Carlos in DC: The campaign staff of John McCain are a bunch of corrupted lobbyists

It is the truth. These are not false accusations from Obama campaign ads. Read this post and see how important is your vote against McCain.

IT'S OVER

HIS FRIENDS

Richard “Rick” H. Davis
Campaign Manager

Davis lobbying firm – Davis, Manafort Inc. – has made at least $2.8 million lobbying Congress since 1998.” [Politico, 7/11/07]

Rick Davis, a partner in the lobbying firm Davis Manafort, currently serves as Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) campaign manager. (He managed McCain's 2000 campaign as well.) A former aide in the Reagan administration and the deputy manager of Sen. Bob Dole's (R-KS) 1996 campaign, Davis' dual role as a political operative and as a lobbyist has caused controversy. During the 2000 campaign, critics noted that two of the companies his firm represented, SBC Communications and Comsat, had controversial mergers pending at the Federal Communications Commission. The Senate Commerce Committee, which McCain chaired at the time, oversees the FCC. Davis tenure as head of the McCain-affiliated Reform Institute, where he solicited tens of thousands of dollars in contributions for the Institute from communications companies, has also come under scrutiny.

Davis earned $110,000 a year from the Institute while still serving as McCain top political advisor. Davis has faced other controversies as well. During the current campaign, rivals accused him of self-dealing, noting that the McCain campaign had hired a company he partly owns, 3eDC, to provide Internet services. Davis did not initially disclose his interest to McCain. Davis also came under fire recently when it was revealed that he had arranged a 2006 meeting between McCain and Russian aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska. Deripaska, critics noted, is not only one of the richest men in Russia and an ally of Vladimir Putin, but has also been linked to organized crime and had his American visa revoked. Nevertheless, Deripaska is not the only shady figure to benefit from close relations with Davis. Davis Manafort has also done political consulting for former Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich, who had close ties to Putin and was defeated in that country's 2004 Orange Revolution. Other recent lobbying clients include Verizon, GTECH, and Airborne Express.

For a complete look at Rick Davis' lobbying activities, please visit the non-partisan Center For Responsive Politics' money-in-politics database. Also read Davis’s profile at Mclobbyist.

Charles Black
Senior Advisor

Charlie Black of BKSH & Associates, a Bush Pioneer in 2004, is perhaps the most experienced and respected Republican lobbyist in Washington, D.C. He is a close friend of former president George H.W. Bush and has served as an adviser to presidents Reagan and George W. Bush, as well as working as official spokesman for the Republican National Committee. Recent reports about his work for Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) observed that, prior to taking a leave of absence, he did a lot of his lobbying work from the back of McCain's campaign bus. He certainly has had a lot of clients to manage, many of whom have pressing business in Washington. Over the years his client list has included Ahmed Chalabi and the Iraqi National Congress, Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party, the China National Off-Shore Oil Corp, Zaire dictator Mobutu Sese Seko and Angolan rebel Jonas Savimbi. Black has also said that he sees great opportunities for lobbyists in Iraq and has considered opening up a branch of his office there. "Is there too much cronyism?" he asked, referring to Iraq. "I just wish I could find the cronies."

For a complete look at Charlie Black's lobbying activities, please visit the non-partisan Center For Responsive Politics’ money-in-politics database. Also read Black’s profile at Mclobbyist.

William “Phil” Philip Gramm
Economic Advisor and architect of McCain Economic Plan

Phil Gramm, a former Republican senator from Texas, currently serves as vice chairman of investment firm UBS Warburg. His role advising Sen. McCain on economic policy has recently been criticized for two reasons: he was largely responsible for the lax regulations that led to the Enron debacle, and his current employer has been embroiled in the subprime mortgage crisis. In 2004, Gramm encountered criticism from Texas Democrats for supposed illegal lobbying for a plan to bail out the state's teacher pension fund. According to critics, Gramm failed to register as a lobbyist before taking up the issue. Gramm's name has come up in other scandals as well.

