THE GAFFE'S:
--"Somalia" for "Sudan" — As recounted in a reporter’s pool report from McCain’s Straight Talk Express bus on June 30, the senator said while discussing Darfur, a region of Sudan: "How can we bring pressure on the government of Somalia?"
Senior adviser Mark Salter corrected him: "Sudan."
-- "Germany" for "Russia" — A YouTube clip from last year memorializes McCain referring to Vladimir Putin of Russia – following a trip to Germany — as "President Putin of Germany."
--This spring, McCain said troops in Iraq were "down to pre-surge levels" when in fact there were 20,000 more troops than when the surge policy began.
--Also this spring, McCain twice appeared to mistake Sunnis and Shiites, two branches of Islam that split violently. Had to be corrected on the spot by ass kisser Joe Lieberman.
--In Phoenix earlier this month, McCain referred to "Czechoslovakia," which has been divided since Jan. 1, 1993, into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. He also referred to Czechoslovakia during a debate in November and a radio show in April.
--In perhaps the most curious incident, McCain said earlier this month that as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, he had tried to confuse his captors by giving the names of Pittsburgh Steelers starting players when asked to identify his squadron mates. McCain has told the story many times over the years – but had always referred correctly to the names he gave as members of the Green Bay Packers.
--Now the newest gaffe, McCain doesn't know the timeline of the "surge"...the subject of which wound up on the cutting room floor of CBS's Katie Couric interview.
THE COMPANY HE KEEPS:
Charlie Black is John McCain's chief political adviser and formerly a partner at the lobbying firm he founded, BKSH & Associates. He took leave from the firm earlier this year.
The firm's client list have included military contractor Blackwater Worldwide and Phillip Morris, as well as Angolan warlord Jonas Savimbi, and former dictators Ferdinand Marcos of the Philipenes and Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo).
Last year Black was registered to lobby on behalf of 29 clients, including AT&T, Lockheed Martin, Occidental Petroleum, and JP Morgan Chase.
Charlie Black has earned more than $1.8 million representing the Occidental Petroleum Corporation, the leading foreign producer of gas and oil in Colombia. Significant in view of McCain's trip this week to Columbia.
Other Clients include:
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, who looted his country during his reign and whose totalitarian regime was marked by human rights abuses.
Angolan Guerilla leader Jonas Savimbi, who brutally murdered and tortured civilians and planted land mines in his own country.
Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire, who tortured and publicly executed political rivals, and pillaged his country's resources, enriching himself as the people of Zaire starved.
Nigerian Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, who supressed opposition political parties, and had a magazine editor critical of his abuses murdered.
Somali dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, whose army slaughtered 5,000 unarmed civillians in ten months.
Rick Davis is John McCain's campaign manager from both this election cycle and McCain's run in 2000. However, he recently turned over day-to-day campaign operations to another staffer.
Davis took leave in 2006 from the lobbying firm he founded, Davis Manafort, in which he retains an ownership stake. Davis Manafort's client list has included Verizon and SBC Communications and Ukranian holding company System Capital Management. Although he has not been registered as a lobbyist for two years, his firm was actively involved working as an unregistered lobbyist representing the interests abroad of foreign politicians and businessmen. In 2006 Davis’s firm represented Viktor Yanukovich, a Ukranian politician opposed by the U.S. Government because of his ties to Vladimir Putin.
Also in 2006, Davis represented Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska a close ally of Vladimir Putin, whose U.S. visa was revoked because of his organized crime and anti-democratic ties. Davis used his ties with McCain to set up a meeting between Deripaska and McCain at an economic conference in Switzerland.
Davis was still actively working as a lobbyist while also working as a paid consultant to McCain’s Reform Institute, and later used his contacts with McCain to facilitate a merger between DHL and Airborne. McCain "thwarted [R-Alaska Senator Ted] Stevens's effort to insert language into legislation that would prohibit foreign-controlled companies such as DHL from holding certain military contracts."
Phil Gramm is "STILL" an economic adviser for McCain who was until April a registered lobbyist for UBS, the world's largest manager of personal wealth. Gramm is also currently a vice chairman for UBS's investment arm. A former Texas senator and economics professor at Texas A&M, Gramm was still a lobbyist when he advised McCain on the campaign's economic policies unveiled earlier this year.
