Inside McCain's Reform Institute (3/9/05)

Captain's Quarters ^ | March 9, 2005 | Ed Morrissey

[NoDhimitude4Me]

When CQ first covered the Bradley Smith interview that started the blogswarm on the FEC and the BCRA this week, I noted several unusual relationships between the donors and the institute, all hinging on Richard Davis, RI's president and John McCain's campaign manager. Since Davis also acts as McCain's chief political advisor, I found it odd that the RI -- which pays Davis a $110,000 "consulting fee" annually instead of a salary as its president -- received money from donors such as the sources that follow below.

Bear in mind, please, that foundations don't just line up to hand out cash. Rick Davis has to apply and then campaign for these funds, as budgets are limited even for the richest foundations. They carefully select their grantees to ensure that they support the overall mission of the foundation. Why would a close political advisor to John McCain go to these sources almost exclusively for the major funding of the non-profit that seeks to support McCain, a supposedly conservative Republican?

* The Tides Foundation, which heavily promotes "reproductive justice", giving over $500,000 to pro-abortion efforts. They also actively oppose the death penalty (so do I, FYI). John McCain opposes abortion and supports the death penalty, so why is his chief political advisor getting so much support from those who ostensibly oppose him?

* Educational Foundation Of America, which also supports abortion. EFA also opposes drilling in ANWR, an issue on which McCain has an ambivalent record. It also supports euthanasia and assisted suicide through the Death With Dignity National Center, a group which it gave $45,000. It gave $100,000 to the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability, which opposed the Yucca Mountain nuclear depository (McCain supported it), and opposes development of low-yield nuclear "bunker buster" bombs, which McCain supports.

In fact, EFA appears to contribute to just about every left-wing cause imaginable, as well as a number of noncontriversial charities and outreach efforts.

* The Proteus Fund, which also opposed the Yucca Mountain repository, spending $75K to stop it. That pales in comparison to the $935K they spent on supporting gay marriage initiatives, which McCain strongly opposes. They have also spent over $800,000 funding nuclear-disarmament and antiwar causes in each of the last two years. Their Security Policy Working Group contains nothing but left-of-center groups like Project on Defense Alternatives, which calls the Iraqi elections "faulty" and predicted disaster for the Bush administration's "program of coercive transformation throughout the region."

* OSI (Open Society Institute), founded and funded by George Soros. Among a litany of left-wing causes supported by OSI are People For The American Way, to support their Supreme Court Project. (Hint: It isn't intended on assisting Bush get his nominees confirmed.) They also gave $150,000 to the Campaign Legal Center, which will be important shortly.

* David Geffen Foundation also shows up on the list, although not in the top tier. David Geffen is an entertainment-industry mogul who supports Democrats and left-wing causes. They do not have a website I could find, but Activistcash.com notes that in 2002, most of the grants Geffen gave went to environmental activists and the Tides Foundation and Tides Center.

But the oddities don't end at the donors page for Reform Institute. We've already detailed how McCain's chief political advisor earns a six-figure income from the nonprofit which heavily promotes McCain and the BCRA. As the New York Times noted yesterday, RI provides a back-channel method of keeping his campaign staff employed without McCain having to do any fundraising for his political campaigns -- and avoiding the donation caps that come into play for his donors. And Davis isn't the only beneficiary of this loophole.

Trevor Potter works as General Counsel to the Reform Institute. Coincidentally or not, Potter also worked as general counsel to McCain during his 2000 run for the presidency. Potter also is employed as President and General Counsel to the Campaign Legal Center, making him a direct beneficiary of the George Soros donation to this non-profit group as well as at RI. Potter also released a "don't worry, be happy" statement about the FEC's decision not to appeal the Shays-Meehan lawsuit judgment overturning the Internet exemption to the BCRA which failed to disclose Potter's connections to RI, Soros, or McCain.

