McCain's Corruption: Let's Hear it for McCheat!

As many of us now know, John "My Friends" McCain, has violated federal elections law by using possible public financing as collateral for loans (directly and indirectly). 

The NYT have at least demonstrated that the focus on ethics is a lie.  Of course, in the Bush era - ethics are whatever someone says, not what they do.  NPR has reported on the story of McCain breaking federal campaign finance laws yesterday - and it is worth reading - since he is constantly mentioning his supposed efforts to reform campaign finance laws:

What is not so straight forward is McCain's own stance. He rejected public funds for the primaries. Just like Obama and Clinton, he did not want to get trapped in a system that provided taxpayer funds, but restricted total spending to $50 million — all the way to the conventions.

Then, McCain's campaign fell on hard times. He applied for the primary-season matching funds. The Federal Election Commission approved the application, but McCain never cashed in his certificates.

Instead, McCain went to a bank and received a line of credit. As Potter notes, McCain did not put up the public-financing certificates as collateral.

But then the McCain campaign renegotiated for a bigger line of credit. The loan documents said that if McCain lost the New Hampshire primary and finished more than 10 points behind the winner, then he would have to stay in the race and reapply for public funds, which would become the new collateral.

Lawyer Cleta Mitchell has long criticized McCain's role in overhauling campaign-finance laws. Pointing to the terms of the loan, she accuses McCain of gaming the system.

"They got another million dollars with, really, no additional collateral, other than a promise that if he didn't do well, they'd go get it from the federal government," Mitchell says.

And what will the mainstream do with this story?  Will they ask the hard questions?  Will they point out that so-called straight talk maverick is as dirty as they come?  Will they acknowledge that McCain is playing the system?  Probably not.

And while nothing will come of the obvious corruption and lies because the Federal Elections Commission is not fully staffed due to Rethuglican efforts to staff it with their cronies.  We need to remember that McCain is not the person he pretends to be.  And perhaps, never has been.  After all he was a member of the infamous Keating Five.

We must now christen him, McCheat.

Again and again, we see that the straight-talk express is rolling through the same muck as all of the other Republican crooks and liars.  McCheat is part of the same lying, cheating, anything to win and do what I want crowd that we have had for the past eight years (and  possibly longer if you look past the Clinton years).

McCheat's new slogan:  Lying talk since 1989!