During the 2006 corruption trial of Republican Illinois Gov. George Ryan, Ryan accused Gramm's congressional staff of giving thousands of dollars in donations to Ryan in exchange for an endorsement for Gramm's aborted 1996 presidential campaign. Asked about the propriety of such an arrangement, Gramm said, "It's a difference between love and prostitution." Gramm was also tied into the collapse of Enron. His wife, Wendy Gramm, had served on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, where she helped write regulations that removed oversight of companies like Enron. She then took a seat on the company's board, while Enron employees gave $95,000 in contributions to Gramm's campaigns. Gramm's role as an economic advisor to the McCain campaign and his public presence on the campaign trail were both reduced in July after Gramm said the country was in a "mental recession" and had become a nation of "whiners." Gramm is no stranger to excessive fundraising. In 1996 in his failed run for the Republican presidential nomination, Gramm raised a then-record-setting $4.1 million at one event to kick off his campaign, at which he declared, "I have the most reliable friend you can have in American politics, and that's ready money." As a bundler, he has raised at least $100,000 for McCain's presidential campaign, according to information released by the campaign.

For a complete look at Phil Gramm's lobbying activities, please visit the non-partisan Center For Responsive Politics' money-in-politics database. Also read Gramm’s profile at Mclobbyist.

Randy Scheunemann
Chief Foreign Policy Advisor

Randy Scheunemann, a foreign policy advisor to Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign who heads Scheunemann & Associates, has worked on behalf of numerous high profile clients, including the National Rifle Association, Lockheed Martin and BP.

However, it is his work for Texas businessman Stephen Payne that has garnered the most attention. Two of Payne’s firms, Worldwide Strategic Partners Inc. and the Caspian Alliance, paid Scheunemann to lobby Congress, the State Department and the National Security Council on their behalf in connection to energy issues. According to The Sunday Times of London, Payne offered to give the former president of Kyrgyzstan access to President Bush and Vice President Cheney in exchange for a $250,000 donation to Bush’s presidential library and a $450,000 payment to his lobbying firm. Payne was recorded as saying that Scheunemann had been on his payroll for five of the past eight years. His work with Baltic countries has also included efforts on behalf of Georgia, which paid another Scheunemann firm, Orion Strategies, to help the former Soviet republic win admission to NATO. The firm met or spoke to McCain and his staff dozens of times between 2001 and 2008, and made regular political contributions to McCain’s campaign and PAC. The hard work apparently paid off: In 2006, McCain co-sponsored legislation encouraging Georgia’s admission to NATO, and he has been a vocal supporter of the country during his presidential campaign. Scheunemann was also a prominent supporter of invading Iraq, having served as a board member of the Project for a New American Century and a founder of the Committee for the Liberation of Iraq.

For a complete look at Randy Scheunemann’s lobbying activities, please visit the non-partisan Center For Responsive Politic s’ money-in-politics database. Also read Scheunemann’s profile at Mclobbyist.

Nancy Pfotenhauer
Senior Policy Advisor

Pfotenhauer lobbied on behalf of gas pipeline operator Koch Industries when it received the biggest civil fine in the history of the Clean Water Act for leaking 3 million gallons of oil into lakes and streams. Today she's McCain's senior policy adviser.

Pfotenhauer Lobbied for Koch Industries Until End of 2000 under her maiden name Nancy Mitchell as a member of its in-house government affairs department. Pfotenhauer’s Lobbying Focused On Pipeline Safety Standards. Most of Pfotenhauser’s lobbying was focused on gas pipelines, in particular safety issues. In 1999, she lobbied for a bill to make more valuable tax depreciation rules for natural gas gathering lines In 2000, she lobbied on a number of pipeline measure including: S.2004, a proposal to expand state authority on pipeline safety and establish new federal requirements to improve pipeline safety, as well as and S.2438, the (King & Tsiorvas) Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2000, which would also set new standards to ensure pipeline safety.

In January 2000, the Environmental Protection Agency reached “a landmark $35 million
settlement,” with Koch Industries, “one of the country’s largest oil pipeline operators.” In the “biggest civil fine ever levied under the Clean Water Act,” Koch “agreed to pay the penalties for leaking 3 million gallons of oil into lakes and streams in six states.” The EPA-Koch “settlement resolved two lawsuits charging that for years Koch’s pipeline subsidiary had left thousands of miles of pipeline in disrepair, leading to hundreds of oil leaks.” In official complaints, the government “Koch could have prevented most of the spills, caused mainly by corrosion, through prompt maintenance and safe operations.”

