WASHINGTON, March 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is being issued
by the Democratic National Committee:
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 doesn't do political favors for friends.
Though John McCain has repeatedly claimed he took on Jack Abramoff and the
Republican culture of corruption, a recent story revealed that McCain covered
for his friend, Alabama Governor Bob Riley, who was fighting a tight
re-election battle at the time, by refusing to release key evidence that would
have linked Riley to the Abramoff scandal. Yesterday, Riley returned the favor
by endorsing McCain.
As chair of a committee conducting an investigation on Abramoff, McCain had
access to an incriminating email sent just one month after Riley was elected
to office detailing what Abramoff wanted Riley to do in return for the
contributions Abramoff's tribal clients directed toward his campaign. But
instead of including the email in his report on the Abramoff scandal, McCain
instead chose to withhold the email, shielding Riley from becoming implicated
in the scandal as he was waging a bitter fight to keep his seat, a race that
even Karl Rove became involved in. [Huffington Post, 2/25/08]
This cycle of quid pro quo seriously calls McCain's integrity into question
and is further evidence that the so-called "maverick" isn't the Washington
reformer he claims to be.
McCain: Abramoff Investigation Shows He Made Change. "Ask Jack Abramoff if I'm
an insider in Washington -- you'd probably have to go during visiting hours in
the prison -- and he'll tell you and his lobbyist cronies of the change I made
there." [Fox News Republican Debate, South Carolina, 1/10/2008]
McCain Didn't Investigate Republican Colleagues for Their Illegal or Unethical
Behavior. John McCain's Indian Affairs Committee hearings failed to go after
federal lawmakers who benefited from Jack Abramoff's lobbying. "McCain said
his committee continues to examine all the financial angles of where the $82
million ended up, as well as other political and charitable contributions the
tribes made at Abramoff's request. But he reiterated that he was following the
money trail, not the legislative actions taken by Members of Congress. 'We
stop when we find out where the money went,' he said." [Roll Call, 3/10/05]
McCain Acknowledged That Some Legislators Had Committed "Wrongdoing," But
Refused To Investigate. Asked if he believed that some legislators had
committed a crime related the Abramoff scandal, Senator McCain said "There's
strong evidence that there was significant wrongdoing, but I'm not a judge or
jury," and refused to investigate his colleagues in Congress, saying "I will
not, because I'm a chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee. This was brought
to our--this whole thing started--was brought to us--attention by some
disgruntled tribal council members in a small tribe in Louisiana, and we took
it as far as we thought was our responsibility, which is where the money ends
up." [NBC, Meet the Press, 12/4/05]
Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee,
http://www.democrats.org.
This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's
committee.
SOURCE Democratic National Committee
Damien LaVera of DNC, +1-202-863-8148
