The Major Stains on McCain's Campaign

As the Double Talk Express careens along, wheels still flying off the bus on the eleventh day, some of the ick is sticking to McCain's fatally flawed campaign for the Presidency. But this remains a critical time for Democrats: we must accelerate our efforts to brand McCain with the six Ells that stain his campaign. These are: Lobbyists, Lawbreaking, the Lord's Messenger Hagee, Less Jobs, and his Love of War. Oh, also -- his Love of Bush.

Lobbyists: Forget Vicki Iseman. America apparently has. There's a bigger story here -- a story Americans fed up with a bought-and-paid-for DeeCee culture understand. McCain is owned by lobbyists. They run his campaign, they run his his Senate office, they make business calls using the phone on the campaign bus. Media Matters:

Lobbyist fundraisers. Two of the co-chairmen of McCain's national finance committee were registered to lobby Congress as of year-end 2007 (the latest disclosure data available), and a third previously lobbied Congress. Another co-chairmen is one of Florida's "most powerful lobbyists" (St. Petersburg Times, 10/1/06). McCain's "top fundraising official" (Washington Post, 2/22/08), one of the two co-chairmen registered to lobby as of year-end 2007, is the founder of a prominent Washington lobbying firm that has made "millions inserting earmarks into spending bills" (Politico, 2/8/08).

McCain's reliance on lobbyist fundraisers, which according to Public Citizen includes 59 former and current lobbyist bundlers, follows a multi-year effort by McCain of "reaching out to K Street to strengthen his national fundraising network" (The Hill, 3/8/06).

• Lobbyist advisers and staffers. At least 24 McCain staffers or advisers were either registered to lobby Congress (as of year-end 2007) or were previously lobbyists, according to a Media Mattersreview. Former and current federally registered lobbyists include McCain's campaign manager, deputy campaign manager, chief political adviser, senior policy adviser, more than half a dozen economic policy advisers, and numerous national and state co-chairmen.

A June 2007 Huffington Post report by Tom Edsall on lobbyist staff and advisers to McCain found that while "lobbyists are playing key roles in both Democratic and Republican bids ... all the campaigns pale in comparison to McCain's, whose rhetoric stands in sharp contrast to his conduct."

So when it comes to lobbyists, America needs a constant reminder of the rebranded Straight Talk Express.

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