McCain Myth Buster: John McCain and The Law
April 14, 2008
John McCain has staked his maverick image in part on his alleged support for campaign finance reform. But when it comes to his own campaign, he has repeatedly tried to buck campaign finance laws for his own political gain.
In fact, McCain has violated campaign finance laws on multiple occasions during his presidential run. First, he took out a private loan to fund his failing campaign using the promise of public matching funds as collateral for the loan. Then, he unilaterally tried to withdraw from the public funding system, a move the chair of the FEC told McCain was against the rules. After all this, the candidate decided to ignore spending limits in the primary and by continuing to spend millions of dollars in contributions from donors, lobbyists, and the special interests, he may be breaking the law on a daily basis.
Why does John McCain think the law applies to everyone except himself?
McCain Used Public Financing As Collateral For Private Loan. As reported by the Washington Post, "John McCain's cash-strapped campaign borrowed $1 million from a Bethesda bank two weeks before the New Hampshire primary by pledging to enter the public financing system if his bid for the presidency faltered, newly disclosed records show." [Washington Post, 2/16/08]
FEC Says McCain Cannot Withdraw From Public Financing System. According to the New York Times, the FEC release a letter in February that "said Mr. McCain could not withdraw from public financing until he had answered questions about a $4 million line of credit for borrowing that was secured, in part, in December by the promise of federal matching money." [New York Times, 2/22/08]
McCain Surpasses Spending Caps. Reports filed in March showed "Sen. John McCain has officially broken the limits imposed by the presidential public financing system," according to the Washington Post, and that McCain had spent $58.4 million during the primaries, even though candidates who commit to public financing can spend no more than $54 million. [Washington Post's The Trail Blog, 3/21/08]
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.
