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Six McCain Lobbyists Down… |
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In the past week, six lobbyists have resigned from the McCain campaign under questions about their ties to foreign regimes and corporate interests. Doug Goodyear and Doug Davenport - both high level aides - resigned over their ties to the Burmese junta. Eric Burgeson, McCain’s energy and environmental advisor, left due to his ties with the White House and the energy industry - particularly the “clean” coal and nuclear industries.
These discolusures have caused the McCain campaign to begin to re-vet everyone on staff, a highly disruptive and embarrasing procedure. Today, that new policy claimed it’s first victims - both Susan Nelson, a consultant, and Tom Loeffler, the national finance co-chair, have left the McCain campaign:
One top campaign official affected by the new policy is national finance co-chair Tom Loeffler, a former Texas congressman whose lobbying firm has collected nearly $15 million from Saudi Arabia since 2002 and millions more from other foreign and corporate interests, including a French aerospace firm seeking Pentagon contracts. Loeffler last month told a reporter “at no time have I discussed my clients with John McCain.” But lobbying disclosure records reviewed by NEWSWEEK show that on May 17, 2006, Loeffler listed meeting McCain along with the Saudi ambassador to “discuss US-Kingdom of Saudi Arabia relations.”
Of course, there are still plenty of lobbyists working for the McCain campaign. Of particular note is Charlie Black, McCain’s Senior Political Advisor.
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Black has made a name for himself working for foreign dictators, people who have destroyed their countries and killed their people in their quest for power. Black’s client list is a veritable who’s who of evil men. Charlie Black has lobbied for:
- Ahmed Chalabi, the smooth talking Iraqi exile who helped manufacture the WMD charges against Saddam Hussien that led the U.S. to invade.
- Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos, found guilty of torture, executions, disappearances, and human rights violations, who hired Black to “improve†his image in the U.S.
- Somali dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, who’s army massacred between 40,000 and 50,000 civilians in two years.
- Dictator Mobuto Sese Seko of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo), who amassed a vast personal fortune and repressed rival political parties while his country’s children starved.
- Angolan rebel leader Jonas Savimbi of UNITA, an ally of apartheid-era South Africa, who started a civil war which claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and ordered the torture and murder of countless opponents.
- Nigerian Dictator Ibrahim Babangida ran a one-party regime, who arrested his opponents, and murdered journalists.
Black made millions burnishing the images of these evil men, selling them as worthy allies for Washington politicians to befriend.Â
John McCain has repeatedly said to judge him by the company he keeps. This is the company he keeps. McCain needs to fire the men who take money from dictators.
Sign the petition and tell him so (and cause his campaign more than a little bit of trouble in the process).
Six lobbyists down…dozens more to go?
(cross-posted at MyDD)
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