CBS' Reid aired McCain attacking Obama for purportedly being in the "Washington culture of lobbying" without noting McCain's own lobbying ties
SUMMARY: On the CBS Evening News, Chip Reid uncritically aired video of Sen. John McCain claiming that the "crisis on Wall Street, my friends, started in the Washington culture of lobbying and influence-peddling, and [Sen. Barack Obama] was right square in the middle of it." However, Reid did not mention McCain's own ties to the "Washington culture of lobbying." According to a Mother Jones report, "at least 83" McCain aides, policy advisers, or fundraisers "have in recent years lobbied for the financial industry McCain now attacks."
During a report on the September 19 broadcast of the CBS Evening News, correspondent Chip Reid uncritically aired video of Sen. John McCain claiming that the "crisis on Wall Street, my friends, started in the Washington culture of lobbying and influence-peddling, and [Sen. Barack Obama] was right square in the middle of it." However, Reid did not mention McCain's own ties to the "Washington culture of lobbying." According to a September 17 Mother Jones report, "at least 83" McCain aides, policy advisers, or fundraisers "have in recent years lobbied for the financial industry McCain now attacks." Those lobbyists include several senior McCain campaign officials, including chief political adviser Charlie Black, national finance co-chairman Wayne Berman, congressional liaison John Green, Arthur Culvahouse, who reportedly headed McCain's vice-presidential search team, and William E. Timmons Sr., who reportedly "has been tapped by the McCain campaign to conduct a study in preparation for the presidential transition." Furthermore, McCain campaign manager Rick Davis previously served as president of the Homeownership Alliance, a Washington-based advocacy group whose founding members included Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and which "defended the two companies against increased regulation," according to the Politico.
From Mother Jones' September 17 report:
McCain has been quick with fiery, populist-tinged speeches. But one thing has been missing: any acknowledgment that McCain's own campaign has been loaded with the type of people he's been denouncing. (The McCain campaign did not respond to a request for comment; we will update the post if they do.) As Mother Jones previously reported, former Senator Phil Gramm, McCain's onetime campaign chairman, used a backroom maneuver in late 2000 to slip into law a bill that kept credit default swaps unregulated. These financial instruments greased the way to the subprime meltdown that has led to today's economic crisis. Several of McCain's most senior campaign aides have lobbied for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And the Democratic National Committee, using publicly available records, has identified 177 lobbyists working for the McCain campaign as either aides, policy advisers, or fundraisers.
Of those 177 lobbyists, according to a Mother Jones review of Senate and House records, at least 83 have in recent years lobbied for the financial industry McCain now attacks. These are high-paid influence-peddlers who have been working the corridors of the nation's capital to win favors and special treatment for investment banks, securities firms, hedge funds, accounting outfits, and insurance companies. Their clients have included AIG, the newest symbol of corporate excess; Lehman Brothers, which filed for bankruptcy on Monday sending the stock market into a tailspin; Merrill Lynch, which was bought out by Bank of America this week; and Washington Mutual, the banking giant that could be the next to fall. Among these 83 lobbyists are McCain's chief political adviser, Charlie Black (JP Morgan, Washington Mutual Bank, Freddie Mac, Mortgage Bankers Association of America); McCain's national finance co-chairman, Wayne Berman (AIG, Blackstone, Credit Suisse, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac); the campaign's congressional liaison, John Green (Carlyle Group, Citigroup, Icahn Associates, Fannie Mae); McCain's veep vetter, Arthur Culvahouse (Fannie Mae); and McCain's transition planning chief, William Timmons Sr. (Citigroup, Freddie Mac, Vanguard Group).
The Homeownership Alliance announced its formation in a September 29, 2000, press release. The press release listed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as two of its founding members and announced that "Rick Davis, formerly presidential campaign manager for Arizona Sen. John McCain, will serve as president of the Homeownership Alliance, which will be based in Alexandria [Virginia]." From the press release:
Vowing to increase support for America's housing system so that it can expand homeownership opportunities for more Americans, housing, mortgage and community development leaders today announced the formation of the Homeownership Alliance.
The Homeownership Alliance is a broad-based public education organization that will promote the American housing system. The group will not lobby members of Congress, but will concentrate on public advocacy, principally through its web site http://www.homeownershipalliance.com. Rick Davis, formerly presidential campaign manager for Arizona Sen. John McCain, will serve as president of the Homeownership Alliance, which will be based in Alexandria.
The following organizations have joined as participating members of the Homeownership Alliance:
- The American League of Financial Institutions
- The Enterprise Foundation
- Fannie Mae
- Freddie Mac
- Independent Community Bankers Association
- Local Initiatives Support Corporation
- National Association of Home Builders
- National Association of Real Estate Brokers
- National Bankers Association
- National Urban League
[...]