McCain Sponsored Pipeline Safety Bill on Which Pfotenhauer Lobbied. According to Senate records, McCain sponsored one of the pipeline bills on which Pfotenhauer lobbied, S.2438, the (King & Tsiorvas) Pipeline Safety Improvement Act in April of 2000. Pfotenhauer lobbied the House and Senate on a variety of issues relating to taxation, appropriations, and infrastructure. According to lobbying disclosures, Pfotenhauer lobbied on the estate tax; tax exempt private activity for highway infrastructure construction.

See Pfotenhauer’s profile at Mclobbyist.

Frank J. Donatelli
Deputy Chair of Republican National Committee

Frank Donatelli is Executive Vice President and Director of Public Affairs for McGuireWoods Consulting, a D.C. lobbying firm. He was previously a partner at another lobbying firm – Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld. Prior to his lucrative lobbying career, Donatelli served in the Reagan White House. Donatelli Lobbied for Telecom Companies with Business before McCain’s Committees. Senate Lobbying Disclosure records show that Frank Donatelli has lobbied for major telecommunications companies with business before the Senate Commerce Committee, which McCain chaired, including AT&T, Time Warner and Verizon.

Donatelli as Top Energy Lobbyist for energy company Dominion Resources, and on offshore drilling legislation, pipeline safety, and energy reform legislation. Also lobbyin on Yucca Mountain nuclear storage, oil industry tax credits, on Behalf of Exxon Until 1999, Earning Firm $780,000. He helped win approval of $81 Billion Exxon merger with Mobil, Which Created Largest Oil Company in the World. Donatelli Lobbied for AT &T in all policy issues relating to the telecommunications industry at the Senate Commerce Committee, of which McCain was chairman.

According to the American Prospect: “At a Washington fundraiser hosted by advisor Vin Weber, who lobbies for AT&T, McCain raised $ 120,000. A few days later, according to Associated Press reporter Jonathan Salant, McCain hinted that he would introduce a bill eliminating the role of the FCC in policing mergers. Then in May, after FCC Chairman William Kennard had said that AT&T’s purchase of MediaOne ‘warrants careful scrutiny,’ McCain introduced this bill. Within two weeks, McCain received 10 contributions of $ 1,000 from AT&T executives.” In October 1998, McCain raised another $25,800 from AT&T officials at a fund-raiser.” During this period, Donatelli was an AT&T lobbyist. Donatelli lobbying clients also have included industry giant Verizon. He also lobbied for HMO Blue Cross Blue Shield for a variety of topics included health related tax Legislation, Medicare & Medicaid, insurance regulation and health care mandates. Donatelli lobbied for pharmaceutical giant Pfizer on regulation of the use of certain antihistamines by operators of commercial vehicles. Another industry clients was the trade group PHRMA.

John Green
Capitol Hill liaison

John Green, managing director of Ogilvy Government Relations, is former deputy chief of staff to Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) and currently serves as the McCain campaign's liaison to congress. He has also served as executive director of the New Republican Majority Fund political action committee and as campaign manager for Rep. Chip Pickering (R-MS). Recent clients include AFLAC, Hess, Deutsche Post, UPS, Motorola, Verizon and the European Aeronautic Defense & Space Company (EADS). His work for EADS came under scrutiny recently after it was revealed that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) had written letters to the Defense Department asking it to reconsider a contracting requirement seen as disadvantageous to EADS. Shortly thereafter, the Defense Department made the requested change, and EADS eventually won the $35 billion contract to manufacture the next generation of in-flight refueling tanker planes. The Government Accountability Office later upheld Boeing's appeal and the project will be rebid. As a bundler, he has raised at least $50,000 for McCain's presidential campaign, according to information released by the campaign.

For a complete look at John Green's lobbying activities, please visit the non-partisan Center For Responsive Politics' money-in-politics database. Also see Green’s profile at Mclobbyist.

