McCain Attacked Soros-Funded Dem Effort -- But Soros Gave $300,000 For Legal Defense Of McCain-Feingold
Okay, this McCain-Soros story just keeps on giving.
McCain sent out a fundraising letter yesterday attacking a planned third-party Dem effort because it's being funded by George Soros, a reliable villain for many on the right. But as I reported below, a group that McCain co-chaired also was perfectly happy to benefit from Soros' generosity.
The group, a good-government outfit called the Reform Institute, received $150,000 from Soros in 2003 -- when McCain was its honorary co-chair and McCain's current campaign manager (the same guy who signed yesterday's fund-raising letter) was its president.
But it gets still better.
I've now learned that in 2002, Soros' charitable foundation, the Open Society Institute, gave $300,000 in grants to various groups that were defending the Arizona senator's campaign finance law against legal challenges to it.
An OSI spokesperson, Laura Silber, confirms to me that Soros' foundation gave $300,000 to the Brennan Center specifically for use defending McCain-Feingold. Brennan subsequently distributed that sum to various groups fighting on behalf of the McCain-sponsored law.
So by my count, Soros has contributed a total of $450,000 either to a group co-chaired by McCain or to defending McCain's pet legislation.
There was nothing wrong with Soros' money then, presumably. Yet now the McCain campaign is attacking a fledgling Dem effort because it's taking money from...Soros.
Doesn't get more mavericky than that.
Asked to comment, McCain spokesperson Brian Rogers emails: "This just in: George Soros' charitable foundation gave money to push campaign finance reform, the spirit of which he’s now clearly violating with a $40 million partisan attack ad campaign."
Your point being?
That McCain's behavior demonstrates some spectacular hypocrisy?
Because of the giant crush that the press has on St. John Straight Talkin' Maverick McCain, this hypocrisy isn't going to get much play....except for at sites like TPM.
Y'all deserve our thanks for pointing this out. Who knows? Maybe some tipping point will be reached, and reporters will wake up from their crush on John, and start reporting on how he actually is, rather than how they think he is.
A girl can dream, right?
April 11, 2008 3:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm not holding my breath.
April 11, 2008 3:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is why the McCain age meme cuts both ways (think: Reagan), in that it offers him cover for plausible deniability on pooch-screws like this. Or the Sunnis. Or whatever.
Can we get this primary over with so we can start training all our energy and Barack's unprecedented warchest on exposing this fraud already? That'd be swell. Thanks.
April 11, 2008 3:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
Asked to comment, McCain spokesperson Brian Rogers emails: "This just in: George Soros' charitable foundation gave money to push campaign finance reform, the spirit of which he’s now clearly violating with a $40 million partisan attack ad campaign."
Interesting tack. Tryin' really really hard to convince themselves that Soros is, in fact, the candidate they're running against, aren't they?
April 11, 2008 4:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
Asked to comment, McCain spokesperson Brian Rogers emails: "This just in: George Soros' charitable foundation gave money to push campaign finance reform, the spirit of which he’s now clearly violating with a $40 million partisan attack ad campaign."
Is this the campaign finance reform McCain's violating with all of his FEC shenanigans? Wow, can the pot call the kettle black or what!
April 11, 2008 4:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, talk about a two-faced liar...First McCain applies for and gets accepted into the public funding program. Then he uses the acceptance for collateral on a loan. Then he tries to opt out. When the FEC says he can't opt out because they don't have a quorum to vote on him opting out because his own party refuses to let Senators vote on the Commissioners separately (they are willing only to accept voting for four members in one block) now he is criticizing others for not applying for public funding for their own competing campaign. He also has his surrogates publicly chastise others for accepting money from Soros, who has also donated money for causes that McCain and friends are involved in. And all the while, McCain has already exceeded spending limits on those that participate in public funding, whether he's received those public funds or not. That is the height of being out of touch with ethics.
April 13, 2008 12:02 AM | Reply | Permalink
Front seat tickets to the freak show. LOL!!!
This is getting almost fun again.
April 11, 2008 4:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
About the only thing the Reform Institute ever did was try to help Ralph Nader get on the ballot in Florida in 2004.
April 11, 2008 5:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
You have to give McCain a lot of credit for taking on Soros like this when he's been a known source of funds and McCain is trailing the democrat party candidates in fundraising.
Nate Peele
http://thatsrightnate.wordpress.com/
April 11, 2008 6:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ok, McCain is fucking crazy. We all know that.
April 11, 2008 6:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well, Soros isn't *Republican*, silly!
April 11, 2008 8:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sometime this past week McCain was on a tv program called the View where he acknowledged that he graduated fifth from the bottom of his class. He also seemed to proudly acknowledge that this ranking was probably lower than G W (wonderdummy) Bush's standing in his class.
Dumber than Bush and Proud of It.
Could explain alot.
April 12, 2008 12:27 AM | Reply | Permalink
well said.
April 12, 2008 2:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Greg sed:
I'm SO stealing that from you.
April 12, 2008 2:55 PM | Reply | Permalink