Rick Davis said that homeownership in America is a core national priority. "Yet, some critics of the system, particularly those who disagree with the role currently played by the housing Government Sponsored Enterprises, are implicitly calling for policy makers to reconstruct the system so it can be more like that of other industrialized countries. But our current system is much better than theirs. Forty-percent down-payments, like they have in Germany, and huge prepayment penalties that are the norm for refinancing in some European countries are things we did away with decades ago, and we certainly don't want to turn the clock back," Davis said.
In a September 1, 2000, article (retrieved from the Factiva database), Institutional Investor wrote of Davis' involvement with the Homeownership Alliance:
Rick Davis loves an underdog. After serving as Senator John McCain's campaign manager, he recently joined the cause of defending Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The agencies, which dominate the market for mortgage-backed securities, find themselves under attack from Congress, from the Treasury Department and from Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan. All want to tighten regulation and strip the agencies of some of their special privileges as government-sponsored enterprises. "You can say what you want about free-market distortions, but people like the system because it gets them into houses cheap," notes Davis, who will run an advocacy group called the Homeownership Alliance out of his Alexandria, Virginia, lobbying firm. He was recruited by Fannie Mae senior vice president John Buckley, whom he met while working on Ronald Reagan's 1984 reelection campaign. Says Davis, "What we tried to do in the McCain campaign parallels what we want to do here -- protect the consumer."
Liz Wolgemuth of U.S. News & World Report noted the Institutional Investor article in a September 19 blog post.
According to the Internet Archive's cache of the Homeownership Alliance website -- which is no longer accessible -- Davis was listed as president of the organization as late as February 2006. At the time, senior vice presidents for both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac served on the Alliance's board as "Senior Advisor[s]." Tribune Media's Andrew Zajac reported on June 11 that the Homeownership Alliance "dissolved about two years ago."
In a July 16 Politico article, Lisa Lerer wrote of Davis' tenure as president of the Homeownership Alliance: "[F]or years, Rick Davis served as president of an advocacy group led by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that defended the two companies against increased regulation." The article also stated:
McCain campaign manager Davis headed the Homeownership Alliance, a lobbying association that included Fannie, Freddie, nonprofit groups, real estate agents, homebuilders and consumer advocates. The group's stated goal was to increase affordable housing. But it also worked to oppose congressional efforts to tighten controls on Fannie and Freddie.
In July 2003, Davis wrote to the American Banker, taking issue with an opinion piece by Leslie Paige of Citizens Against Government Waste, arguing that Fannie and Freddie should operate with greater transparency.
"Several of Ms. Paige's assertions bear correction," Davis wrote, defending Fannie and Freddie on behalf of the group. "The GSEs [government sponsored enterprises] are subject to an innovative and stringent risk-based capital stress test -- the toughest in the financial services industry."
In a letter to The New York Times, which has yet to be published by the Times but was posted on the Politico's website around the time of Reid's September 19 report, former Fannie Mae senior vice president William Maloni wrote:
Yesterday, Senator John McCain released a television commercial attacking Barack Obama for allegedly receiving advice on the economy from former Fannie Mae CEO Franklin Raines. From the stump, he has recently tried tying Senator Obama to Fannie Mae, as if there is some guilt in the association with Fannie Mae's former executives.
It is an interesting card for Senator McCain to play, given that his campaign manager, Rick Davis, was paid by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac several hundred thousand dollars early in this decade to head up an organization to lobby in their behalf called The Homeownership Alliance. ...
I worked in government relations for Fannie Mae for more than 20 years, leading the group for most of those years. When I see photographs of Sen. McCain's staff, it looks to me like the team of lobbyists who used to report to me. Senator McCain's attack on Senator Obama is a cheap shot, and hypocritical.
As Media Matters for America documented, a July 11, 2007, Politico article reported that Davis "founded a lobbying firm -- Davis Manafort Inc. -- which has made at least $2.8 million lobbying Congress since 1998." According to disclosure reports filed with Congress, Davis registered to lobby from 1998 to 2005 for Davis Manafort. A February 3, 2007, National Journal article reported that "Davis, a longtime lobbyist and financial consultant," is "on leave" from Davis Manafort to work for McCain's campaign.
Media Matters has noted that several other media outlets recently reported that the McCain campaign attacked Obama for what it says are his ties to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae without noting that several senior McCain campaign aides have lobbied for one or both of those entities.
