02/16/1993 McCain Statement on Bi-Partisan Effort in the Airline Industry 10/03/1997 McCAIN OFFERS PROPOSALS TO ENHANCE COMPETITION IN THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY 04/24/1998 McCAIN STATEMENT ON AIRLINE INDUSTRY CONSOLIDATION 02/05/1999 WYDEN, McCAIN ANNOUNCE BILL TO HELP AIRLINE PASSENGERS MAKE INFORMED TRAVEL CHOICES 06/17/1999 McCAIN: AIRLINES TAKE SIGNIFICANT STEP IN ADDRESSING AIRLINE SERVICE 06/27/2000 McCAIN: AIRLINES STILL HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO ON CUSTOMER SERVICE 06/27/2000 SENATOR MCCAIN COMMENTS ON AIRLINE CUSTOMER SERVICE 10/05/1999 McCAIN STATEMENT ON AIR TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT ACT 07/26/2000 McCAIN, GORTON ISSUE STATEMENT ON UNITED - US AIRWAYS MERGER 02/12/2001 McCain: Further Work on Airline Service Must Be Done 02/12/2001 Statement Regarding Work on Airline Service 02/13/2001 MCCAIN, HOLLINGS, HUTCHISON INTRODUCE BILL TO IMPROVE AIRLINE PASSENGER SERVICE 03/01/2001 MCCAIN JOINS HOLLINGS IN INTRODUCING BILL TO ENHANCE AIRLINE COMPETITION 03/01/2001 Statement Introducing Bill to Enhance Airline Competition 08/02/2001 McCain, Lott, Burns Introduce Bill to Resolve Airline Disputes 09/17/2001 MCCAIN: WE MUST ACT NOW TO STABILIZE AIRLINE INDUSTRY 10/03/2001 KYL, MCCAIN JOIN BIPARTISAN EFFORT TO ENSURE TTREATMENT FOR ALL AIRLINES 03/19/2003 McCain, Lott Ask About Relief For Airline Industry
I was looking up some of the old Amy Silverman articles and I came across this one, about John McCain and his opportunistic relationship with Carl Lindner and how John McCain how John McCain turned “green”. It’s called, “Saving private Interests.”
http://www.best-of.com/1998-08-06/news/saving-private-interests/
For the past three years McCain has used his chairmanship of the Senate Commerce, Transportation and Science Committee to squeeze campaign contributions from huge corporations. McCains biggest campaign contributors all have business before his committee. New Times Amy Silverman has reported that people who testified before the committee between January 1997 and November 1999 donated nearly $800,000. They made the contributions personally or through their employers PACs. Of those who testified, representatives of industry outnumbered consumer groups by more than 10 to one. Witnesses for industry accounted for all of the contributions. Companies like America Online, EchoStar, Union Pacific and US Westall of whom regularly have business before his committeehave hosted fundraisers for McCain.
The biggest contributor to McCain has been the telecommunications industry, which has contributed almost $1 million. That includes US West, Bell South and Bell Atlantic, which are trying to get into the long-distance telephone service and Internet access business. And McCain is pushing telecommunications legislation to do just that. Viacom, Boeing and AT&T are all major contributors to McCain. McCains committee oversees the Federal Aviation Administration; McCain has received at least $83,900 from major airline employees and their PACs. Overall he has received at least $182,000 from the aviation industry. Not coincidentally, Congress gutted the so-called Airline Passenger Bill of Rights. For years McCain has tried to win an increase in the number of slots at Reagan National Airport for the Arizona-based America West Airlines. America West Airlines has donated at least $11,500 to McCain. Press
It is no surprise then to find so many corporate lobbyists involved in McCains campaign. Former Reagan aide Rick Davis is his campaign manager. The Associated Press reports that Davis has taken a leave of absence from the firm of Davis, Manafort and Freedman, where he is managing partner. The firms clients include Comsat. Under legislation McCain is helping to write, it would no longer control access to the global satellite consortium, Intelsat. Another client is SBC Communications, which, like other Bell companies, wants federal approval to carry data over long-distance lines.
Kenneth Duberstein is another McCain operative. Formerly chief of staff in Ronald Reagans White House, he is now a member of McCains national campaign steering committee. He is also chairman of the Duberstein Group, whose clients include United Airlines and CSX, one of the nations largest freight railroads. The AP further notes that McCain is involved in negotiations to renew the Federal Aviation Administration, which oversees United. McCain has also introduced legislation to renew the Surface Transportation Board, which regulates CSX. Another member of McCains national campaign steering committee is former Congressman Vin Weber. Weber runs the Washington office of Clark and Weinstock. Its clients include the Air Transport Associationthe trade group for the nations airlinesand AT&T, whose executives contributed $10,000 to McCains campaign shortly after McCain introduced legislation that could have made it easier for the phone giant to expand further into the cable television business.