The Double Talk Express: McCain is a Fraud on Campaign Finance Reform

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Blue_meanie_3 Posted by: AzBlueMeanie

This past Tuesday, John McCain pandered to the GOP conservative base by vowing to appoint conservative activist judges like John Roberts, Jr. and Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court.  McCain praised the justices as role models for the judges he would appoint to the court.

Apparently everyone has kissed and made up over the Roberts’ Court striking down a big chunk of the McCain-Feingold Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA).

Or maybe McCain never really cared all that much about campaign finance reform in the first place.  McCain’s commitment to public financing questioned – The Boston Globe  His reputation as a campaign finance reformer is largely a media myth created by what McCain affectionately calls “his base.” 

Last year McCain carved out a loophole in the law to exempt aircraft owned by a candidate or his family or by privately held company they control.  This loophole allowed McCain to use his millionaire heiress wife’s private corporate jet at a substantial savings to his campaign.  McCain Frequently Used Wife’s Jet for Little Cost – New York Times  “Last summer, just before starting to use his wife’s plane, Mr. McCain was quoted in a newspaper report as saying that he did not plan to tap her substantial wealth to keep his bid for the Republican presidential nomination going.”  But boss, what about “Zee plane!  Zee plane!”

Last November when the McCain campaign had been declared dead by his media base (where’s the love?), McCain managed to negotiate a sweetheart deal with the Fidelity & Trust Bank in Maryland for a life saving loan to his campaign.  The $3 million line of credit was secured by his fundraising list and the highly unusual requirement that he take out a life insurance policy in case he did not survive the campaign.  With Crucial Loan, McCain Put His Bid Back in the Black – washingtonpost.com

Cleta Mitchell, a Republican campaign finance lawyer, said she believes the arrangement raises serious questions. "Did they base this loan on the fact that, even if he lost, he would still be a sitting senator and able to raise money?" she asked. "In my mind, that raises questions about whether he complied with Senate ethics rules," which bar members from using their position to negotiate financial terms that an average citizen could not.

Fitz Nails the Arizona Anti-Education Crowd

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by David Safier Today’s Daily Fitz in the Star. (Noteworthy: Great party/event last night, linking Drinking Liberally and Smoking Conservatively. About 70 people there (a “conservative estimate,” in honor of the right wing attendees), a mixture of Ds, Rs, Is (Independents) and Ls (Libertarians). Lots of candidates of various stripes as well. A love fest, … Read more

Random Educational Stuff

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by David Safier Florida Sub Fired for Classroom Wizardry: Land O’ Lakes, Florida, has moved from the Stone Age all the way up to the Middle Ages. A substitute teacher entertained his class with a magic trick. He made a match disappear and reappear. A parent called the school accusing him of wizardry. The district … Read more

A Drinking & Smoking Summit

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Some may have seen the guest opinion in today’s Tucson Citizen announcing the Drinking Liberally / Smoking Conservatively Summit this Thursday starting at 6pm at the Shanty on 4th Avenue and 9th Street: Partisanship has acquired a bad name of late. It’s become closely associated with the name-calling, character assassination, fear mongering and actively misleading … Read more