From the September 19 broadcast of the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric:
REID: Earlier in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where the race is also tight, McCain laid out his economic plan, heavy on government intervention. The centerpiece, a new federal agency, the Mortgage and Financial Institutions Trust, to identify troubled businesses long before they need a government bailout. Also, new laws and regulations to make what happens on Wall Street more transparent, to protect consumers and investors, and to put financial wrongdoers behind bars.
McCAIN: On my watch, the consequences for corporate abuse will not be more enrichment, but more likely an indictment.
REID: But while McCain's speech was billed as a policy address, he spent much of his time bashing Barack Obama.
McCAIN: The crisis on Wall Street, my friends, started in the Washington culture of lobbying and influence-peddling, and he was right square in the middle of it.
REID: Here in Minnesota, the unemployment rate is now the highest it's been in more than 20 years, so whoever wins here will probably be whoever has the best plan for the economy. Katie.
KATIE COURIC (anchor): Chip Reid. Chip, thanks a lot.
And just for the spelling police since I was typing fast it is "hypocrite" My bad.
BoobthePee, Are you saying that these "paragons of virtue" inside the McCain campaign did not hold these positions? If so, you are an ass and a blind one at that. Just asking.
Princethejerk
No I am not saying that, I am saying lets discuss it with a valid source, not Mother Jones. I believe spheres of influence impact both campaigns.
Bobbie, Once again, what is a valid source to you and the POV. You don't believe anything that isn't ConTalk. And how did you know I was a jerk? Do we know one another? Seems that BB is right and youse guys have "special powers". Maybe that is why you do not have to believe anything, even if it is true. Special Powers don't upset us.
Where have I said I never believe anything? And for the ten thousand time, and I know it hurts you but I do not support McCain, I am voting for Obama. I like Obama (maybe that is where POV and I disagree). However that does not mean I do not have an open mind and ask questions. McCain is dirty and his campaign is dirty, but I want valid arguments against that.
I tell you what I would like to see be brought up more by the media, the old Keating Five. That should be a valid issue in this election and I never hear a word about it.
Once again there Bobbie, you KNOW it hurts me that you do not support McCain..and exactly where did I say that? Honestly, do you use a Ouija board? You seem to know all. I hereby declare you the SEER of MMFA.
Keating 5...It's coming..just not the right time. But it may not be needed.
Once again there Bobbie, you KNOW it hurts me that you do not support McCain..and exactly where did I say that?
You did not so I apologize, you did however indicate that I believe "contalk" so I made an assumption again sorry to assume.
You don't believe anything that isn't ConTalk. -princeofwheels
Honestly, do you use a Ouija board? You seem to know all. I hereby declare you the SEER of MMFA. ha ha , that is funny. No I am afraid of Quija boards LOL
Touche...Stay around here. Keeps things interesting...especially your psychic abilities... ;>)
Its not so much that I like McCain, as that I do not feel Obama has any idea what he is doing. I simply dont think a few short years in the senate, with half of that spent running for President is enough to be President.
I suppose that McCain's confusion over Spain's location/human rights status, his claim that he would fire someone as President that he can't fire, and his desire to deregulate health care just like Wall Street are very confidence-inspiring. Experience doesn't mean much if it doesn't help you do your job any better.
Besides, by your own standards the Palin pick should offend you. McCain has to be concerned about the possibility that he won't finish his first term, so obviously he doesn't give a damn what anyone thinks about experience.
Hitler and the Nazi party had years of experience. Experience is not all it's craked-up to be. bush has had a lot of experience with a chain saw and he used it on the constitution with the help of his henchmen.
But Sarah Palin is qualified to be a heart beat away from the Presidency with her experience as governor of Alaska?
What makes McCain qualiified? Does he have executive experience? Besides being a POW and playing the POW card for what else does he have?
A NASTY temper.
And an increasingly confused mind.
Forget Mother Jones. How many Financial lobbyists are in McCain's camp compared to Obama?
Do you know?
what is a valid source for you as it relates to the number of lobbyists on a candidate's campaign?
You have to be kidding. Mother Jones. Wow, talk about an honest broker of the news. What a joke.
You question the source. That's fine.
Do you have another source that states that John McCain has no ties to lobbyists from the financial world?
Another Great point Point of View my friend , this was from Wikepedia
Mother Jones is an independent, nonprofit magazine rooted in liberal political values and known for its investigative reporting. The winner of National Magazine Awards in General Excellence in 2001[1] and 2007,[2] Mother Jones has been nominated for 17 National Magazine Awards and has won five times.[1]
With a paid circulation of 233,000 (the average for the first half of 2006), Mother Jones is the most widely read progressive publication in the United States. Monika Bauerlein and Clara Jeffery serve as co-editors.
