.
-G
Oops!
Ain’t she jez Mah-velous? *swoon*
Hi, Has Christy been on Rachel’s show yet?
Not yet…!
I think she’s up after the commercial on now.
No yet, but she will be soon.
Thanks
That too. But admiration for McCain is even more widespread than that. However, the Newsweek article is the least flattering I’ve read. Nothing outright negative or specific, but between the lines, the implications are dreadful.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/107581/output/print
dday has a new post at Hullaballoo: the McCain campaign has the most lobbyists of all, on either side. Typical of the Republics to promote an image that is exactly 180 degrees backwards from reality. Clear Skies Initiative, etc.
I have my smelling salts nearby… *g*
I should be up soon…weird listening for myself to come on the radio. Oops — starting now.
and grateful we are for that.
Christy coming on now.
Yeah, ReddHedd!!!
I find that BBC is deteriorating on every front. The only reason I still listen is that they cover parts of the world you never hear about in the U.S. I believe there was a BBC purge during Blair’s reign, iirc. Now it shows.
Hi Christy, this is just weird.
christy is on right this moment
and she REALLY sounds GREAT
Since Lincoln…! ;-)
After going from Lincoln to Bush, you’d think that the Republics might want to just pack it in as a party.
Wow … Rachel & Christy V Joe & Tucker … hmmm, who would better inform the American people ?
Obama has secret service and most probably private security as well. I doubt they’d let people in without going through security.
I think We the People will be packing their bags for ‘em, come November…! ;-)
Christy is giving Rachel new info!
I can’t stream it. I could listen to the old shows but not the current one :-(
Yes, AirAmerica seems an exercise in frustration to get it to stream.
Will McCain’s troubles cause Republics to turn to the Holy Huckster or perhaps even decide that being a Mormon’s not so bad?
I’m streaming it just fine right now.
Dial up woes?
Bottom right, click listen live.
Just what we need, another Dallas 1963! The Secret Service detail of Obama sounds like the same group that handled security for Benazir Bhutto. This is so insane that it’s beyond disgusting.
Obama better take charge and INSIST that security be improved…and go public with this if it’s true!
That’s it! Let’s call bribery what it is.
Not sure what machine you use but on my Mac, I can open iTunes then go to the radio/talk shows/air america and get it fine…
” lots of lobbyist on the straight talk bus”
Christy is wonderful.
Streaming fine in Montreal.
What better cover for taking bribes than authoring campaign finance reform legislation.
Wow, it is weird listening to myself on the radio, I gotta say.
Whoo hoo!!
Great work, Christy.
Christy … FAN – TASTIC !!!
This is the first time I’ve heard you … well done … now to make dinner …
Did you ever get on the Charlie Rose show? Watching yourself on TV is even weirder.
Lots of good info, Christy. You sounded great.
Christy, you were fabulous. Two of my favorite brilliant women chatting about McCain!
That was fantastic! And Rachel gave proper thanks for Redd’s efforts…! (reaching for the salts) ;-)
Great job, Christy! What does the Peanut think of hearing mommy on the radio?
Dang, Dood, I owe ya a Coke…! *g*
I didn’t — they didn’t reschedule. But you are right, teevee is even worse because then you get confronted with your quirky facial expressions. I have DVDs of my C-Span appearances (they give you one when you do one), and I’ve only been able to watch them once. I kept thinking, “Oooh, I look fat…and what am I doing with my eyebrow?” LOL
Whoa. You ain’t a kiddin’~!
Christy & Rachel together shedding light on the darkness…doesn’t get much better than that!
LOL SHe’s watching Go Diego Go at the moment. Priorities…
I think it has something to do with my security settings but even so I just got shunted to non-operative screens.
Doesn’t the camera always add a couple of pounds…? ;-)
The first time my son saw me on TV (prerecorded, so I was watching it with him) he was around 2 or 3 years old. He watched for awhile, and then said, “Where is myself?”
Okay, people, now we know the strategy: McCain’s bullying the networks so they pretend that nobody but the Times has ever touched any part of this story.
I just saw ABC News tonight and while they led with the story — and actually covered the FCC incident in 1999 — they refused to mention that the NYT wasn’t the only news org to talk about this story. Since most Americans get their news from either the evening TV news or drive-time radio, this means that what ABC says is what they’ll believe.