Additionally, Gramm was a senator who took cash from the banking industry and introduced - and passed - a law that removed consumer safeguards in place since the Great Depression. This allowed banks to merge with financial investment institutions and begin selling risky investment products, including speculating on mortgages. This led to the subprime meltdown we have today which is destroying our economy. Then Gramm quit the Senate and went to work for UBS, a gigantic international bank that took advantage of Gramm's new law and gobbled up investment firms, then had Gramm lobby George W. Bush to remove the remaining consumer safeguards on predatory lending.
John Green is a lobbyist who announced in March that he planned to take leave from his post as a managing director at Ogilvy Government Relations to coordinate the McCain campaign's efforts with congressional Republicans. In recent years, the firm's clients have included European Aeronautic Defense & Space, which beat Boeing for a $35 billion Air Force tanker contract. Also, his firm represented Ameriquest Mortgage, one of the most notorious lenders in the current mortgage crisis.
This year, he is registered to lobby for 57 clients including Pfizer, United Health Care Group, the Carlyle Group and the American Petroleum Group.
John Timmons is a fundraiser for McCain and a former aide in his Senate office. He is also a founding partner of the Cormac Group, which took in more than $2 million in revenues in 2007. The firm's clients include the City of Hollywood, the National Association of Broadcasters, News Corp. and Time Warner. This year Timmons is registered as a lobbyist for US Airways Group, the City of Hollywood, the Association of American Railroads, Time Warner and a group called Americans for Democracy.
Previous Timmons clients include AT&T, SBC Communications and America West Airlines.
Kirk Blalock is a fundraiser for McCain and chairman of Young Professionals for McCain. In 2002 he joined the firm of Fierce, Isakowitz & Blalock. The firm was collecting more than $7 million in lobbying fees as recently as last year. His firm's clients include Coca-Cola, Time Warner and the Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs of large U.S. companies.
Previously he was the White House director for business outreach and a "Pioneer" for the Bush campaign, meaning he raised more than $100,000 for the candidate.
Randy Scheunemann is a foreign policy adviser to John McCain. Scheunemann has served as a lobbyist with Orion Strategies and Scheunemann & Associates for foreign governments such as Georgia, Macedonia and Taiwan. He has also lobbied for the National Rifle Association and a group called the Caspian Alliance.
New accusations and proof that he is responsible for helping potential Bush Library doners gain access to Bush by giving cash.
He has reportedly lobbied for the Republic of Georgia while working for the campaign. This year he was registered to lobby for the NRA.
Scheunemann was a board member for the neoconservative think tank Project for the New American Century, in addition to creating The Committee for the Liberation of Iraq in late 2002 and serving as its executive director.
Carlos Bonilla was described earlier this year on the McCain campaign Web site as an economic policy adviser. A McCain spokesman said Bonilla left the campaign in May after the campaign imposed new rules restricting the involvement of lobbyists.
A recent White House report said Bonilla took favors from convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff while working in the White House.
Bonilla is a lobbyist and senior vice president at the Washington Group. His firm was bringing in more than $10 million annually a few years ago, representing corporate clients such as Motorola, Delta Airlines and Rent-a-Center.
Bonilla is registered this year to lobby on behalf of 27 clients, including Time Warner, Motorola and the National Automobile Dealers Association.
Kristen Chadwick is a fundraiser for McCain and served on the steering committee (pdf) for Women For McCain. She is also a lobbyist and partner with Fierce, Isakowitz & Blalock, which had more than $7 million in revenue in 2007. She worked for the Bush White House before joining the lobbying firm.
She has personally represented Sprint and Nextel. This year she is registered to lobby for 38 clients, including financial, health care and retail companies. In April, The Hill named her one of the top lobbyists in Washington.
Wayne Berman is a top McCain fundraiser who joined the McCain camp in April 2007. Berman is listed as the managing director of Ogilvy Government Relations, which took in about $22 million in lobbying fees in 2007. The firm's clients include top financial firms, insurance companies, and those in the energy and telecommunications services. In particular, the firm represented Ameriquest Mortgage, one of the most notorious lenders in the current mortgage crisis.
