McCainâ??s Lingering FEC Problem

[Zimzum]

McCain also used the fact he was receiving public funding to get on many state ballots without collecting signatures. Even if he gets out of the public funding he faces all new legal problems as to the legitimacy of his name being on those state ballots. :thumbsup:

McCainâ??s Lingering FEC Problem

McCain won a clean sweep of the four March 4th Republican states, but in order to arrive at the RNC convention with a fighting chance against the eventual Democratic nominee John McCain needs to be able to withdraw from the Federal matching funds program.

If he is not released from the Federal funding program McCain is subject to spending limits that would lead to his campaign being outspent by Democrats at a ratio of 10 to 1.

The road to leaving the program is going to be a long and difficult one for McCain, despite what his lawyers would like the public to believe.

McCain was declared eligible for the matching funds program last summer, and he kept the door open to receiving funds all the way through Fall and up until just before Super Tuesday when he notified the FEC that he wished to withdraw from the program.

The FEC chairman David Mason then responded to McCainâ??s request with a letter, which McCainâ??s campaign received on February 19th , which stated that he can not officially leave the federal program until the FEC officially rules on his case and releases him.

Now the case itself (which hinges on the terms of a loan McCain received from a Florida bank and whether or not eventual federal funds were used by McCain as collateral thus trapping him in the federal program) is not a certainty although McCainâ??s lawyers are declaring that the loan is not an issue.

Some legal experts say that the McCain team is on shaky legal ground. The problem is that no candidate has been this manipulative of the system before, so there is no firm legal precedent. McCainâ??s legal team has simply stated that federal matching funds are constitutional because they are voluntary; implying it should also be voluntary to leave the program, but Chairman Mason disagrees.

Even assuming that McCain would be able to get the FEC board to rule in his favor, the biggest problem he is having right now is getting the case heard and ruled upon at all.

This is because the FEC is made up of a board of six seats, all of which are nominated by the President and approved by the Senate. Currently only two seats are filled. President Bush has nominated four, but the Senate is in gridlock about how to vote on the nominees. The Republican minority wants all four nominees to be approved or disapproved as a single group, either all in or all out. And the Democratic leadership wants individual hearings on each nominee. The reason for this is that the Senate Democrats point to one nominee in particular, Hans von Spakovsky, who they say has a questionable ethical record.

So right now, while the Senate is in gridlock, McCain is making the decision to charge forward like there is no problem; this strategy could work out several ways. One scenario would eventually see at least 4 of the 6 FEC board seats filled, allowing for a quorum that rules in McCainâ??s favor releasing McCain from federal spending limits. In a different scenario the FEC board is not seated for several more weeks or even months, and by the time they rule McCain has already exceeded federal spending limits, and if they rule against him, he would have broken the law. The catch is that McCainâ??s lawyers can argue until they are blue in the face about whether or not he should be allowed out of the federal funding program based on the terms of the loan, but it is an extremely clear cut rule that McCain has to wait to go over the spending limit until the FEC holds a quorum to officially release him with their legal decision. If the FEC board rules against him after he has already exceeded federal spending limits he would be facing criminal charges and a large fine that would be a huge black eye for his candidacy.

Regardless of what the final outcome of the case is, one thing is certain, McCain has gone from the straight talk express to being bunkered down with a team of lawyers to fight his way out of a shady deal that is justifiably being labeled by Democrats as unethical.

Zimzum Reviewed by Zimzum on 03-06-2008. McCainâ??s Lingering FEC Problem McCain also used the fact he was receiving public funding to get on many state ballots without collecting signatures. Even if he gets out of the public funding he faces all new legal problems as to the legitimacy of his name being on those state ballots. :thumbsup: McCainâ??s Lingering FEC Problem McCain won a clean sweep of the four March 4th Republican states, but in order to arrive at the RNC convention with a fighting chance against the eventual Democratic nominee John McCain needs Rating: 5

[Psycho4Bud]

LOL.....so the Ron Paulies are merging with the Dem network now. Let's see what CNN has to say:

(CNN) â?? John McCain will turn down government matching funds for his primary campaign, a move that frees the Arizona senator and campaign finance reform advocate from spending caps.

In a letter to the Federal Elections Commission Monday, the presumptive Republican nominee wrote he will "make no requests for matching payments, and will not accept matching-fund payments, including the initial amounts and other amounts certified by the Federal Election Commission in connection with previous submissions."

