DNC to release "daily fact" about John McCain. Also FEC letter proves McCain wrong...

[madfloridian]

when he denies being wrong in what he did about the loan. Yesterday he said he had no guilt because Dean did it and Kerry did it. Wrong.

First, the daily fact:

: McCain Myth Buster: John McCain and Public Financing

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 -- After casting himself as a "Maverick" in 2000, the new John McCain is walking in lockstep with President Bush, pandering to the right wing of the Republican Party, and embracing the ideology he once denounced. On the campaign trail McCain has callously abandoned many of his previously held positions, even contradicted himself, in a blatant attempt to remake himself into a candidate Republicans can accept in 2008. So just who is the real John McCain? The Democratic National Committee will present a daily fact aimed at exposing the man behind the myth.

Today's McCain Myth: John McCain is withdrawing from the public financing system in the same way as other candidates.

To distract from his efforts to unilaterally withdraw from the campaign finance system he once supported, John McCain's campaign is arguing he is withdrawing from the matching funds program in the same way as previous presidential candidates. The fact is, John McCain is breaking the law by trying to unilaterally withdraw from the public financing system after having used the promise of matching funds as collateral for a loan as well as getting on the ballots in some states.

Unlike the McCain campaign, which claims it did not need permission from the FEC to withdraw from the matching funds program despite knowing this to not be the case, Governor Dean actually received a letter from the FEC releasing him from the system, saying "the Commission has withdrawn its certification to the Secretary of the Treasury that Howard Dean and Dean for America ('the Committee') are entitled to a payment from the Presidential Primary Matching Account. Please note that both you and the Committee will no longer be bound by the terms of the candidate agreement." In contrast, the FEC sent McCain a letter last week that says he cannot withdraw from the system until he has received approval from the FEC.

Truth matters, John McCain.

More on the topic of McCain and his using Dean as an excuse for his wrongdoing.

Newly Released FEC Letter Proves McCain Campaign Not Being Truthful

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 --The Democratic National Committee today released a 2003 letter from the Federal Election Commission that shows that John McCain and his campaign are playing fast and loose with the facts to justify its decision to break the law by unilaterally withdrawing from the FEC's matching funds program. The FEC requires approval before withdrawing from the public financing system.

The McCain campaign has argued that it does not need permission to withdraw from the FEC's matching funds program, claiming that previous campaigns have done the same thing, specifically citing Governor Dean's 2003 campaign. Just yesterday, Senator McCain said, "We're doing exactly what Howard Dean did in a previous election and what the FEC ruled in the case of Congressman Gephardt."

But McCain and his campaign are not telling the whole truth. They refuse to admit that unlike McCain, the Dean campaign followed the law and received written permission from the FEC to withdraw from the public financing system. Additionally, the FEC approved the Dean campaign's request to withdraw because Dean had not yet received any public funds and had not used matching funds as collateral to secure a private loan, a condition the McCain campaign has already violated.

"Clearly John McCain is willing to mislead the American people on everything from the war in Iraq to his campaign's failure to follow campaign finance laws," said DNC Communications Director Karen Finney. "This is a cynical ploy on the part of Senator McCain and his campaign. They should either produce their own letter from the FEC releasing them from the public financing system they signed on to, or stop distorting the truth and admit that they're wrong."

The right wing bloggers have been going nuts using the excuse that others did it. Not like McCain, they did not.

[zbdent]

1. even at two a day ...

there may not be enough days left in the world to expose McCain's lies and flipflops ...

[madfloridian]

2. Dean on CNN this morning about it. Says "he did it, too" is not a defense.

Raw Story video as well as article:

Dean says McCain poses as a reformer

"Thirdly," Dean continued, "the thing that's most disturbing about all this is, when you're running for president of the United States, to defend yourself by saying 'he did it too' is not a defense. We want John McCain to obey the law. Otherwise, you may as well call it the Feingold Act, not the McCain-Feingold Act."

CNN's John Roberts pointed out that the McCain campaign is denying it used the matching funds as collateral for the loan. Roberts quoted a letter from Fidelity Bank's attorneys saying, "The bank does not now have, not did it ever receive from the committee, a security interest in any certification of matching funds."

"That's not the same thing as saying they didn't use it as collateral," Dean replied. "All you have to do is promise to get the public financing in order to use it as collateral. That's not the same thing as a security interest."

"Niggling around the edges is exactly what John McCain does," Dean concluded. "He says one thing and does something else. He's done it on earmarks. ... He poses as a politician who's not like that, and in fact he is like that. ... He needs to obey the law, particularly since he's posed as a reformer for all these years

He also mentioned that he thinks we will have a candidate in a few weeks. Asked about a brokered convention, he says he a "little" worried, but not too much.

[Supersedeas]

3. I'm guessing that Tweety and Russert will not dare touch this

[madfloridian]

4. Probably they won't. I don't link to Michelle Malkin...

but she is having hissyfits about the Dean and Kerry did it too thing.

She really does get her nose out of joint a lot.

[madfloridian]

5. Here's the You Tube video of Dean on CNN today setting facts straight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxEISyjRpU4