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Susan Milligan, writing in the Boston Globe, takes an all-too-rare foray into John McCain's campaign finance hypocrisy. But this bit, straight out of the McCain's disinformation machine, simply isn't true:
During the Republican primaries, McCain took out a $4 million line of credit for his then-flagging campaign, using the promise of federal matching funds as collateral. But after his candidacy rebounded, he never actually accepted the federal funds, allowing him to raise and spend more private money.
McCain took the money all right, but the law says that if you use the promise of federal matching funds as collateral for a loan, you can't withdraw from the system -- even if you never accepted the funds. So he's not "allowed" to spend more private money, he's breaking the law by doing so.
And David Mason, chairman of the FEC, confirms that McCain can't just wave a magic wand and withdraw from the public financing system.
From the DNC complaint:
In order to receive matching funds, John McCain signed a binding agreement with the FEC to accept spending limits and to abide by the conditions of receiving those funds. The FEC makes clear that any request to withdraw from the agreement must be granted by the FEC. In other words, McCain can't just unilaterally withdraw. FEC Chairman David Mason made this clear in a letter to McCain advising him that the law requires the FEC to approve his request to withdraw from his contract.
According to past Commission rulings, the McCain campaign would not be allowed to withdraw from matching funds because it has already violated a key condition for being let out of the program - pledging matching funds as collateral for a private loan. McCain obtained a $4 million line of credit -- drew $2,971,697 from it - and documents make clear that the promise of public financing was used to secure his loan.
It's nice that someone is finally paying attention to the issue, but I have a feeling we're going to be beating back this zombie lie for a while.
You can let the Boston Globe know there's a bit more to the story here.
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So!?
I read on the internet that John was a bad student and crashed airplanes. He was also brainwashed by Oddjob and was a traitor to his fellow POW’s. Really, I read it.
Insane in the membrane…
Should be McCain’s campaign song
David Mason, chairman of the FEC, confirms that McCain just wave a magic wand and withdraw from the public financing system.
Missing the word can or cannot.
Journalamism is hard work.
http://findarticles.com/p/arti.....i_61361646
Raven, check this article and see if you agree with its facts. Hyperbole aside.
I can’t in my wildest dreams imagine McVain paying even a fine for this or getting his knuckles hit with a ruler. It just can’t happen to a republican. No way Jose.
He’ll apologize and proclaim that the laws need to be fixed by HIS administration.
But he should be branded a hypocrite again and again.
Crashed five planes? He’s lucky to be alive, but what else is he gonna crash? Bush did the economy.
I know we’ve discovered that Howard Dean’s “ballot access” argument was, um, done on the back of an envelope, to be charitable. But isn’t that really proof that McCain benefitted tangibly from having qualified for federal funds? He didn’t have to spend money to get on the ballot in a number of GOP primary states because those states allow ballot access without petitioning, only for candidates in the federal funds system.
Seems to me this needs more sunshine, too, unless Chairman Dean invalidated this argument when filing the DNC’s complaint by, um, exaggerating its actual value in dollars.
McCain is a scofflaw, but whether his criminal violations penetrate the media’s thick skulls is probably up to us — after all, he’s the campaign finance expert, so how could he possibly do something wrong? It’s the same argument the media uses to explain his foreign policy “gaffes” — he knows so much, how could he do wrong?
Zombie lies may propel McCain to the Oval Office yet.
Man, you gotta quit hangin’ out in those places. They’ll make yer brain ooze out yer ears.
Since McCain’s withdraw from public financing now that he feels he doesn’t need it, will the SEC follow through with making him hold to his agreement? How can they do that, legally? Other laws have been ignored.
Paul Begala Says Hillary Clinton Dropping Out As Likely As “Monkeys Flying Out Of My Butt”
Well, if there were ever two things that went together, it would be Paul Begala and Butt-monkeys…
How many regiments has David Mason?
OT: Latest from Gallup shows Obama with 10-point lead.
Aww, now ya got me laughin’ so hard I can’t put eye goop in te kitteh’s eye.
Okay, step slowly away from the kitteh and get the laughter out of your system. I certainly don’t want to be responsible for any feline eye-poking.
Yeah, I can’t imagine McCain paying any serious price for this. He’s a Puke, he’ll skate.