McCain had asked to participate in the system, in a last ditch effort to keep his cash-poor campaign alive. In December, the FEC said he was eligible for $5.8 million. But had he accepted that money, McCain would have only been allowed to spend about $54 million total on his primary campaign, according to the Associated Press.

McCain is still eligible to accept federal matching funds for his general election campaign.
CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time Blog Archive - McCain turns down FEC matching funds « - Blogs from CNN.com

We all know that bad news sells.....since this isn't front line, I'll consider the news source in your link as enough. Ya gotta take the money to close the deal ya know.

Have a good one!:s4:

[Zimzum]

LOL.....so the Ron Paulies are merging with the Dem network now.

I won't support a Democrat just as I wont support McCain. However I would rather see a socialist as president in '08. Why? Because I want them to run this economy so far down into the ground that amarica wakes up an realizes we can't pay for everything and everyone. The US dollar is losing value everyday. Gold is around $1000/oz now and will only go up as we keep spending.

Ya gotta take the money to close the deal ya know.

Have a good one!:s4:

This from the guy who claimed Ron Paul excepted these funds and criticized him for it. Now its somehow ok for McCain to not only except these funds but lie to get on ballots and get loans based on the assumption he was to receive matching funds.


McCain FEC Deception Continues: New Documents Reveal Campaign Misleads on Kentucky Ballot Application

WASHINGTON, Feb 27, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Facing questions about whether the campaign leveraged eligibility for public matching funds to gain access to the ballot in several states, the McCain campaign yesterday sunk to a new low. For days the McCain campaign has been playing fast and loose with the facts surrounding McCain's FEC violations. On a call with reporters yesterday, the McCain campaign erroneously stated that the campaign was getting on the Kentucky ballot by collecting signatures. [Wall Street Journal, 2/27/08]

The Democratic National Committee today released documents that show the McCain campaign did not file for the Kentucky ballot by collecting signatures, but by demonstrating that he had qualified for the ballot in at least 20 other states. One of the states the campaign cited was Delaware. As the DNC revealed yesterday, McCain qualified for the Delaware ballot by citing the FEC's approval of his application for matching funds, thereby avoiding the need to collect signatures.

"Not only does John McCain think that he can violate the law by leveraging public funds for private fundraising, but his campaign is clearly willing to mislead in order to cover their tracks," said DNC Communications Director Karen Finney. "How can the American people trust John McCain when he is unwilling to admit he's wrong and follow the law?"

Since the DNC filed its complaint with the FEC on Monday, the McCain campaign has tried to mislead the public by claiming they were withdrawing from the matching funds program in the same way the Dean campaign did in 2003. In fact, unlike McCain, the Dean campaign received FEC approval for withdrawing from the system. McCain's campaign has also refused to admit that the FEC's approval of his application for matching funds helped the campaign secure a private loan and get on the ballot in some states, even though their ballot applications clearly demonstrate that qualifying for matching funds helped them avoid signature collection requirements in Ohio and Delaware.

To view John McCain's application for the Kentucky ballot, click here: http://www.democrats.org/page/-/pdf/...pplication.pdf

The McCain campaign's application for the Delaware ballot, which relies on his qualification for matching funds, is available on the DNC website at: http://www.democrats.org/page/-/pdf/...6_McCainCF.pdf

To view McCain's application for the Ohio ballot, click here:

-- http://www.democrats.org/page/-/pdf/...mccain_ltr.pdf

-- http://www.democrats.org/page/-/pdf/...cainfiling.pdf

-- http://www.democrats.org/page/-/pdf/...rgeexample.pdf

The FEC's December 2003 letter to the Dean campaign approving his request to withdraw from the matching funds program can be viewed here: http://www.democrats.org/page/-/pdf/...permission.pdf

John McCain has refused to acknowledge that the FEC has not approved his request to withdraw from the matching funds program.

Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee, The Democratic Party. This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

SOURCE Democratic National Committee

[Psycho4Bud]

This from the guy who claimed Ron Paul excepted these funds and criticized him for it. Now its somehow ok for McCain to not only except these funds but lie to get on ballots and get loans based on the assumption he was to receive matching funds.

LOL....I was just hoping that tax dollars weren't being wasted on some assclown to run around the country getting 5% or less of the vote. There comes a time when reality has to set in.....so how many delegates is he up to, 9? LOL

SOURCE Democratic National Committee

Is this the same agreement that Obama decided to abandon?
McCain scolds Obama on campaign funds - Decision '08 - MSNBC.com

Have a good one!:s4: