So Many Republican Hypocrites, So Little Time

February 29, 2008 | SEND TO A FRIEND | GET EARLY NOTICE OF THE HOTW

John McCain

Welcome back to the Buzzflash GOP Hypocrite of the Week -- and to John McCain, who is back for a second week in the row as recipient of this dubious distinction.

Last week, we focused on McCain's hypocrisy for his relationships with "K Street" lobbyists.

This week, we are focusing on McCain's hypocrisy on what has become his signature "maverick issue": campaign finance reform. To put it succinctly, McCain is now violating the very campaign finance reform laws that he championed.

The Democratic National Committee has been bombarding the media with details of McCain's violation of the FEC requirements. Howard Dean is particularly irked because he knows the law as a former candidate for president. And clearly McCain knows the legal requirements, since he was a leader (with Russ Feingold) of putting them in place.

Here is an excerpt from just one of the many DNC news alerts detailing McCain's campaign finance violations:

Today's McCain Myth: John McCain has not benefited from the FEC's matching funds program.

Unlike other presidential candidates who withdrew from the program, John McCain has already materially benefited from his participation in the public financing program. In addition to using the promise of public financing to help secure a private loan, McCain also used the fact that he qualified for the matching funds process to gain ballot access in Ohio and Delaware without having to spend the time and resources to collect signatures.

In both states, candidates are required to either collect signatures or demonstrate that they have qualified for matching funds to get on the primary ballots. In both instances, instead of going through the often time-consuming and costly process of gathering signatures, McCain chose the matching funds option. In Ohio, McCain submitted his certification letter from the FEC as evidence he had qualified for matching funds and in Delaware, he submitted the FEC press release announcing that he had qualified for public financing as evidence.

On February 6th, McCain requested the Federal Election Commission allow him to withdraw his campaign from the public financing program and, more importantly, the spending caps that came with it.

That is when Howard Dean and the Democratic National Committee decided to step in.

On Monday, Dean drafted a letter of complaint to the FEC casting doubt over whether McCain could legally withdraw from his commitments to take public financing and the spending limits it required.

Speculation came over whether or not McCain had pledged his future public financing dollars as collateral for a loan his campaign received from a Maryland Bank, Fidelity & Trust Bank, in November of 2007 -- a move that would lock him into the agreement he signed to receive public funds.

Dean also claimed that McCain was given free ballot access in some states because of his public bankroll status.