So I’ll stick my neck out and make a prediction– Obama will
winhave the nomination handed to him by the supers, even though he didn’t win one big state that’s winnable by the Dems in the general, and McCain will have him for lunch in the general election.The Dems are becoming the Detroit Lions of Presidential elections.
THE key of how McCain benefited from the public financing system yes includes the loan BUT the BIGGIE was how his campaign was waived onto state ballots without having to complete the process as other non-public financed candidates.
Other Candidates had to gather signatures ALL over the states and qualify to be on the ballot of each state which costs BIG money. McBush was waived through on this process without putting the time, effort AND MONEY.
McBush benefited…… BIG TIME
If Congress was unable to impeach Bush for breaking the FISA law and commit the nation to a war of aggression IMO McCain will not be held accountable. Hypocrisy is the new currency of the land. The MSM could care less and the elites certainly don’t care. To state the obvious the country is so depraved and corrupted that it will take more than simple elections to restore some semblance of justice and fair mindedness.
I read it on the last thread and I have read it over and over. Here’s the deal, I have said repeatedly that there are countless issues that McCain can be beaten on. I realize his using the POW deal in is campaign is tantamount to Kerry and his stupid “reporting for duty” approach. However, this harping about his class standing and military record is, IMO, not just a waste of time but it diminishes the service of everyone who put on a uniform. I also realize there are people here who are just to happy to do that. Every time I see this crap I am going to speak up. I’ll try not to personalize it even though that is difficult because it is the same people very often. If someone doesn’t like it then they can have be banned.
Congratulations on bringing your extreme bitterness and anger about Obama’s pending nomination to yet another FDL thread.
I’ll wait for the next thread.
Since he left Traffic? 40,000 Headmen couldn’t make me change my mind!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vvf5rVzmHuc
Dave Mason
LOL!1!
Went and put water on for tea. Yang’ll hafta wait a bit for eye goop. House tigers looking at me like I’m crazy, walking through the place laughing. That image is gonna stick with me all day. Too funny.
Nope, i for one am glad that you speak up. We can’t begin to know or understand issues until we hear from all sides and we need to know or understand the pros and cons of going after McCain of various issues because we don’t want there to be any perceptions of bashing or questioning his military service when the intention is to question his character and judgement.
I believe that Hillary Clinton is a person of greatness and destined to make history. By helping to hand the election to Republicans John McCain and Karl Rove.
Lahoma
I always figured that they taught Hypocrisy at the Naval Academy, but I never realized anyone could actually major in it.
So much for “Duty Honor Country” eh?
Hey lahoma and kiddo
I’m not so happy with the state of the primary election right now, so I’m just not going to say anything but how are you two doing?
You are referring to my any DOD and pacifism. I certainly respect that many serve for the best of reasons - they feel they are contributing to the protection of our nation. This is noble and laudable.
I only wish that this approach - war - was not used the way it is and the issue framed as needing a military solution.
Giving of your time, risking you life for others is noble and not something I would dis.
My views about this are not personal, I have two nephews on carriers in the Gulf now and my father was a vet in WWII. I respect their decisions to serve. It would not be mine.
Oh. Like the “Honorable” Lt Col. Oliver North? /s
The dems should win this if the war keeps going and the economy keeps tanking. Unless they do another scarey red alert and attack thingy the R’s should lose.
But the dems fighting as they are is not helping their cause.
Yeah, but you know something? I am sick to death of HRC behaving like a petulant child because she’s getting her ass kicked or even being challenged. She fucking well annointed herself the Democratic Nominee when she ran for the Senate and figured it was all in the bag, after all she was Hillary thus Inevitable and invulnerable.
I am holding my nose to vote for whoever out-slanders the other to the nomination this year. I don’t see either of them as the progressive candidate we need. But for sure the Republic can’t survive another four years of Bush Lite.
We’re good. And my guy says hi. Hope you are having a wonderful Sunday afternoon, wobblybits.
L.
IMO, trying to get to McStain via his military service is self defeating and unnecessary.
Get him from his political record and his breaking the law, constant flip flopping on his positions because he is pandering to the whacko division of the right wing and his complete lack of understanding on just about any topic.
he is not fit to be President because of the last one alone.
Going after the MSM is key.
