McCain Campaign Defends Against Democratic Charges
On a conference call Team McCain made their case for why they’re free and clear to drop out of the matching funds program. At the same time they took shots at Dr. Howard Dean and Sen. Barack Obama.
Campaign Manager Rick Davis said the whole reason the DNC filed their complaint with the FEC was to divert attention away from Obama softening his position about taking public financing in the general election. He stated the only candidate he knew who broke a campaign finance promise was Obama. Davis noted the irony of Dr. Dean complaining about McCain withdrawing from the matching funds program when he did the same thing in 2003. The only difference was the FEC voted. (More on that in a bit.)
This line of attack from the DNC also goes after McCain on ethics. Davis said he would be “happy to debate ethical standards” and ethics reform “all day.” (Imagine how boring that campaign would be.) He then went into describing how McCain spent significant political capital to pass McCain-Feingold, investigate Jack Abramoff, and fight off the Boeing tanker lease boondoggle. McCain did this despite upsetting fellow Republicans.
Davis went on to say Sen. McCain should get “credit” for being up front and open about whether or not he would take federal matching funds. He said the Senator has always said that could be an option for his campaign.
To get into the details of legal issues was former FEC chairman and campaign counsel Trevor Potter. It’s his legal opinion that McCain’s withdrawl letter to the FEC was “self-operating” meaning no action is needed from the FEC. He’s confident that even if the FEC had a quorum they would approve McCain’s request. He bases this on not reading anything in the statutes that requires the FEC to act.
As for a bank loan Potter stated plainly the bank didn’t consider the federal matching funds as collateral.
But could have McCain gotten the loan without the possibility that matching funds could be tapped? Potter said that was “hypothetical” and would require reading the minds of the bankers. Davis added that the campaign wanted to be up front with the bank about their financial situation. That’s why they mentioned the matching funds.
That leads to another question: How did McCain get an additional $1 million without additional collateral? Potter explained that was due to the campaign’s improving fundraising ability.
Another Democratic talking point is McCain materially benefited from entering the matching funds program by getting on the Ohio and Delaware ballots automatically. Potter said he “doesn’t see legal issue” because the FEC has never prevented a state from using matching fund eligibility to allow a candidate on the ballot.
Not surprisingly the lack of an FEC quorum came up. Davis went after Obama for putting a hold on Hans Von Spakovsky’s nomination. He wants the media to ask why he’s “paralyzed” the Presidential campaign.
It’s apparent the first scuffle in the general election between McCain and Obama is campaign finance. It’s an odd issue in that it’s not on voters’ radar screens. Yet each campaign wants to use it to go after each other’s integrity. Obama may yearn for a new kind of politics, but this early skirmish is right out of the old playbook.
Additional coverage:
UPDATE: Former FEC Chairman Bradley Smith looks at the entire campaign finance mess from McCain’s legal wranglings to Obama’s Senate hold.
Another fine accomplishment in campaign stenography, Sean.