This year Berman is registered to lobby on behalf of 51 clients including AT&T, Chevron, Motorola, Fannie Mae and Visa.
Susan Nelson is a finance director for the campaign. As recently as last year she was a registered lobbyist for the Loeffler Group, which collected more than $5 million last year. Nelson has reportedly received payments from Loeffler and continued to lobby since joining the campaign.
Last year she was registered to lobby on behalf of five clients, including Southwest Airlines and Toyota.
Christian Ferry is a deputy campaign manager for John McCain. He has partnered with Rick Davis to represent telecom companies SBC and Verizon from 2003 to 2005. He has also registered as a lobbyist for Deutche Post, ImageSat International, a group called Preserve Luke Air Force Base, and DHL Holdings USA.
David Crane has served as a senior domestic-policy adviser for McCain's campaign. He is also a lobbyist and the president of Quadripoint Strategies.
Crane was a senior policy adviser to then-Majority Leader Trent Lott and worked with McCain on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
This year he is registered to lobby on behalf of four clients, including CSX and Bank of America.
Thomas G. Loeffler is a lobbyist whose clients have included Saudi Arabia, stepped down as national finance committee chairman, the senator's campaign reported on May 18, 2008. Loeffler is a former Texas congressman who had been a top fundraiser for President Bush. He took over McCain's fundraising apparatus last summer when McCain's campaign ran out of money.
His law and lobbying firm, the Loeffler Group, has counted as its clients Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and the state of Hidalgo, Mexico.
Peter Madigan lobbies for the government of Columbia to promote free trade and "seek appropriations for the Government of Columbia." Has also defended Columbian President Alvaro Uribe against allegations of ties to paramilitary groups. Uribe has also reportedly been linked to drug trafficking and bribery. Lobbies on behalf of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), because the UAE faces a class-action lawsuit alleging they enslaved thousands of children and forced them to be jockeys in camel races for the entertainment of the Arabian elite.
Eric Burgeson: Energy Advisor to McCain. Resigned. Eric Burgeson had to resign as McCain's advisor on energy policy, because he was the head lobbyist on behalf of the energy industry for Barbour Griffith and Rogers (BGR), a lobby firm in Washington, DC. Yes, you're reading right. John McCain let an active energy lobbyist "advise" him on energy policy.
Doug Goodyear: GOP convention Chair chosen by McCain. Resigned in May a few hours after Newsweek posted a report online saying the company was paid $348,000 in 2002 to represent the government in Myanmar, also known as Burma. Goodyear’s firm , DCI Group, represented the same junta still in power today that withheld aid to its citizens after a cyclone destroyed much of Myanmar’s coastline in May of this year. Goodyear’s firm also launched a PR campaign on behalf of the Burmese junta with the goal of denouncing "falsehoods" by the US government about them. Other clients of Goodyear's firm include ExxonMobil and General Motors.
THE FLIP/FLOPS:
Signing of the GI Bill: Now enthusiastically for it... after it passed. Previously attacked the Webb Bill. Didn't even bother to vote on it.
http://bravenewfilms.org/...
Campaign reform: On political reform, McCain last January opposed a grassroots lobbying bill he once supported. In 2006, the "New York Sun" reported that his presidential ambitions led McCain to reverse his support of a campaign financial bill called McCain/Feingold.
http://www.nysun.com/...
Alien Minors Act/Immigration: Last October he said he would vote against the development, relief and education for Alien Miners Act that he co-sponsored, and then said he would vote against an immigration bill that he introduced.
http://www.youtube.com/...
Gay Marriage: In 2006, he said on "HARDBALL," quote, I think that gay marriage should be allowed. Then after the commercial break he added, I do not believe that gay marriages should be legal.
http://www.youtube.com/...
Abortion: On abortion, 1999, publicly supporting Roe v. Wade, privately opposing it in a letter to the National Right to Life Committee. In the 2000 debates, he would change the GOP platform to permit exceptions for rape, incest, the life of the mother. May 2007, "flipped", ABCNews.com reported.
http://abcnews.go.com/...