The magazine was named after Mary Harris Jones, a.k.a Mother Jones, a trade union activist, opponent of child labor, and self-described "hellraiser". The stated mission of Mother Jones is to produce revelatory journalism that in its power and reach informs and inspires a more just and democratic world.[3]
Mother Jones is published by the Foundation for National Progress, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. Mother Jones and the FNP are based in San Francisco.
This would be like a conservative stating something about Obama from Newsmax. Motherjones has no credibility in this topic.
Newsmax doesn't lack credibility because it's conservative, it lacks credibility because it's filled with very biased opinion pieces, and has a history of, let's say, not sticking too closely to the facts.
My only beef with the Mother Jones piece is I would have liked to have seen the position held by, or connection to McCain, of the people on the list. Which are actually on staff, which are bundlers, etc. But I'm guessing that those of you dismissing the source probably didn't even go to the link.
Since you mentioned Newsmax, I went to the hime page, and clicked on the first item on the "Inside Cover" list. It's an article using an Op-Ed by Rush Limbaugh(complaining once again about being taken out of context) as its only source.
Newsmax is garbage , I do not believe I defended them.
It is amazing thought that Newsmax has a weekly spot on the Imus show now, paid as a commercial.
They also post comercials on the net. All you see is an image of Obama and the text 'Is obama finished? Take part in an important survey'. When you click on the image, they want you to give your email, DOB etc.
No one said you defended Newsmax. You did, however, say this....
"This would be like a conservative stating something about Obama from Newsmax. Motherjones has no credibility in this topic."
You claimed the two sources were equivalent. They aren't. That's the flaw in your argument.
Bottle of "Sue"
Again you are wrong. I never said the both were the same. Where do you come up with this stuff? Your a nickel too short and a dollar too long.
POV , you are making me laugh very hard tonight, thank you . LOL
maybe bob can explain the contradiction between these two statements:
"this would be like a conservative stating something about obama from newsmax".
"i never said both were the same". you said it would be "like", as in similar.
Sure
When i said
"this would be like a conservative stating something about obama from newsmax".
I said that a use of the source by a partisan newssource like newsmax would be tainted.
I never said Mother Jones has the same context as Newsmax.
I said like in "analogy"
I am sure you will not like my answer though and you will go on and on and on. Instead of commenting on what Reid did not report? Which is the story here.
If Reid went to the site that Graydogs posted, Reid would know what to say.
http://www.mccainslobbyists.com/
it's not a matter of not caring for your answer. analogy is listed as a synonym of "likeness", which is the meaning of your term "like", and the definition of analogy [your word]: "analogy is similarity , as of properties or functions, between things that are otherwise not comparable." and "point of view" called using mother jones a "joke". to which you replied: "another great point point of view my friend".
as for commenting on what reid said, obviously i'm not the one questioning the fact that mother jones listed the many many mccain underlings who lobbied for the financial institutions he now attacks. if you can tell me why you agree that citing material from mother jones is a "joke", then we can have a discussion from there.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/likeness
Yeah, I had to just walk away from this one when it went like this;
Bobthep: A=B
Somebody else: Are you saying that A=B?
Bobthep: I never said that,Where do you come up with this crazy stuff?
Pointyview: They must be drunk.
Nice attempt to define me but it is wrong.
http://www.mccainslobbyists.com/
No Mother Jones?.......Well, how about WorldNetDaily.
This article was written by conservative's best friend, Jerome Corsi.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?pageId=56479
Pearlene
I do note believe Jerome Corsi has any credibility, besides his vendetta and hate campaign against Obama he has also smeared George Soros by claming he gives money to McCain. The guy is a complete nutjob.
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=56177
Bob, if you don't believe Mother Jones or Jerome Corsi then look the people who work for the McCain campaign up in the Senate Office of Public Records under the Lobbying Disclosure Act. THIS is a "valid source" for the SAME information reported by Mother Jones and Jerome Corsi.
Sometimes facts are simply facts.
Thanks Pearlene, it is not that I do not believe Mother Jones , i just wished there were other outlets reporting it. Jerome Corsi is crazy however, I just wish he would go away.
Graydogs provided a great site that I have bookmarked, it tells alot about McCain and his dishonesty.
http://www.mccainslobbyists.com/
"...it is not that i do not believe mother jones..."
"mother jones has no credibility in this topic."
which statement do you happen to believe at this moment?
Both, people can have different views.
It looks like you want to make the thread about me (Thanks) but it really is about CBS Reid. I can believe a magazine, but they may not have credibilty on a particular subject.
