McCain's funded: Assembling the pieces of the puzzle

From the Associated Press...

Sen. John McCain, a passionate advocate of limits on campaign finances, is turning down government matching funds for the primary to free him to spend more money as he prepares for a general election contest.

McCain, who appears headed to win the Republican presidential nomination, sent letters to the Federal Election Commission and the Treasury Department notifying them of his decision to withdraw from the presidential election financing system.

McCain had asked to participate in the public system last summer when his campaign, his fundraising and his poll numbers hit a low point that threatened to unravel his candidacy.

Though the FEC declared him eligible to receive $5.8 million in December, the money would not have become available until next month. By accepting the money, moreover, McCain would have been required to limit his spending for the primary to about $54 million — an amount the campaign was close to reaching now.

By not taking the money, McCain is free to raise more and to promote his presidential candidacy until the Republican nominating convention in September.

Why, isn't that nice, the king of campaign finance reform is turning down Federal funds for his campaign. But here's the rest of the story...

As Sen. John McCain assumes the GOP front-runner mantle, his long-standing, but little-noticed association with left-wing donors such as George Soros and Teresa Heinz Kerry is receiving new attention among his Republican critics.

In 2001, McCain founded the Alexandria, Va.-based Reform Institute as a vehicle to receive funding from George Soros' Open Society Institute and Teresa Heinz Kerry's Tides Foundation and several other prominent non-profit organizations....

Rick Davis, McCain's current campaign manager, was paid $110,000 a year by the Reform Institute for a consulting position, according to the group's 2003 Form 990 filing with the IRS.

In 2004, Davis advanced to the position of Reform Institute president, with an annual salary of $120,000, according to the group's 2004 Form 990....

Carla Eudy, a senior advisor on McCain's 2008 presidential campaign who until recently headed fundraising, was paid $177,885 in 2005 to serve as the Reform Institute's secretary-treasurer.

So apparently McCain's idea of campaign reform is to use the law to hamstring others, while he soaks up massive political donations through loopholes in the law he himself helped create. He can afford to turn down Federal funding, because he's getting back door funding from notorious Socialists who see him as a candidate beneficial to their goals.

Anybody getting funding form George Soros and Teresa Heinz doesn't have my vote.

Posted by Danny Carlton at February 12, 2008 7:33 AM