McCain wrecked a lot of planes. He continued to maintain his flight status b/c of his old man. If a pres. candidate endeavors to use his military bonafides to bolster his candidacy, then why can’t those bonafides be scrutinized? I asked you if you concurred with the facts of that article.
McCain was wreckless. Kerry was not wreckless. Kerry got creamed by Rove. We can’t touch McCain? Bullsh*t.
I agree, but they’re both way, way better than McCain, or anyone else the Republican’s considered.
Yay for the Dim Angry Old Man!
He’s a crook, but yay for him, anyway!
You go, DAOM!
Good grief.
Yup. The Press loves them a “Hero” unless said “Hero” votes/caucases and believes in Progressive/Democratic ideals and ideas.
Elizabeth Edwards said she and John McCain have one thing in common: “Neither one of us would be covered by his health policy”.
I’m waiting for McCain to lose his temper at some function. You know there’ll be a vid of that on YouTube before you can blink.
do what you want, I do
The dynamic I see in play in 2008 from the Alaska perspective is that both the GOP and Democratic Partys’ old guards are under attack. A lot of young GOP voters are pissed that the economy is tanking and that there’s nobody to blame but the GOP old guard and the neo-cons. The young people and independents recently attracted to the Democratic Party are completely disenchanted with the enablers in their leadership, and are aligning behind Obama and against the Clinton kneecappers at a ratio of about 75% to 25%.
Outside of Alaska that same dynamic is in play, but here, the most successful insurgent so far has been our GOP Governor, Sarah Palin, who overthrew the GOP old guard here. Young and progressive Dems are making less headay against our old guard, which is completely in the thrall of big oil and out-of-state industrial combines that have been raping our economy for decades, and enriching pols who helped them, from either party.
John McCain supports torture of human beings by the United States of America.
Waterboarders for McCain!
John McCain:
Worse than Bush
Na. They will have him on Haldol. Watch for twitching.
That’s a fascinating bit of analysis. I wonder if it does bear out in a larger population, because if it does I would say that it means a very key constituency is paying attention.
The vast majority of the low-info voters (which is the vast majority of voters, period) see McCain as a war hero, regardless of any information folks might have to the contrary.
The vast majority of the low-info voters saw Kerry as an effete liberal snob who was a traitor because of the VVAW activities, regradless of any information folks may have to the contrary.
It’s not a pleasant reality but it IS a reality.
meant to refer my last to EdwardTeller’s post @43
Well said. I’ll hold my nose too.
Too much Xan*ax on board. If Laura can get thru 8 years without a public melt down, so can McSame.
Ooh– sounds like I struck a nerve. I’m sorry I disagreed with you. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.
McCain was a POW. That trump card makes going after his military record pretty futile. It also makes McCain into a very sympathetic figure. There’s plenty to go after besides McCain’s military stuff.
The economy is going to keep tanking into 2009. The Sadr insurgency in Iraq is not going to go away- they’re just doing some flexing to make some points and test their organizational changes made over the past winter. The war will continue to mostly tank.
Young people want BOTH the GOP and Democratic Partys to change. The Ron Paul people are more numerous than the media wants people to realize, but they are not going away. They’re going to be tenacious, and in Alaska their strength does not come from the bible thumping Republicans.
McCain, BTW, came in dead last in the February 5 caucuses in Alaska. Just ahead of write-ins for Hugo Chavez.
Excuse me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the law that governs this called the McCain/Feingold law? Wasn’t he either the author or the sponsor of this very legislation? I think it’s poetic justice that this happened to him, and doubly so since it was the rethugs that insisted on voting for the FEC membership as a block and refused to vote on them individually, and it is their own candidate that is tied up in knots because of it. I hope we can put a pretty bow on those knots.
Haldol won’t work, just make him stiffer than he is. About 100mg of Thorazine will chill him out, though. Be doin’ the Thorazine shuffle.
Raping the economy and the environment and lining pockets. Independent-minded Alaskans buy the Republican snake oil - smaller government, keep the government off my back. Meanwhile, Repubs are growing the gubmint, tapping their phones and snooping in their bedrooms.
But Laura suffers from Bushian Catatonia and Denial Syndrome.
She has been asleep for decades.
OMG! It never even occurred to me that anyone would possibly choose KKKarl for VP before. That’s a horrendous thought!