Wayne Berman
Vice-Chair, Advisor and Bundler, National Finance Co-Chairman

Wayne Berman, managing director of lobbying firm Ogilvy Government Relations, was a Pioneer for Bush in 2000 and a Ranger in 2004. A former assistant secretary in the Commerce Department during the Reagan administration, Berman managed Jack Kemp's vice presidential campaign in 1996. Since then he has established himself as one of Washington's most powerful and best-paid lobbyists. In 2007, the Washington Post reported that the $3.74 million in earnings Berman's firm received from a Chinese company hoping for federal approval to buy part of private equity firm Blackstone Group was the largest six-month lobbyist payday ever reported. Until recently, his wife, Lea Berman, was White House social secretary. She served previously as Lynne Cheney's chief of staff.

Among Berman's current clients are the American Petroleum Institute, AT&T, Chevron, Hess, Verizon and the European Aeronautic Defense & Space Company (EADS). His work for EADS came under scrutiny recently after it was revealed that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) had written letters to the Defense Department asking it to reconsider a contracting requirement seen as disadvantageous to EADS. Shortly thereafter, the Defense Department made the requested change, and EADS eventually won the $35 billion contract to manufacture the next generation of in-flight refueling tanker planes. The Government Accountability Office later upheld Boeing's appeal and the project will be rebid.

Berman has not shied away from controversy. He took a lead role in raising money for Scooter Libby's defense fund, and helped raise money for Rep. Tom DeLay's (R-TX) re-election committee after the congressman was indicted. "This is more than just a fundraiser," he said. "It's a way of saying that an important part of the Republican establishment supports Tom DeLay now and will continue to support him in the future." Berman is also well known in Connecticut for his relationship with Paul Silvester, a former state treasurer who pleaded guilty in 1999 to federal corruption charges related to his management of the state employees’ pension fund. During Silvester's tenure, he paid large "finder's fees" to Berman. Berman subsequently hired Silvester to work for his Park Strategies consulting firm. Federal investigators subpoenaed Berman's business records but no charges were filed. As a bundler, he has raised at least $500,000 for McCain's presidential campaign, according to information released by the campaign.

For a complete look at Wayne Berman's lobbying activities, please visit the non-partisan Center For Responsive Politics' money-in-politics database. Also see Berman’s profile in Mclobbyist.

Kirsten Chadwick
Top Fundraiser And Adviser

Kirsten Chadwick, a partner with lobbying firm Fierce Isakowitz & Blalock, is a former congressional liaison for President Bush well known for her vote-counting abilities on trade issues. Among her clients is the Business Roundtable, which hired her to assist with passage of the Central American Free Trade Agreement, and Peru, which hired her to assist with that country's 2006 trade agreement with the United States. Other current lobbying clients including the American Gaming Association, Coca Cola, MCI, Viacom and the European Aeronautic Defense & Space Company (EADS). Her work for EADS came under scrutiny recently after it was revealed that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) had written letters to the Defense Department asking it to reconsider a contracting requirement seen as disadvantageous to EADS. Shortly thereafter, the Defense Department made the requested change, and EADS eventually won the $35 billion contract to manufacture the next generation of in-flight refueling tanker planes. The Government Accountability Office later upheld Boeing's appeal and the project will be rebid.

For a complete look at Kirsten Chadwick's lobbying activities, please visit the non-partisan Center For Responsive Politics' money-in-politics database.

