McCain and the Straight Talk Express to Lobbyville
If the Straight Talk Express is funded by campaign contributions, Mr. Black’s lobbying work there arguably constitutes a violation (possibly, a per-incident violation) of campaign finance laws since Sen. McCain is providing office space for non-campaign-related activities. Were Mr. Black's outbound and inbound calls unplanned and extraordinary, fair argument could be made that his presence on the bus and the lobbying work were coincidental; however, the Washington Post claims, "Black said he does a lot of his work by telephone from McCain's Straight Talk Express bus," thereby denying the McCain campaign any claim of coincidence between Black's general lobbying activities and the campaign-funded facilities in which those activities are being carried out.
If the Federal Elections Commission does not move aggressively on McCain and his campaign with regard to this matter, it would be the responsible citizen's prerogative—indeed, it would be that citizen's duty—to vociferously bring to the attention of the mainstream media, and anyone else who might listen, this story of compelling allegations of a presidential campaign now indistinguishable from Beltway lobbyists who manage and use it.
Whether or not the Arizona Senator once had an intimate relationship with a lobbyist and used his chairmanship of a committee to advance her client's interests, the matter of Mr. Black's use of Sen. McCain's campaign-funded assets is of immediate import and intersects campaign finance laws that Sen. McCain, himself, was a champion in reforming with the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-155), known informally as the McCain-Feingold Act.
Ultimately, it will be up to the Federal Elections Commission to determine whether Sen. McCain's campaign has violated law and regulations with respect to Mr. Black's conduct of lobbying business on the Straight Talk Express; but beyond the considerations of the FEC, voters contemplating the quality and character of a presidential hopeful should be made aware of the manner in which each candidate conducts his or her campaign and the extent to which that conduct comports with the aspirant's rhetoric.
In the case of John McCain, a pall is swiftly enshrouding a man who was once a war hero and a leader, but who is now giving at least the remarkable appearance of being little more than a politician inextricably mired in the sleazy world of lobbyists, sex, and money that is the intolerable yet enduring underbelly of life among the powerful in the nation's capitol.
Comments
Wrote Moody Blue:
Wrote Dusty:
As I wrote on my post about this development..The Straight Talk Express is now the Lobbyist Express..get onboard! ;>)
Wrote Dusty:
Oh, and about your sidebar piece on the Big Dick Cheney..I subscribe to the old saying:
Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer!
Wrote trog69:
Good afternoon, DW and Friends.
I went to GraphicTruth, and you weren't kidding!
G'wan kid...put yer hand in there and get that hook out, boy! Lessee whatchagot...hole lee shit! That thing looks like some alien snake monster...thingy!
Wrote trog69:
It looks like the press is finally starting to dig into the important stuff concerning the presidential candidates. From Yahoo/AP:
OBAMA MAY FACE GRILLING ON PATRIOTISM
If only he'd bought enough pins to put one on every stitch of clothing he owns, like any red-blooded Republican does. Take a look at Tom Delay's briefs; The label says "BV(place pin here*)D.
Wrote Dusty:
Good morning Trog,
You never fail to crack me up! ;)
Wrote roger:
some of this mccain stuff has to be from republican insiders.
Wrote Dark Wraith:
Just about all of it is, roger.
My sense is that McCain's people are clearing the brush right now in this opportune moment when the GOP nomination is all but sealed and before the general election campaign, when the information could do far more damage because, first, voters will be paying closer attention and, second, the Democrats won't be commanding the media spotlight with their in-fighting.
By the time McCain locks horns with the eventual Dem nominee, this stuff could be show-stopper material; but if it's all out in the open now, McCain's people can say, "That's old news," when it gets rehashed in the general election season.
That's how the Dark Wraith is calling it, anyway.
Wrote kelley b:
Your analysis seems correct.
For example, the way this packet of scandal was released wasn't that the McCain campaign was run by the lobbyists for the lobbyists: it was that the Old Man could still show a hot number a good time.
