Files and McCain Letter Show Effort to Keep Loophole

[TacticalPeek]

Source: NYT

February 23, 2008
Files and McCain Letter Show Effort to Keep Loophole
By STEPHEN LABATON

WASHINGTON — In late 1998, Senator John McCain sent an unusually blunt letter to the head of the Federal Communications Commission, warning that he would try to overhaul the agency if it closed a broadcast ownership loophole.

The letter, and two later ones signed by Mr. McCain, then chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, urged the commission to abandon plans to close a loophole vitally important to Glencairn Ltd., a client of Vicki Iseman, a lobbyist. The provision enabled one of the nation’s largest broadcasting companies, Sinclair, to use a marketing agreement with Glencairn, a far smaller broadcaster, to get around a restriction barring single ownership of two television stations in the same city.

At a news conference on Thursday, Mr. McCain denounced an article in The New York Times that described concerns by top advisers a decade ago about his ties to Ms. Iseman, a partner at the firm Alcalde & Fay. He said he never had any discussions with his advisers about Ms. Iseman and never did any favors for any lobbyist.

...

To the extent the F.C.C. shows itself incapable of following Congressional intent,” the letter said, “these issues will become part of our overall review of the commission’s functions and structure during the next session of Congress.”



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/23/us/politics/23lobby.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&ref=us&pagewanted=print&adxnnlx=1203740249-JdAiA/9Dd+KGuuZ+NdLfCw

---

No, I wouldn't call that romance.

[gateley]

1. Oops. Now we get to the important issue at hand. McCain can be bought - even if

the payoff isn't in dollars.

[Supersedeas]

15. that has always been the issue -- the two faces of McCain

[truthisfreedom]

2. rethug business as usual.

[Warren Stupidity]

3. This is getting very ugly.

I'm starting to think that the far out theories of just two days ago that McCame wasn't going to make it to the reknucklian convention are starting to not look quite so lunatic.

[BearSquirrel2]

8. What's going to stop him ...

Even with these apparent ethics breaches, it is still EXTREMELY unlikely that Huckabee could catch him. Huckabee would have to sweep. McCain would have to step aside of his own volition.

My guess is that this stuff is coming from the conservatives. They do NOT like McCain. They do NOT want him redirecting their party back to the center, however far McCains center is from the left. So you feed the NYTimes, allow him to sink him and then blame the liberal media for McCain losing instead of Rush Limbaugh et al. who have been bashing McCain for months.

[MADem]

4. NYT isn't giving up --- they have a new article up about his AZ campaign co-chair getting indicted

today. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/23/washington/23renzi.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin

WASHINGTON — Representative Rick Renzi, Republican of Arizona, was indicted this week by a federal grand jury on 35 counts of corruption, including fraud, money laundering, extortion and other crimes, federal prosecutors said Friday.

Federal prosecutors said Mr. Renzi had sought to enrich himself and to finance his re-election campaigns in part by selling fraudulent insurance policies.

In a 26-page indictment, prosecutors charged that Mr. Renzi abused the power of his office by forcing constituents to buy land from a man who was his secret business partner in exchange for Mr. Renzi’s support for legislation. The partner funneled $733,000 in proceeds from the sale to Mr. Renzi, prosecutors said.

Mr. Renzi, who is an Arizona co-chairman of Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign, had been under investigation for more than two years and announced last August that he would not seek re-election this November to a fourth term.

As soon as the indictment was announced, Democrats began circulating a statement in which Mr. McCain, of Arizona, praised Mr. Renzi’s “honesty and integrity” while urging voters to re-elect him in 2006.

Mr. Renzi’s lawyers issued a statement proclaiming his innocence.

“Congressman Renzi did nothing wrong,” said the lawyers, Reid H. Weingarten and Kelly B. Kramer. “We will fight these charges until he is vindicated and his family’s name is restored.”

[UpInArms]

5. well, okay, but when did just reporting actual news become a hit on a politician?

Renzi was found guilty, was McCain's co-chair, McCain was Renzi's supporter - but reporting that is a "hit job"?

I'm confused :shakesheadtoclearcobwebs:

McCain is just a piece of lowlying slime from the GOP - he has somehow managed to have a bit of military teflon (basically earned by being a POW) that didn't make him a statesman or particularly aligned with anything but lining his own pockets and acting like he's a hero ala Duke Cunningham.

[BearSquirrel2]

9. A Bush appointee's "hit job"

Yeah, Bush is appointing liberal activist prosecutors with hit lists against Republicans.

Bush's biggest mistake was probably that he actually DID appoint Republicans with integrity who ended up embarrassing him (like Colin Powell). He turned to these individuals to prop up his own legitimacy and ultimately they found Bush and the GOP culture of wanton corruption wanting.

[MADem]

10. Well, I didn't say it was a "hit job." However, the point is evident

that the wingnuts and the "base" of the GOP will see it as that. And that's good news for Johnny.

Getting attacked by the NYT is a badge of honor. To those clowns, they see it as an indicator that the person being attacked is well and truly conservative, and is being taken down by "LIBRUL" forces...

McCain is way more complex than Cunningham. Cunningham was a vicious blowhard who flew jets, and who was on the take for years. McCain, though prone to temper, is much more nuanced, far better educated despite his near rock bottom standing in his graduating class, and has an entirely different career trajectory.

Not to say he hasn't pulled some shady deals, but they're not the same at all.

[Eric J in MN]

13. A Vote for McCain is a Vote for Media Monopoly. NT

NT

[boilinmad]

6. I know, mr. mccain....

.....use your party's favorite response, "I dont recall"...it works every time !!

[BearSquirrel2]

7. Ouch, before we had just motive ..

Ouch, before we just had a smoking gun. Now we have a body. This story has legs!!!! The Republicans are SOOOO screwed!!!!

[Supersedeas]

16. the GoP/Media Establishment will make this go away--Tweety et al will have no part of the truth

[fascisthunter]

11. McCain is as Corrupt as the Rest of These GOP Scumbags

the corporate political party using homophobia, bigotry and guns to win votes because they have nothing else to offer people but knee-jerk shit that hits a nerve with ignorant folks.

[Doctor_J]

12. Another Obama campaign commercial writes itself

"John McCain - just as corrupt as George Bush"

[Star]

14. Was the first article thin on purpose?

The very first article that the NYT ran about the McCain/Iseman connection seemed so thin. Many, many people wondered why they printed it.

Yet, everytime McCain tries to deflect the issue away from himself, the NYT comes out with just a little bit more that shows McCain to be...well...less than truthful, shall we say.

This is sort of like watching a tennis match. You're serve, Mr. McCain.