John McCain, who has long campaigned on a promise to rid politics of big money, not only has built himself a lucrative third-party solution for fundraising but also a shelter to keep two of his top campaign operatives employed between elections. These top strategists also have an odd taste for funding sources, considering McCain's public positions on key issues for his base. That money pays their salaries and indicates a certain amount of influence among McCain's political staff. It demonstrates better than anything else could the corrosive nature of hidden money and back-channel dealings, which the BCRA not only doesn't resolve but almost requires for campaign fundraising.

This shows the futility of the BCRA just as much as it does the hypocrisy of John McCain in creating it and expanding it. The only solution for corruption is direct contributions that get immediate and full disclosure, not limitations on political speech. I can't think of a better example than the Byzantine mess I've described above to make that point.

[NoDhimitude4Me]

Juan McCain and those that give him delegates are working against the conservative movement and, it would seem, this country. (are you listening Huckster supporters?) (I am not used to this posting format, so forgive if I have done it incorrectly)

[RC2]

Democrats want McCain to win. They know how easy it will be to for Hillary to beat him. Democrats are scared to death of Romney.

[cripplecreek]

Isn’t McQueeg a Main street republican?

[Yosemitest]

WSellcome to the club.

As far as posting "A guide to using HTML on Free Republic in 5 lines" and "HTML Sandbox" can help.

Consider today and what's going on. Then think about this...

Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth?
I tell you, Nay; but rather division:
For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided,
three against two, and two against three.
The father shall be divided against the son,
and the son against the father;
the mother against the daughter,
and the daughter against the mother;
the mother in law against her daughter in law,
and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

"Wake Up!" It's time to get involved. It's time to vote.

"When presented with alternatives, it's as if many don't even hear them.
In fact, they probably don't want to hear them because it would call for them to change."

Even bad things happen for a "reason." We must do our best. Read the excerpt from "Wake UP!"

"The scoffers skepticism is based upon their evil desires,
which lead them to prefer a view of the future in which there is no divine judgment.
The scoffers maintain
that everything in the world goes on without divine intervention.

Notice that the emphasis here is on a deliberate rejection,
or as some translations put it, a "willing ignorance."
Thus, it is a deliberate action on a person's part not to believe.
People refuse to believe these things
even when presented with evidence

-people simply do not want to be convinced.
Ignoring the flood as a divine intervention was not an oversight;
it was deliberate."

[NormsRevenge]

He’s still listed as a member of the RMSP.. as is schwarzenkennedy.

[Admin Moderator]

Welcome to Free Republic. It’s interesting that you signed up on 11/5/06 yet this is your first and only post. It’s also interesing that you posted this in the activism sidebar and used the wrong title. I corrected your title and moved this to the bloggers forum.
“McCain a stealth surrogate for Soros - Hucklebee oters beware (Blast from the past)

[NoDhimitude4Me]

Thank you, yosemitest. I was in such a hurry to post this, hoping that people will call talk shows and radio show and post and e-mail people that might not have voted yet..

http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/moonbatcentral/2005/03/john-mccain-gets-soros-cash.html

The previous link has links to all of the organization that support McCain’s Reform Institute , which btw has Juan Hernandez, the Mex government’s open border/amnesty guy, as his point man on immigration.

[NoDhimitude4Me]

This is the first time I have posted because I believe that this day is a critical one for conservatives and the republican party. Since you removed it from the other catagories, does this mean that it will not be in the list of threads. I am not really as dumb as I must seem here, lol

Is there a problem with my only having lurked and read before and not posted? If so, I apologize.

[Yosemitest]

Welcome to the club.
Go ahead and RANT away.

[TexasCajun]

Nice find. ..post looks just fine.

[NoDhimitude4Me]

I am just so upset over the fact that the MSM and even talk radio that I have heard have not made a comprehensive case of how McCain is working with the liberals and democrats in undermining the foundations of this country.

Or perhaps they have, and I have just not heard it, but I have been on a local crusade to try to wake people up.

I have an ongoing prayer now that people’s eyes will be opened before it is too late.