Most the Republican males took one look at that grinning blond in the NYT and secretly wish they had a deal with the devil for sweet thing like that as a liaison, too. And a good discrete Viagra source.
The news will not only seem old by the summer. The main$tream will give it an entirely different spin, ignoring the whiff of corruption and death that surround McCain. It will seem positive proof the Old Man is still game.
And as far as Dick Cheney goes, as long as that "man" (assuming, of course, he is human) is consuming oxygen, he is a global public menace. But David Addington is even worse, and always in the shadows.
Wrote trog69:
Good morning, kelley b.
Man, it is just amazing to realize how few Americans have even heard of Mr. Addington, yet he's been behind every nasty (il)legal decision made by this administration. And, from all I've read, he's been nothing but a threatening, screeching jerk about it too.
Wrote Phydeaux Speaks:
Good Afternoon, Dark Wraith (and chorus).
Sorry I haven't been by lately, I've been ... preoccupied. (In a good way, though - details forthcoming at my place ... in the not too distant future) So, don't mind me as I pore through the archives of the past month or so.
Glad to be back on board for some good ole Wraithy Snark!
Wrote trog69:
Hey, good to see ya, Phydeaux! I'll be sure to visit.
Wrote trog69:
Did ya lose a coupla pounds? You look a tad thinner in your new pic.
Wrote Progressive Traditionalist:
I beg your pardon, Mr Speaks, but I am not a part of the chorus.
I am... (ahem) a soloist in the traditional jazz idiom.
;)
Wrote trog69:
Yeah, and I'm the guy on the Gong Show, hand in armpit, waiting for my musical cue.
Wrote blackdog:
Hold on Trog, that is mine, with a paw in a legpit.
Wrote Peter of Lone Tree:
Blackdog, everyone knows that that "paw in a legpit" business is FAKE! Everyone here is well aware that the sounds you produce are authentic (although well-modulated, tuneful, harmonically resonant, well-pitched) flatulence.
(And The Wraith sighs mournfully to himself, "There goes another thread.)
Wrote trog69:
"Sit boy...damn, I said SIT..."
Wrote Peter of Lone Tree:
Back to business:
Y'all better take a look at Mad Cow Morning News' article entitled "John McCain's Sweet Ride--Lobbyist's Plane Flew Saudi Royals After 9/11."
"Antifascist", over at Joe Cannon's Cannonfire where I first caught the article begins the description of the article thusly: "What do you get when you cross John McCain, Vicki Iseman, Christian fundamentalist broadcaster Lowell "Bud" Paxson, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, Andrew "Dice" Clay, Adnan Khashoggi, Jack Abramoff, murdered Florida casino boat mogul Gus Boulis and the "mystery flights" of escaping Saudi Royals "leaving Las Vegas" just days after the 9/11 attacks?
"Why another must read investigative report by Daniel Hopsicker, of course!"
But whaddayabet if it ever makes the front pages that the semensplattered MSM focuses on the sex angle?
Buddy of mine told me there might be a big fed investigation early this year but didn't tell me what about. Maybe this is it. One can hope. Yes, one can hope, but then one remembers the Congress.
"You go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you want." -- Ronald McDumshit
"You try to survive without collapsing in rage, frustration, and despair with the Congress you have, not the Congress you want." -- Horace Szasz
Add Comments
Log in
Become a Registered Commenter
« Return to the main page.
This blog offers Internet travelers a place where they can discuss economics, finance, politics, and other topics of scholarly and practical interest to thinking people. Your comments are always welcome, and your visits are most appreciated.
Your host of this Weblog is an award-winning college teacher and writer who specializes in economics, finance, mathematics, business administration, computer hardware and software skills, and English grammar and composition. His extensive writings on the history of the English language appeared on About.com in the avatar of the Selig Wraith in the 
Send a Secure Message to the Dark Wraith
![[Valid RSS]](http://dark-wraith.com/images/valid-rss.png "Validate my RSS feed")
Stop, children, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's going down!
I think the wheels are about to come off the double-talk express. :o)