Amazingly, I wasn’t thinking of you at all.
Ed! Here is some stencil fodder for ya.
Try inkscape if you don’t have an app to read SVGs.
Second, what facts. Third, I don’t much care for your tone. How you like me now?
I think the ref to KKKarl was more in the vein of campaign svengali rather than as potential Veep. KKKarl doesn’t like to be in front of the group; he likes to operate more from the shadows.
with the Booooooosh devaluation of the dollar,1/2 our wealth is gone…McSame will be the other half…fer sure
How can you tell that he’s not already doin’ the thorazine shuffle? Have you seen the man read a speech off the teleprompter? The man can’t read and talk at the same time!
yup,one of the zombie undead,but still teh dangerous
raven at 2
ROFLWTS
you crack me up.
absolutely.
hahahahahahahahaha
The problem with Alaska’s history since the pipeline has been that the Governors who enabled big oil the most - by far- have ben three Decmocrats, Bill Sheffield, Steve Cowper, and Tony Knowles. Sheffield is campaigning right now for Don Young, Cowper is in charge of an oil company consulting firm in Houston, and Knowles is failing in attempts to defend his pro-big oil actions from 1994 to 2002, when he gave away billions and billions to big oil.
The three Alaska governors who were or are toughest on big oil were Republicans Jay Hammond, Wally Hickel and the current GOP Governor, Sarah Palin. When you say their names around oil company robots, you can hear the bots hiss…
It gets worse, or better, It’s these 20 point blowouts, too much time to kill!
“I am a war criminal,” McCain said on “60 Minutes” in 1997. “I bombed innocent women and children.” Although it came too late to save the Vietnamese he’d killed 30 years earlier, it was a brave statement. Nevertheless, he smiles agreeably as he hears himself described as a “war hero” as he arrives at rallies in a bus marked “No Surrender.”
Swiftboat style attack needs to come very late in the game. Late enough so as not to allow a counternarrative to gain any traction. The McCain team would never see it coming. They would not be prepared for it.
You are way behind US VETS DEPOT
“I am a war criminal,” McCain said on “60 Minutes” in 1997. “I bombed innocent women and children.” Although it came too late to save the Vietnamese he’d killed 30 years earlier, it was a brave statement. Nevertheless, he smiles agreeably as he hears himself described as a “war hero” as he arrives at rallies in a bus marked “No Surrender.”
——————
about efffffffffing time…
Yes, but now that it’s been mentioned can’t you just envision KKKarl playing Dick Cheney to McBush? I can, and it ain’t pretty!
Dude, it’s my guy’s that are being blown out. I grieve…
Only one team doesn’t get that feeling I guess.
OT but KO has a post over at kos
The Commander-in-Chief Threshold Test
OT too
Countrywide executives showered with even more money
by Chris in Paris · 3/30/2008 03:56:00 PM ET · Link
It never ends for the insanity and proves for the millionth time that no matter how badly you fail in corporate America, you will still be handsomely rewarded. All of the so-called pay for performance talk is nothing more than bull. Corporate America continues to slash benefits not to mention trash jobs for employees but they always take care of themselves.
Worse still is that Bank of America will receive massive tax write-offs for buying the lousy company so BoA will get a nice free ride too boot. Best business environment money can buy. No wonder the US economy has been growing at a slower pace than Europe during the Bush years. It’s just like a stinking third world country any more.
teddy at 9
ewwwwww, MOST excellent point, i hadn’t thought of that part.
hmmmmmmmm/
I thought this subject needed a little more attention so I Spotlighted it to some of the Bigwigs in the MSM and told them they were falling down on the job by ignoring this flagrant and continuous law breaking by McCain.
The Spotlight feature is at the bottom of every post.
Personally, I think that the Mccain campaign is waving that red flag now. Did you see that ad with the pow footage? I think that they’re begging for us to jump on his military service now so that they can make a big, long, drawn out campaign about how the mean Dems don’t support the military. I think it’s a case of Bre’r Rabbit and the bramble patch. They can make the whole national election campaign about whether or not Mccain is a war hero, and NOT about anything substantive, like his non-grasp of subjects like Iraq, Iran, economics and what should be done with Bush’s Recession.
raven at 69
idle hands are the devil’s workshop.
rofl
dick…
Another Kos post….. from a guy who was a POW prior to McCain’s capture and states that McCain was a POW with him… very interesting because he states he will NOT vote for McCain.