Nuclear Waste: No Storing Nuclear waste at Yucca mountain earlier..now flipped
http://www.lasvegassun.com/...
Negotiating with Kim Jong-Il: Negotiating with Kim Jong-Il not acceptable until President Bush did it last week.
http://bondibox.newsvine.com/...
Negotiating with Cuba/Castro: With Fidel Castro acceptable in 2000, not 2008.
http://vids.myspace.com/...
Negotiating with Hamas/Terrorists: ...with terrorists appropriate when Colin Powell went to Syria and in 2006 when McCain said sooner or later we‘ll talk to Hamas, but not appropriate now re: Obama's willingness to use diplomacy.
http://bondibox.newsvine.com/...
Pakistan: Unilateral action against suspected terrorists in Pakistan; "Confused leadership" when Obama suggested it, not when Bush did it.
http://www.crooksandliars.com/...
Warrantless Wire-taps: Six months ago, presidents had to obey the law, not anymore.
http://www.nytimes.com/...
Torture: Torture detainees, no way, except for the CIA. Hold them indefinitely, wrong in 2003, the right move in 2008.
http://www.youtube.com/...
Iraq War: The Iraq war, the right course 2004, stay the course 2005. Today, McCain has always been a Rumsfeld critic.
http://thinkprogress.org/...
Tax Cuts: In 2001, he could not in good conscious support them. Now he can.
http://www.youtube.com/...
Estate Tax: 2006, "I agree with President Roosevelt who created it". In 2008, "most unfair".
http://www.crooksandliars.com/...
Privatizing Social Security: This month not for privatizing Social Security, never has been. In 2004, he "didn‘t see how benefits will last without it".
http://www.youtube.com/...
Balanced Budget: In February, promised a balanced budget in four years by April, make that eight years.
http://www.perrspectives.com/...
Windfall Profits Tax: In May, glad to look at the windfall profits tax. By June, that was Jimmy Carter's big idea.
http://flipfloptracker.blogspot.com/...
Offshore Drilling: In 2000, no new off shore drilling. Last month, it would take years to develop. This month, very helpful in the short term.
http://thinkprogress.org/...
Coyotes..Bush Big Time Fund Raisers: The Bush fund-raisers McCain called coyotes breaking the law in 2000. By 2006, they were co-chairing McCain fund-raisers.
http://abcnews.go.com/...
"Agents of Intolerance": Buddy Jerry Falwell...an "agent of intolerance in 2000". Kissed Falwell's ass in 2007... The Reverend Hagee and Parsley in, then out this year alone.
http://www.youtube.com/...
Martin Luther King Holiday: In 1983, opposed Martin Luther King Day. Today, all for it.
http://www.boston.com/...
Confederate Flag: In 2000, defended South Carolina's confederate flag as a symbol of heritage. Two years later, McCain calling it, quote, an act of political cowardice not to say the flag should come down. Quote, "everybody said, look out. You can't win in South Carolina if you say that."
http://www.youtube.com/...
Evolution in Public Schools: In 2005, McCain said alternatives to evolution should be taught in school. "Evolving" the opposite position he had taken in 2000.
http://thinkprogress.org/...
Restoring the Everglades: On June 5, John McCain traveled to the Everglades to win over Floridians and environmentally-minded voters. There he proclaimed, "I am in favor of doing whatever’s necessary to save the Everglades." Sadly, as ThinkProgress documented, McCain not only opposed $2 billion in funding for the restoration of the Everglades national park, he backed President Bush’s veto of the legislation in 2007. "I believe," he said, "that we should be passing a bill that will authorize legitimate, needed projects without sacrificing fiscal responsibility."
http://www.heraldtribune.com/...
Swiftboating: McCain's sudden embrace of Swiftboating --- which today is synonymous with a concerted effort to lie about an opponent's history --- is all the more deplorable because he has hired retired Col. George "Bud" Day, a proud member of the group that Swiftboated Kerry --- and someone McCain once described as having "tunnel vision" --- to lead what McCain is calling his "Truth Squad."
http://digg.com/...