Vicki Hart
Member of Steering Committee

Alfonse D’Amato
Bundler

Peter Madigan
Fundraiser

Kevin Fay
Fundraiser

1. Aiken, Robert
2. Aldonas, Grant
3. Anderson, Phil
4. Anderson, Rebecca
5. Anderson, Stanton
6. Andres , Susan Auther
7. Aniboli, Paul
8. Asher, Robert
9. Asher, Robert
10. Bailey , William J. III
11. Baker , Howard
12. Ball, William
13. Beightol , David
14. Bentz, Rhonda
15. Berman, Wayne L.
16. Betts, Steven A.
17. Black, Charles
18. Black, Judy
19. Blalock, Kirk
20. Bonilla, Carlos
21. Brooks, Brian
22. Burgeson, Christine
23. Burgeson, Eric
24. Burnley , Jane
25. Buse, Mark
26. Calio, Nicholas
27. Cammack, Kerry
28. Campbell, Ben Nighthorse
29. Cantor, Andrew (Drew)
30. Cardenas, Alberto
31. Chadwick, Kirsten
32. Chamberlin, Robert
33. Charlton, Susan
34. Clerici, John
35. Cooper , Josephine “Jo”
36. Courter , James
37. Courter, John
38. Crane , David
39. Crank , Jeffrey
40. Crippen, Dan
41. Cullen , Richard
42. Culvahouse, Arthur
43. Cunningham, Bryan
44. D’Amato , Alfonse
45. Davenport, Doug
46. Davis, Ashley
47. Davis, Kurt
48. Davis, Rick
49. Dawson, Mimi
50. Diamond, John
51. Dick, Zimmer
52. Donatelli, Frank
53. Edwards, Melissa
54. Fay, Kevin
55. Ferry, Christian
56. Fidler, Chris
57. Fiorentino, T. Marty
58. Fisher, Robert
59. Furman , Sally
60. Furman, Harold/Hal
61. Gay, Laurance W.
62. Geduldig, Samuel
63. Ginsberg, Ben
64. Girard-Dicarlo, David
65. Glassner, Michael
66. Glover Weiss, Juleanna
67. Goldberg, Steve
68. Gorton , Slade
69. Gramm, Phil
70. Green, John
71. Grissom , Janet M.
72. Gullett, Wes
73. Gullott, Kristen
74. Hance, Kent
75. Harding, Robert
76. Hart, Vicki
77. Hartwell, Rob
78. Hawley, Buzz
79. Heubusch , John D.
80. Hilleary, William “Van”
81. Hohlt , Deborah
82. Hohlt, Richard
83. Hughey, Gaylord T.
84. Hull, Kate
85. Huntsman, Peter
86. Hutchinson , Asa
87. Hyland , James “Jim”
88. Jarvis, Aleix
89. Javdan, David,
90. Jenner Greg,
91. Johnson Edwin “Ned” II ,
92. Johnson Nancy,
93. Johnson, Mary Kate
94. Jones, Christine
95. Kahn, Charles
96. Keating Frank ,
97. Kilberg, William
98. Koch Christopher,
99. Kuykendall, Steven T.
100. Lesher William “Bill” ,
101. Lichtenstein, Jack
102. Loeffler, Tom
103. Lugar, Kelly
104. MacKinnon Gail ,
105. Madigan, Peter
106. Manaigo Aaron ,
107. Mann Mary ,
108. Martino Paul ,
109. McAuliffe Mary ,
110. McGovern, John
111. McIntyre, David
112. McKay, Michael
113. McKeag Jana ,
114. McKone, Timothy
115. McSlarrow , Alison
116. McSlarrow, Kyle
117. Meece, Mike
118. Metzner, David
119. Molinari, Susan
120. Moran, John A.
121. Munger, John F.
122. Nahigian Ken,
123. Nancy, Pfotenhauer
124. Napier John L.,
125. Nelson, Susan
126. Nick, Calio
127. Oliver, Jack
128. Otellini Paul ,
129. Perry Steve,
130. Pfautch Roy,
131. Phillips Steve,
132. Pickering-Finley, Elise
133. Pitts, James
134. Powers, Tim
135. Price Walter,
136. Principi, Anthony
137. Racy, Michael
138. Rappoport Sloan W. ,
139. Rickhoff, Hans
140. Ridge, Tom
141. Rill James ,
142. Roman Steve ,
143. Rudman Warren ,
144. Russell Phil P. ,
145. Salmon, Matt
146. Scheunemann, Randy
147. Shanahan Kathleen M. ,
148. Shore, Andrew
149. Skinner Samuel K,
150. Sotak, Sonya
151. Stahl Katie ,
152. Stanges Milly,
153. Suarez , Aquiles
154. Sundquist Don ,
155. Symington, Fife
156. Terpeluk Peter ,
157. Thompson Fred ,
158. Thompson Jeri,
159. Thurmond Strom Jr. ,
160. Timmons, John
161. Timmons, William
162. van Dongen, Dirk
163. Vennett David,
164. Villamil J. Antonio ,
165. Vin, Weber
166. Wagner, Raymond
167. Walcher Greg,
168. Weiss, Jeffery
169. Whitmore Martha “Marti” ,
170. Wiley, Richard
171. Wilkinson, Scott
172. William (Bill) J., Bailey
173. Williams, Tony
174. Williamson Richard ,
175. Woolsey James,
176. Wright Joseph ,
177. Zeidman, Fred

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