On McCain-Another POW’s View
Holy smokes, his special is on network NBC tonight! Good going, Keith.
Running around cooking and dropping food over to the family of my mom’s friend, who suddenly died. So will be running in and out of threads for the rest of the day
Very good. Of course it supports what I have been saying so I really like it!
Dang, you take care.
Raven, are we to believe that Donald Rumsfeld who served the country did a great job as Secretary of Defense only because he was a man of the uniform and nothing else?
Sorry, but wearing the uniform whether it’s as a POW or a combat soldier or a soldier who never saw combat but did his or her 4 years, does not automatically qualify them for the presidency nor does it mean the uniform will direct them in a positive direction for our country.
McCain as a POW with a history of anger problems and who will not release his medical records is a sign to me that I don’t want him to lead this nation. Do we know if he has flashbacks & meltdowns each week and has so for 30 years now? Nope. Don’t you think we should know this before he’s put in charge of our nuclear arsenal? I think so.
Medical Records must be revealed to the public. How has McCain managed his PTSD?
I think you would have to go after him with a 527. Our Dem cadidate can’t do it,it would look awful. Just like the Republicans did to John Kerry.
thanks and I will. With all the folks coming in from all over, we thought it would be good to cover the meals so that it would be one less thing for them to think about. Lots of things that can be thrown in the oven and is ready to go within an hour or so.
Making a big pot of beans, corn bread and couve (think collards) and Mr is grilling up chicken to take over for dinner tonight. Taking over some muffins I’m baking up too.
That is awesome.
Has any reporter questioned McCain on his campaign finance problem? On camera? Just one time? You’d think someone would ask.
Good on you. If only more folks would take that attitude about others.
Beans, corn bread and collards? Mouth. Watering.
I’ve been watching ‘The Tudors’. The similarity to the Bush administration is eerie. Henry VIII was determined to change everything to make himself accountable to no one. To be allowed to do anything he wanted, laws and precedent be damned. He found sicophants who were like minded and loved the power grab. And, thus, he succeeded.
We have to start taking better care of one another.
Once again that has NOTHING to do with what I am saying. He’s totally unqualified to be president because of what he is NOW. Complaining that he got special treatment because of his father and grandfather does zero to advance the case against him. My issue is all this 20/20 hindsight about shit 40 years ago.
I made plenty but still hope it’s enough.
Minus the cornbread that is exactly what I am cookin up for my broke leg lady!
Correct me if I’m wrong but McCain hasn’t released his tax info either, has he?
We keep hearing about Hillary not releasing hers, but nothing about McSleezy.
That is a valid point, afterall, it is the John McCain of today (the senator) that is running for pres not the war hero, the POW, the failed pilot, etc.
My thoughts exactly.
We cannot survive one more Supreme Court Justice picked by a Repug, either.
She is a lucky lady *g*
That’s what I’d like to know too. ;-)
“He continued to maintain his flight status b/c of his old man.”
If there is anything that might prove devastating in terms of de-mythifying his military career, it is McCain’s Daddy’s Boy image. It doesn’t trash his heroism, but exposes his privileged status.
He just can’t sing that “Fortunate Son” song that 99.9999999% of us have the rights to.
Consider how many not-so-privileged pilots never got the same breaks, or that might not have survived capture because they were “connected.” It doesn’t deny McCain’s heroism, but it does bring into question why he’s now a “former POW” and not one of the POW/MIA’s whose bones are still buried in the Nam.
I’m not trying to trash McCain here, seriously, I am just posing a point the Swiftboaters would love to have against one of ours.
Maybe someone can find McCain’s own jealous, embittered counterpart to John ONeal, working as a float-plane pilot in Alaska and nearing retirement.
In terms of campaign hypocrisy, after what the swiftboaters did to Kerry, and what their spawn is considering this time around (what, a quarter BILLION dollars already promised to the lowest kind of campaign ads for 2008?), we will no doubt see them, especially the windy wingnuts, act all indignant that anyone would EVER trash the reputation of an American combat veteran.
HYPOCRITES!
Also, I wonder how the Limbaugh/McCain shotgun-romance will work out, Rush is going to have to eat a l