1115.org

John McCain, the world-famous lobbyist-hater whose campaign bus is lined with wall-to-wall lobbyists (some of whom have actually conducted their high-powered lobbying from the campaign bus), has finally been forced to stop pretending that he has no truck with lobbyists. In fact, he has now frankly admitted that he has so many lobbyists crawling all over his campaign, that he needs to start regulating his army of in-house lobbyists:

“1.) No person working for the Campaign may be a registered lobbyist or foreign agent, or receive compensation for any such activity.

“2.) Part-time volunteers for the Campaign must disclose to the Campaign any status as registered lobbyists or foreign agents. Such persons are prohibited from involvement in any Campaign policy-making on the subjects on which they are registered, including service on policy task forces or participation in policy discussions on those subjects. Such persons are also prohibited from lobbying Senator McCain or his Senate personal office or committee staffs during the period they are volunteering for the campaign.

“3.) No person with a McCain Campaign title or position may participate in a 527 or other independent entity that makes public communications that support or oppose any presidential candidate.

“4.) No vendor to the McCain Campaign may also be a vendor to a 527 or other independent entity that makes public communications that support or oppose any presidential candidate without a pre-approved firewall pursuant to FEC regulations.

“5.) Senator McCain has also announced that it will be his policy that anyone serving in a McCain Administration must commit not to lobby the Administration during his presidency.”

What does this mean for all these lobbyists running working for the McCain campaign?

Well, it means, for example, that senior campaign strategist and chief political adviser Charles Black can go on being involved in campaign policy-making today — including service on policy task forces and participation in policy discussions — since he has temporarily stepped back from his career as a high-powered lobbyist.

The important thing is that John McCain can stand up today in front of an audience or a TV camera and say that Charlie Black is “not in the lobbying business; (he’s) been out of that business”.

And tomorrow? Charlie Black (who the WP says “has made a lucrative career of shuttling back and forth between presidential politics and big-time Washington lobbying”) doesn’t even have to commit to not lobbying the McCain Administration tomorrow (if McCain were ever to be elected President). All persons with a McCain Campaign title or position today are free to lobby the McCain Administration tomorrow.

And all those pro bono lobbyists can claim their quid pro quo just as soon as McCain is elected president and they go back to being full-time lobbyists. The John McCain Campaign Official Conflict-of-Interest Policy only forbids them from “lobbying Senator McCain or his Senate personal office or committee staffs during the period they are volunteering for the campaign”.

In fact, if any of these pro bono lobbyists is not too sanguine about the prospects of McCain being elected president, the John McCain Campaign Official Conflict-of-Interest Policy allows them to resign their volunteer positions with the campaign now, and cash in their goodwill by lobbying “Senator McCain or his Senate personal office or committee staffs” right away.

Remember Doug Goodyear, the McCain-appointed manager of the Republican National Convention who was forced to resign because his lobbying firm had once represented the Burmese junta? Or Doug Davenport, the regional campaign manager who had to quit because he had actually worked on the Burmese junta account? And how about Craig Shirley, who had to be fired under the new policy because he was simultaneously working for an anti-Clinton 527 group? Also fired under the new policy: Eric Burgeson, “an energy policy advisor who lobbies the federal government on behalf of energy clients”, as well as national finance co-chair Tom Loeffler, a long time lobbyist for Saudi Arabia.

Well, the silver lining in their clouds is that, as per the McCain Campaign Official Conflict-of-Interest Policy, it’s perfectly okay for them to now be lobbying “Senator McCain or his Senate personal office or committee staffs”. He’s St. John the Ethical, and he approves of this policy.