GITMO/Habeus Corpus:Despite John McCain's outrage last week that the Supreme Court ordered Gitmo detainees know why they were being held, or released -- Political Base has stumbled upon a McCain appearance on Meet the Press in 2005 where he argued they deserved trials, going so far as to say "if it means releasing some of them, you'll have to release them." Shameless.
http://www.politicalbase.com/...
Divestment from South Africa: During his June 2 speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), John McCain called for the international community to target Iran for the kind of worldwide sanctions regime applied to apartheid-era South Africa. Unfortunately, McCain’s lobbyist-advisers Charlie Black and Rick Davis each represented firms doing business with Tehran. Even more unfortunate, John McCain was frequently not among those offering "moral clarity and conviction" in backing "a divestment campaign against South Africa, helping to rid that nation of the evil of apartheid."
http://thinkprogress.org/...
Opposing Hurricane Katrina Investigations: During a June 4th town hall meeting in Baton Rouge, John McCain answered a reporter’s question regarding Hurricane Katrina and the failure of the New Orleans levees by announcing:
"I’ve supported every investigation and ways of finding out what caused the tragedy. I’ve been here to New Orleans. I’ve met with people on the ground."
As it turns out, not so much. McCain’s revisionist history neglects to mention that in 2005 and 2006 he twice voted against a commission to study the government’s response to Katrina. He also opposed three separate emergency funding measures providing relief to Katrina victims, including the extension of five months of Medicaid benefits. And as ThinkProgress pointed out, "until traveling there one month ago, McCain had made just one public tour of New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina touched down in August 2005."
http://thinkprogress.org/...
McCain On His Economic Abilities: "I have not. I have not. Actually, I have not." "I said that I am stronger on national security issues because of all the time I spent in the military and others. I am very strong on the economy. I understand it. I have a lot more experience than my opponent."
-- Sen. John McCain, in an interview on ABC News, when asked why he "admitted that you're not exactly an expert when it comes to the economy."
However, NBC News compiles past McCain quotes in which he said "The issue of economics is not something I've understood as well as I should" or "I'm going to be honest: I know a lot less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy issues. I still need to be educated."
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/...
On Criticizing Obama While "Overseas": Traveling in Colombia, he told reporters that he wouldn't criticize Obama while he was overseas, but on the plane, he blasted Obama’s opposition to the proposed Colombia free trade...
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/...
Temperment and Temper: "My temper has often been both a matter of public speculation and personal concern," he wrote in a 2002 memoir. "I have a temper, to state the obvious, which I have tried to control with varying degrees of success because it does not always serve my interest or the public's." Not true and not under control, according to many of those on the "W"rong side of McCain's famous temper.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
Drilling For Oil and Automobile Efficiency: "Last week, Senator McCain reversed himself and said we need to drill more. Today, he has reversed years of failing to support more efficient cars, new energy technologies and green jobs.
http://www.speaker.gov/...
Offshore Drilling: Two weeks ago, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) offered "a bit of a capitulation to the oil companies" by announcing that he would end the federal ban on offshore oil drilling. Not only is McCain’s move a break with environmental activist, but it is also "a reversal of the position he took in his 2000 presidential campaign.
http://thinkprogress.org/...
Payroll Taxes: "When he was asked in 2005 whether he could see himself lifting the cap on the payroll tax, (McCain) said, 'I could.' Two years later, during a May 13, 2007, appearance on "Meet the Press," Russert asked McCain if he was still open to lifting the Social Security tax cap as part of a compromise. "Am I opposed to tax increases?" said McCain. "Yes. But we've got to sit down together and figure out what our options are, and tough decisions have to be made, Republicans and Democrats. And I know how to do that." Asked about the 2005 remark, a McCain spokesman acknowledged the tension with his current position while arguing that the Arizona senator's criticism of his Democratic rival is still valid because McCain has spoken out against higher Social Security taxes as a 2008 White House hopeful.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/...
Ethics Reform and Abramoff: On the stump, Sen. John McCain often cites his work tackling the excesses of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff as evidence of his sturdy ethical compass. A little-known document, however, shows that McCain may have taken steps to protect his Republican colleagues from the scope of his investigation.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
http://digg.com/...
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