Time to get Media Matters on the case! Every other ally we know of, too.
We need to do a full-court press on this — if they can get away with pretending the NYT’s making this all up, they win. Let’s keep this from happening.
Contact information (per Media Matters, 02/15/08):
ABC
ABC News
ABCNews
7 W. 66th St.
New York, NY 10023
When contacting the media, please be polite and professional. Express your specific concerns regarding that particular news report or commentary, and be sure to indicate exactly what you would like the media outlet to do differently in the future.
Christy!!! Great!!!
Rachel said she reads FDL everyday!
That is so cute!
Just checking in. Are we all dead yet? tick, tick, tick, tick…
Rachel rocks, rocks, rocks today. What an amazing 2 hours!
Amen. That last bit about the FEC was very interesting.
there is DEFINATELY a fight over the syringes of BOTOX on Tweets show…i think Andrea Greenspin beat Tweets to the stash,but Tweets stare is scarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry
oh nooooooooooooooooooooooooze….cystass is on my teeeeeeeeeebeeeee
Ughhh. Bloated Limbaugh on my teevee. Now I have to go take a shower.
and tweets nose is sooooooooooooooooo brown….ichk
Who dresses Bob Bennett?
Well, I still couldn’t stream it, but thanks for your help everyone. I think it’s my linux– I still have trouble installing plugins sometimes.
Bennett brothers……………….gross me out
damn you to hell ,you made me snort my Chopin(vodka)
hahahahahahahahahhahaha
lucky me, I can’t see
the OBSCENE amounts of money these dildos get to spew their nonsense on teebee
Bennett’s a real fair guy. He won’t out the sources for the article either!
sanctimony is dripping out his greasy lips
What station and time is the debate?
If I had his book, I’d burn it.
never forget…McVain is a SAINT ….NEV………ERE
CNN 8 est
ok im gulping now,you guys have no respect for cocktail hour…my nasal passages are burning
Thanks, Raven. Dang, same time as KO.
shut the fuk up TWEETY ………………………..
Luckily I’m still at work, I can’t hear Tweety. I often have to change the station to get away from him.
ya know Bob Bennett looks a little like CYSTASS,no?
I’m kinda glad this presidential campaign is turning into an extended conversation about lobbyists and their influence.
Hopefully, some good will come out of it.
Tweety: Did you ever ask McCain about a relationship with Vicki?…
I don’t discuss my discussions with my clients…
Wow, don’t you think McCain would have said…If they ask, it’s okay to tell them I told you I didn’t….?
Bennett: If you are going to make an assertion of sexual relationship you should have something to substantiate that with.
Hmmmm….don’t you think the NYT’s legal team advised them of that…????
I’ll bet they’ve got something.
what 15 20 million a year to squeak his bs
pass the popcorn,and fill my glass….purty pleaze
and Bobby has a new book coming out,dont know about yall,but i just cant wait
Must be the same people who had the security contract for Benazir Bhutto.
One thing nice about the debate tonight. We are seeing our new president. In this house, we will be voting come this next November, for HRC or Obama. We think either will make a fine president.
uh ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Cystass stix it to Tweets
You say “friend-making,” i say “CORRUPTION.”
the same people that had the security contract for the kennedy motorcade
OT WTI Cushing Spot closed at $98.53. Oil markets have become completely determined by short term speculative factors. The stock market fell 142.96 points so the oil market fell accordingly. Of course, one of the reasons the stock market fell is because of the excessive speculative bid ups in oil in the first place.
Barnickle hates the story,but the CLENIS was very beautiful
just curious, if this is such a big smear, wouldn’t/couldn’t McSaint sue for defamation, slander etc?
absence of malice
Of course, just like the Conservatives will rally to McCain’s side the Obama maniacs will rally to Obama’s side. Sigh.
When can we get on with a real campaign about the American public and leadership for America?
1,763 DAYZ AND THE KILLIN’ GOEZ ON AND ON AND…
Citizen Hardin Smith and the Firepup Freedom Fighters:
First off, great job with Rachel, you have a real presence on radio, TV and in the written form…jest remember us when ya get ta those Olympic heights that awaitcha.
