51sja7ik3ol_sl500_aa240_.thumbnail.jpgIn Cliff Schecter's new book The Real McCain, he talks about Huggy Bear's history of vindictive temper flashes as he made the awkward but politically convenient transition from scandal-ridden Keating 5 member to "hero of campaign finance reform" (*cough*) -- as he was introduced during his recent visit to Alexandria.

Cliff quotes George Will:

Such is his towering moral vanity, he seems sincerely to consider it theoretically impossible for him to commit the offenses of appearances that he incessantly ascribes to other.

In fact, McCain's history with campaign finance reform is full of self-serving inconsistencies. Says Cliff:

That same moral vanity has led McCain to pick fights with fellow reformers as well. Two sources (neither at Common Cause) who spoke on condition of anonymity told me about McCain's attempts to remove former president of Common Cause, Chellie Pingree, from her job. Common Cause, a non-partisan group devoted to open government, was in some ways the field operative for McCain-Feingold in the Sneate. But soon, according to my sources, Pingree saw that this regulatory scheme was too full of loopholes; in particular, she realized that it would lead to too much confusion about what various sorts of organizations could do or not do.

Like many others at the time, Pingree concluded that straightforward public financing was the answer. This wasn't what McCain wanted to hear. In an effort to remove Pingree, McCain's operatives made phone calls to Common Cause board members, funders, and anyone else they thought they could persuade or intimidate. McCain's efforts failed, but they showed that he was willing to attack an ally the moment her judgment veered away from his own.

Once McCain decided to run for president again, these differences became moot. He realized he would benefit in the presidential sweepstakes if he treated campaign finance reform as he'd once treated Chellie Pingree -- as something to be left behind.

McCain's ally in trying to take Pingree out was the former head of Common Cause, Fred Werthehimer (of Democracy 21). It's more than ironic that Wertheimer has been openly critical of Barack Obama for not taking public financing, but has said nothing negative about John McCain's open flouting of campaign finance law (this despite the fact that both Common Cause and FEC Chairman David M. Mason has said McCain can't legally do what he's doing).

Cliff's book is great, it has a lot of heretofore untold stories like the Pingree one. He is, as Atrios says, a great presence on TV and it would be good for everyone to see more of him. So please buy the book, because book sales is one of the only things that seems to convince the Brahmins of TV punditry that someone is worth listening to.

Because being openly and publicly wrong about everything all the time doesn't seem to disqualify you from upchucking an opinion on my teevee, though I really think it should. And we definitely need to see more 'o Cliff.