Reuters reported McCain attack on Obama on campaign finance, did not mention that McCain may be breaking campaign finance laws
SUMMARY: Reuters reported that Sen. John McCain's campaign "is preparing to take $84 million in public funding after the Republican Party convention in September and he is challenging [Sen. Barack] Obama to stick by last year's pledge to use public money and its accompanying spending limits," but did not note that Federal Election Commission chairman David Mason has taken the position that McCain cannot opt out of public financing in the primary without FEC approval, as McCain has attempted to do, or that McCain could be breaking federal laws by exceeding spending limits within the public financing system for the primary.
In a May 9 Reuters article, staff writer Andy Sullivan reported that Sen. John McCain's campaign "is preparing to take $84 million in public funding after the Republican Party convention in September and he is challenging [Sen. Barack] Obama to stick by last year's pledge to use public money and its accompanying spending limits." Sullivan also quoted McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds' assertion that "[i]t would be unfortunate for the Democratic nominee, particularly if it was Barack Obama, to go back on his commitment to the public financing system." But Sullivan did not note that Federal Election Commission chairman David Mason has taken the position that McCain cannot opt out of public financing in the primary without FEC approval, as McCain has attempted to do, meaning that every day that McCain spends beyond the limits of the public financing system -- which he has already exceeded -- he could be breaking federal law. Nor did Sullivan note that President Bush subsequently withdrew Mason's renomination.
The Associated Press reported on February 21:
The government's top campaign finance regulator says John McCain can't drop out of the primary election's public financing system until he answers questions about a loan he obtained to kickstart his once faltering presidential campaign.
Federal Election Commission Chairman David Mason, in a letter to McCain this week, said the all-but-certain Republican nominee needs to assure the commission that he did not use the promise of public money to help secure a $4 million line of credit he obtained in November.
The loan could have required McCain to remain in the race, regardless of whether his candidacy was viable, in order to receive matching funds to pay back the loan. A March 23 Washington Post article reported that "McCain has officially broken the limits imposed by the presidential public financing system," and a February 22 article in the Post noted that "[k]nowingly violating the spending limit is a criminal offense that could put McCain at risk of stiff fines and up to five years in prison." Under the Presidential Primary Matching Payment Account Act, violators could face fines up to $25,000 and up to five years of jail time.
Bush had previously submitted Mason's name for reappointment to the FEC twice -- on December 16, 2005, and after Congress adjourned in 2007 without acting on the nomination, on January 9, 2007. But on May 6, he withdrew that renomination, nominating three others to the commission. A May 9 New York Times article reported of Bush's withdrawal of Mason's renomination: "Advocacy groups that work to counter the influence of money in politics immediately assailed the White House action, arguing it could be construed only as a blatantly political act, meant to benefit the McCain campaign." The article also quoted Democracy 21 president Fred Wertheimer, who in a statement asserted, "President Bush's dumping of Mason can only be viewed as a bald-faced and brazen attempt to wrongly manipulate an important enforcement decision by the nation's campaign finance enforcement agency," and reported that "[a]t minimum, said several campaign finance experts, Republican officials obviously understood the implications for Mr. McCain."
As Media Matters for America has noted, a May 6 Reuters article on Bush's May 6 nominations for the FEC also did not note that Bush had withdrawn Mason's renomination.
From the May 9 Reuters article:
Obama and [Sen. Hillary] Clinton need that cash to continue their own battle for the Democratic nomination, while McCain clinched the Republican nomination in March.
But if trends continue, McCain is likely to be outspent significantly by the eventual Democratic nominee.
McCain's campaign is preparing to take $84 million in public funding after the Republican Party convention in September and he is challenging Obama to stick by last year's pledge to use public money and its accompanying spending limits.
"It would be unfortunate for the Democratic nominee, particularly if it was Barack Obama, to go back on his commitment to the public financing system," McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said.
Let's all just wait until McCain is fitted for those 5 year black and white vertical stripes before the party gets started here.......when he's carted off to a prison cell then we can go back to these threads and say we told you so.
Does anyone in the free world think this will be remotely near an issue beyond a few campaign accountants in this, or any election? People know that money and politics marry together in their historically unseemly fashion and have forever.......use this to bury McCain if you must, it will just never get off the political map, sorry MMFA.
Tommy,
I've noticed that in the past week MMFA has become MMAM (Media Matters Against McCain). I guess they figure Hillary has lost. The McCain ad infinitum threads would be okay if they would come up with something new every now and the, but it's the same old stuff repackaged every other day - especially this one.
This item is about a May 9th Reuters article. That's today. How many times has it been mentioned here previous to this?
I know, you guys just like to have fun playing dumb in order to administer your right-wing reacharounds, but it's fun to point out your dishonesty over and over, too.
Look it up in the MMFA archives Col........McCain's lawbreaking antics and the wishful thinking in preparing a jail cell for his occupation has been tooled around here a few times.
And you hurt me, does this mean no cuddling at the drive-in tonight? ;)
This item is about a May 9th Reuters article.
Probably nothing in the archives about this May 9, 2008 article. And , no, we don't let what happens here affect Drive-in night.You should plan on spending some time with Iron Man tonight. Then maybe we can go see a movie.
I think there is frustration on the lack of coverage of the McCain campaign. The news cycle is pretty much focused on the Dem primary fight which has been pretty bloody. McCain can hardly get noticed these days.
I have no doubt that once the Dem nominee is decided the focus will shift to the McCain campaign and the gloves will be off.
"[i]t would be unfortunate for the Democratic nominee, particularly if it was Barack Obama, to go back on his commitment to the public financing system."
Attack? This is an attack?
Another post about a "controversy" that doesn't exist. First off, McCain isn't saying that Obama is doing anything illegal. Second, McCain hasn't yet done what he would like to do w/o FEC approval; can it even physically be done without their approval? Third, MMfA brings up that maybe McCain might be doing something illegal. Translation: it's probably not illegal (although it may be a loophole), because otherwise he wouldn't be doing it OR someone would really have dropped the hammer on it.
Sen. John McCain's campaign "is preparing to take $84 million in public funding after the Republican Party convention in September and he is challenging [Sen. Barack] Obama to stick by last year's pledge to use public money and its accompanying spending limits."
"If I am the nominee, then I will make sure that our people talk to John McCain's people to find out if we're willing to abide by the same rules and regulations with respect to the general election going forward. But it would be presumptuous of me to say now that I'm locking myself into something when I don't even know if the other side is going to agree to it."
LOL
Damn, has the Democratic party picked their nominee? Somebody should tell Hillary.
This bit about McCain has been mentioned so many times in so many places, it's really no secret anymore. I think people just don't care about it, after all it is rather technical. It's not a juicy scandal like hrc had.
What is amusing is that he is trapped by the system he himself created.