Now, about the McCain expose…there are soooo many important trails that converge here: illicit sex with lobbyist, influence of lobbyists, improper use of office, killin’ a media story AND the Abrahmoff connection. It is this last, the Abrahmoff taint, that I hope doesn’t get lost in all the other sordid tales of McCain hypocrisy. McCain was reported to have spent an evening Yacht partyin’ with the owner of the casino cruise-line that got Abrahmoff tangled up with mafia bagmen and hits. This, it seems to me is the most important element of whats comin’ out. In 1999, the fascists were poised ta take over control of the whole casino and the larceny of the federal treasury we have seen this last 8 years started with the consolidation of the K-street project and the beginnin’ of the cozy relationship between the corporate oligarchy and organized crime. We simply must keep the heat on to find out what McCain’s job was for these folks for whom he was dancin’ aboard the yacht.
KEEP THE FAITH AND FOLLOW THE MONEY HONEY!!!
racketeers ALL
God Help Us.
i will leave the country
oh damn………..Chumpy is coming home today
Amen, Norske! I do believe she won’t forget us peons…! Pass the Ammo, Bro…! I know how to use it… *g*
So the republicans refuse to meet to discuss the surveillance bill.
Poor babies.
gooooooooooooooooooooo TED!!!!!
look at Pickles with her hands folded over her tummy…she HATES being there,with dipshit
It’s great news…! Maybe the House Conferees can pound some sense into Jello Jay…! Maybe…
Hmmm, what is this all about? …
‘At the urging of his Republican colleagues, Rep. John Shadegg (Ariz.) is reversing his decision not to run for reelection, giving a boost to GOP hopes of retaining the seat.
“Last Thursday, 146 of my colleagues in the U.S. House signed a letter asking me to reconsider, an unprecedented event,” Shadegg said in a statement Thursday. “Yesterday I received a letter signed by the leaders of 33 different conservative organizations from across America also urging me to reverse my announced intentions.”’
http://thehill.com/leading-the…..02-21.html
D E S P E R A T I O N
If FISA hadn’t expired, we could have spied on those terrorists who burnt the Embassy today and…and…stopped them. /s
Heh… I maybe a Charlie, but I’m certainly not Charlie Brown with Lucy having teed up the pigskin…! *g*
the incumbant has an edge and they are afraid any non incumbant election will go blue
poor poor gop
Interesting bottom line summary from TPM article on McCain and big money corporations:
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpoi…..semans.php
“Straight Talk Express and campaign finance reform was at the beck and call of special interests.”
————————–
But it also concludes he did not do many special favors for his special Lady Lobbyist -I get the impression it is hard to tell, since he did so many special favors as standard operating procedures.
“The Straight Talk is Crock” McCain, the panderick, AKA “Stray Cock” and “Bullshit Local” and “dunnomuchaboudeconomicsleddaFedhannelit”
Is their some catchy phrase for contemptable hypocrite and miserable liar we can think up, preferbably rhyming with straight talk, or maverick.
On other hand, McCain’s handlers have thought things through, and he may have a loophole. In a sense, bald face lies are a kind of straight talk, if you think about it long enough.
OK,steamed Tilapia with creamy mustard and white pepper sauce,see ya at the debates
They’re real scardy, aren’t they?
They did storm an emptied Embassy, there was clearly actionable intel involved….
Mah friends, I love my country
(but, I love the lobby dough more)
I will protect you from the radical Islamist extremists
(as soon as I find my ass with both of my hands)
I will not bomb Pakistan even if I have credible intelligence that said extremists are holed up there
(Is that right, Cindy? That’s what I’m supposed to say, right? Wait a fuckin minute. I didn’t just say that, did I? I WANT TO BOMB EVERYTHING. Oh fuck, where’s Rove? Where’s my drink? Cindy? Cindy, goddammit get me my drink.)
“the straight talk express mccain”
“please take off your dress mccain”
LOL…:)
“I will not bomb Pakistan even if I have credible intelligence that said extremists are holed up there”
an’ mah favorite toadie, er, buttkisser, er, stauch US loyal friend, Moosheroff, tells me go f*ck off again… opps, shouldna said that, kids is listening.. so ah mean, uh…
as in legally? otherwise that’s what they’re basically saying, that it’s a malicious smear from liberal media
When a Republican refers to the American people, they do not mean you or me. They mean the American people as defined by Congress, meaning corporate America. While liberals get this notion, the conservative base does not, and they keep coming back for more gruel.