I am a diehard Hunter fan, sent him money, which is only the second time I have contributed to a presidential campaign direct. I was so very downhearted when he pulled out and endorsed Hucklebee. It is beyond my comprehension that people that have access to the net and work for campaigns doing research have not discovered the truth about McCain.

I could rant about so much more with this man, and those that are working to put him office by splitting the vote of the conservative and the delegates. There are many people that are not completly aware of the backgrounds of the people they support. I have been there myself in the past.

:::::::: stepping down from my ranting stool ::::::::

Thanks for the space to do that.

[calcowgirl]

Interesting article.

[dforest]

Wow, McCain is the shadow government candidate. It may be too late for some, but he isn’t going to get a vote from me.

McCain, Hillary, Obama, eh...what difference is there?

[nicmarlo]

Coincidentally or not, Potter also worked as general counsel to McCain during his 2000 run for the presidency. Potter also is employed as President and General Counsel to the Campaign Legal Center, making him a direct beneficiary of the George Soros donation to this non-profit group as well as at RI. Potter also released a "don't worry, be happy" statement about the FEC's decision not to appeal the Shays-Meehan lawsuit judgment overturning the Internet exemption to the BCRA which failed to disclose Potter's connections to RI, Soros, or McCain.

John McCain, who has long campaigned on a promise to rid politics of big money, not only has built himself a lucrative third-party solution for fundraising but also a shelter to keep two of his top campaign operatives employed between elections.

FYI Ping!

[NoDhimitude4Me]

Thank you. I found so many more things, I am sure that they have been posted on FR before, but I do know that people often miss things with so much activity going on.

I would have passed it to someone with a ping list if I had known who had them. If there is a list of ping lists, I would appreciate posting them for me.

[Eva]

Patrick Davis is heading the Common Sense Issues PAC, AKA Trust Huckabee. Do you think that Patrick Davis and Richard Davis who heads McCain’s team could be related? Some coincidence.

[Eva]

This is so incestuous, that its really disgusting. I haven’t found out if Patrick and Rick Davis are related, but I have found out some things about Carl Lindner.

Let’s start with the guest list for the Lincoln bedroom during the Clinton administration. He’s on it.

Then there this during the 2000 election:

The winner of this year’s Dwayne Andreas Award is Carl Lindner. The award, created by The Washington Monthly in recognition of Andreas’ long preeminence as a political bisexual, is annually given to the leading contributor who assures his access to both sides by giving to the Republicans and the Democrats. Lindner, the chairman of Chiquita Brands, has given $250,000 to Democrats and $375,000 to Republicans thus far in the 1999-2000 campaign
cycle.

Then I found out that he was on the bottom of some list as a financial advisor for Mitt Romney in Ohio. (It was a huge list and only in the Ohio campaign)

So, when it was found out that his PAC was working for Huckabee, Carl Lindner, jr. said that it was Carl Lindner III who was working for Huckabee, and that he was working for Romney. This was reported with what sounded like some skepticism in the WSJ.

I’m having a lot of trouble tracking Rick Davis because it’s such a common name, and there is a Rick Davis with a rock group named, Common Sense.

[calcowgirl]

...there is a Rick Davis with a rock group named, Common Sense.

I hate it when these groups have such common names. The one you cite here is a mighty coincidence!

I'll see if I can find anything or distinguish him. I wondered the same thing -- whether Rick and Patrick were related.

[Eva]

There are a lot of Democrat PACs that use the Common Sense name as well, including one for John Kerry in 2004, they just change the last word, instead of Common Sense Issues, it’s Common Sense ———.

I was about to say that all these uses of “Common Sense” reminded me of the way that the Alamoudi family used “Rock Creek” to name everything. Then it hit me that maybe Carl Lindner and the Alamoudis could have a connection and guess what? They do.

[Eva]

I take that back Lindner and Alamoudi are really connected, they just do a lot of business with the same people.