McCain campaign apparently violates donor policy (from the Politico)
We all knew McCain had bootstrapped his campaign from near-bankruptcy earlier this summer. The campaign was bragging about this after their NH 1st place showing, talking about how they’d pledged their donor list to a bank for a loan. Here’s what was reported at the Politico yesterday:
Back on the plane, he [McCain campaign manager Rick Davis] reiterated that they had not accepted federal matching funds nor used anticipated receipt of funds to guarantee the line of credit they took out late last year to keep their campaign afloat.
The collateral, Davis said, was their fundraising list. The windfall from selling or leasing such a list was sufficient to get them their cash.”
I wondered at the time whether that was a great idea, and whether donors would be happy about their private, confidentially-given information being pledged to a bank, sold or leased.
Now we find out that McCain’s actions likely violated his own privacy policy. That’s the form you get in the mail saying what the recipient of your private info, like on a credit card application, plans to do with it. I believe the content of these policies is voluntary, meaning you can sell info, you just have to tell people your plans. McCain apparently didn’t. Here’s what McCain’s policy says, in bold in the original: “We will not sell your personal information.”
According to the related story at Politico, the McCain campaign is spinning the angle that “it’s customary” and that all the campaign’s assets were pledged. While that’s likely true, a struggling political campaign’s only valuable asset is the donor list, which would suggest that the campaign, likely with John’s awareness, was probably offering their donors’ private info to one or more banks in trying to get that loan. And while it’s customary to pledge assets to banks when repayment is iffy, it’s also customary for banks to foreclose when loans aren’t repaid, which was a real danger at the time. It looks like the campaign either wilfully violated their own policy or didn’t read their own fine print. Or maybe McCain will try to walk the tightrope that is the semantic difference between “sell” and “pledge.” Perhaps John should have called a lawyer…
January 11th, 2008 at 12:05 am
It seems to me McCain and Huckabee are good at getting around their ethical issues.
I don’t think Romney got treated fairly in tonights debate. Chris Wallace began a question attacking his record and he did not do that to any other candidate. Chris Wallace remarked to senator McCain that Romney was taking a more positive tone than the one he uses on the campaign trail. Maybe Ron Paul got a little of that but once again I think the media Fox news is piling on and trying to create an image of Romney that is not fair. If you agree, please complain at fox news.
January 11th, 2008 at 2:28 am
I think it’s important to track these things, but Romney should not make this an issue - it would come across petty and it’s unnecessary.
Hang McCain with McCain-Kennedy. It’s one of the worst pieces of legislation to come along in years and McCain’s a legislator! If you track McCain’s rise and fall, it’s directly tied to illegal immigration.
Don’t run the contrast ads like in Iowa and NH - those were a good idea but they didn’t reach people.
Instead, put together news clips of that debate last summer. Take SC voters back in time to remember how angry they were about McCain, Bush, Lindsey Graham, for several reasons:
1 - The legislation was negotiated in private with Kennedy and La Raza and then fast tracked in the Senate to ram it down our throats before Congress or the folks read the bill.
2 - The approval rating of Congress fell sharply. Mitt needs to link the country’s historic dissapproval of Congress with leaders in Congress (McCain, Thompson, Clinton and Obama). If they were such good leaders, why does the country think they’re failing?
3 - Remind people what McCain proposed in that bill. Don’t use the word amnesty – it complicates things. Just play news clips that remind people that most illegals in this country would have received legal status the day after it became law, that they would have received benefits, etc.
4 – Remind people that Lindsay Graham called them bigots for rejecting amnesty (don’t use the word) and he’s now supporting John McCain.
5 - end with positive ads that explain Romney’s plan. Some clips of his answers in the Sunday NH debate would be great.
Finally – Romney should never again say he’ll look at each individual illegal immigrant. It brings to mind for most people a vast bureaucracy, spending taxpayer money dealing with people who shouldn’t be here anyway. Let’s save taxpayer money for citizens. Romney, with his MBA & JD, represents law and order, competence and efficiency not large bureaucracies. Let the illegal immigrants live in the shadows or go home. Most will self-deport if law and order is restored.
January 11th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Matt, I like your take on Mitt Romney describing him as law and order. In fact Mitt Romney is the true Law and Order. I wonder how Thompson will take that! I lived in Massachusetts when Mitt was running for governor and he had these wonderful almost comical ads about his opponent, Shannon, O’Brien. They were very effective without being personal attacks. I think he should go back to the PR firm that did the ads and rehire them. These contrast ads, although true, are too businesslike or do I dare say plastic….people need to see that Romney is very approachable.
January 11th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Romney needs to do something different and he needs a crash course in coming across with sincerity. There is an article in the Salt Lake Tribune that might explain some of his problems with the media. He is the best thing going in the republican party. We need Mitt regardless of his shortcomings and I would take his personality quirts over the other candidates any day but people will put personality above competency. SAD!
January 11th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Please give me the link to Salt Lake Tribune re: Mitt’s problem with the media. I’d like to read it for myself. Thanks!
January 11th, 2008 at 7:11 pm
Dear For Mitt,
Google Salt Lake Tribune Go to search “Mitt Romney is often his own worst enemy”
The Salt Lake Tribune leans left. But what I got from the article is MITT is not playing the media game to his advantage. I still believe people are recognizing that he is a wonderful candidate and he has done a lot of things right or he would not be in the position of having the most delegates and popular vote.