Have you not looked at the great site Graydogs mentioned?
http://www.mccainslobbyists.com/
You're out of your mind. The phrase "people can have different views" doesn't mean you can hold conflicting views simultaneously.
"You have to be kidding. Mother Jones. Wow, talk about an honest broker of the news. What a joke."
That's the comment you emphatically agreed with. Don't come on here now telling us that you believe the magazine in general. If they don't have credibility on this subject, then you don't believe them anyway. Why would you believe something that has no credibility? That's sort of what the word means, that something doesn't merit belief.
actually bob, you made the thread about you by contradicting yourself from post to post, as others have noted. and you, me or anyone else does not have to "believe" mother jones on anything. but we are not talking opinion here, but a list of mccain supporters and staff who have lobbied and recieved money from financial institutions. mother jones composed that list. if you have any information that it is inaccurate, then let's hear that. otherwise, you're just joining in with an attack on mother jones for no reason.
Col.....I think what is missing, is the source for the article in not just Mother Jones, and Mother Jones itself links to other sources for it's information. They reffer to Institutional Investor, U.S. News & World Repor, Politico, etc. but as usual those who are here to unravel the comment threads start by attacking Mother Jones.
Unfortunatey those on the right aren't interested in fact checking.
This site is super for checking out McCain's lobbyists, money, and connections to each issue. Just click on the issues or the lobbyists photos for details.
http://www.mccainslobbyists.com/
Campaign Money Watch
1828 L Street NW, #250 | Washington, DC 20036
info@campaignmoney.org
Campaign Money Watch works to hold politicians accountable for opposing comprehensive public financing of elections and other campaign finance reforms, and for the favors they give to special interest lobbyists and big money donors. Campaign Money Watch is a project of Public Campaign Action Fu
Graydogs, thank you for this information , it is very useful.
To clarify: I mean "They" as in Ebay...the article, not Mother Jones.
"....They reffer to Institutional Investor, U.S. News & World Repor, Politico, etc....."
Put up or shut up. Why don't you report on it or stfu?
Come on, give us the facts.
Facts? I think the run-on sentence with the piled on talking points was sufficient.
These MMFA cons are amazing in their befuddlement.
D'ya ever wonder if they aren't actually staffers or proprietors posing as caricatures?
Personally, I stopped wondering about that long ago.
To wonder would imply that I had any doubts.
So, BofO, you believe that it is the "evening news'" responsability to merely tell you what former POW John McCain says without making any attempt to detirmine the objective truth about his statements.
Well, that ain't reporting, son. That's just stenography.
so the "evening news" should only report on what happens that day? when did that start? mmfa did not even say that mother jones had to be mentioned. they just pointed out that there is lots of evidence that mccain has lots of aides with ties to the financial industry, and that could have been part of the story.
I was just discussing this point with my wife. She made the -- what appears to be a vary salient comparison from the realm of science fiction -- Dr. Who's 6 words that can bring down any government "Doesn't the prime minister look tired?"
McCain has had his tired moment and like Bob Dole it could kill his campaign.
"Doesn't the candidate McCain look tired?"
Sorry I thought I had thought I had attached this to Brabantio's comment above. Oops.
The "Spain" episode should kill his campaign. Obama should hammer him with it.
I just don't see a charitable explanation for that. If he got confused, then he was really confused. It's hard to see how the interviewer could have made it any clearer that she was talking about Spain. If he understood it, then why bring up human rights and democracy? Is he not familiar with Spain's record and government, or NATO status? And since McCain already said he would meet with Zapatero months ago, that would indicate he wasn't concerned about these things then. Why the change?
The campaign says that he wasn't confused. So McCain called our ally's record on human rights and democracy into question just because he felt like it, or what? If foreign policy is supposed to be his strong suit, how bad is it that he insulted an entire country for no discernible reason? If "lipstick on a pig" was a gaffe, this is nothing short of suicide.
I would like to see Obama go after Mcbush on the Spain issue. You are very correct brabantino, McCain is not familar with Spains record or government or the status they have in NATO. McCain is as weak in foreign policy as Sarah Palin is , they are both dangerous and liars.
I only hope the American people are not stupid enough again to believe this garbage.
McCain thought Spain was in Latin America, for cripes' sake. If that isn't a reason to dismantle him on his supposed foreign policy "strong suit," nothing is.
I notice that those who take Mother Jones to task have not bothered to state one item they have published that isn't true. I'm sure it is because they can't, and to them, just screaming "MOTHER JONES IS A JOKE!" suffices as a reasoned, logical argument.