McCain’s idea of Change Looks an Awfully Lot like Staying the Same

For most of the past three months or so McCain has been ranting that he will bring about “change you can believe in,” but what exactly does this mean?  According to the St. Petersburg Times’ Politifact.com Barack Obama’s assertion that McCain votes like Bush 90 percent of the time is absolutely true.  The article states that:

it came as no surprise when Sen. Barack Obama cited the statistic in his major convention address.

“But the record’s clear: John McCain has voted with George Bush 90 percent of the time. Senator McCain likes to talk about judgment, but really, what does it say about your judgment when you think George Bush was right more than ninety percent of the time? I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready to take a 10 percent chance on change.”

The number is based on a “presidential support” score from Congressional Quarterly, which rates how often lawmakers back or oppose the president. Since 2001, McCain has, in fact, backed the president’s position an average of 90 percent of the time. By congressional standards, that’s solidly partisan, but hardly marching in lockstep.

McCain supported Bush as infrequently as 77 percent of the time in 2005; and as high as 95 percent of the time in 2007. We should also note some factors that helped to drive up McCain’s 2007 score, which was partly a reflection of the new political calculus in the Democratic-controlled Congress. That year, McCain missed more than half the votes on which Bush had a position, as he campaigned for the White House. But repeated votes on immigration and the Iraq war — two issues on which he was closely allied with Bush — as well as filibuster votes helped elevate McCain from one of the president’s chief Republican adversaries three years ago to one of his biggest supporters.

Over the course of the election, we’ve looked at this statistic a couple of times, and in a couple variations.

In June, we ruled it True when Obama said “McCain decided to stand with George Bush 95 percent of the time (last year).” But we dinged running mate Joe Biden a bit when he said at an Aug. 23, 2008, rally in Springfield, Ill., “You can’t change America when you supported George Bush’s policies 95 percent of the time.” Because Biden didn’t note a year when he cited McCain’s highest “presidential support” score — thereby suggesting an overall score — we ruled his statement only Half True.

Here, Obama cites McCain’s average presidential support score since Bush was elected. We checked our math, and although we had first said Obama was off by 1 percent, we have since realized that Obama wasn’t, we were. It’s 90 percent on the nose. True.

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/669/

So change you can believe in looks an awful lot like continuing with Bush’s fatally flawed and rather asinine policies for at least another four years.  Oh and what is even better is that McCain is on tape as saying that he supports Bush more than ninety percent of the time:

So on policy making he is little different than Bush.  Perhaps he means that he will not take money from big business, foreign nations,  and special interest groups; or if he does then he will not let the money influence his policy stance.  Well I wish this was true, but you remember when McCain said “today we are all Georgians?”  Yeah, you thought its because he was a humanitarian standing up to the bad old Russians well the truth is somewhat different:

WASHINGTON – John McCain‘s chief foreign policy adviser and his business partner lobbied the senator or his staff on 49 occasions in a 3 1/2-year span while being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by the government of the former Soviet republic of Georgia.

The payments raise ethical questions about the intersection of Randy Scheunemann‘s personal financial interests and his advice to the Republican presidential candidate who is seizing on Russian aggression in Georgia as a campaign issue.

McCain warned Russian leaders Tuesday that their assault in Georgia risks “the benefits they enjoy from being part of the civilized world.”

On April 17, a month and a half after Scheunemann stopped working for Georgia, his partner signed a $200,000 agreement with the Georgian government. The deal added to an arrangement that brought in more than $800,000 to the two-man firm from 2004 to mid-2007. For the duration of the campaign, Scheunemann is taking a leave of absence from the firm.

“Scheunemann’s work as a lobbyist poses valid questions about McCain’s judgment in choosing someone who — and whose firm — are paid to promote the interests of other nations,” said New York University law professor Stephen Gillers. “So one must ask whether McCain is getting disinterested advice, at least when the issues concern those nations.”

“If McCain wants advice from someone whose private interests as a once and future lobbyist may affect the objectivity of the advice, that’s his choice to make.”

McCain has been to Georgia three times since 1997 and “this is an issue that he has been involved with for well over a decade,” said McCain campaign spokesman Brian Rogers.

McCain’s strong condemnation in recent days of Russia‘s military action against Georgia as “totally, absolutely unacceptable” reflects long-standing ties between McCain and hardline conservatives such as Scheunemann, an aide in the 1990s to then-Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott.

Scheunemann, who also was a foreign policy adviser in McCain’s 2000 presidential campaign, has for years traveled the same road as McCain in pushing for regime change in Iraq and promoting NATO membership for Georgia and other former Soviet republics.

While their politics coincide, Russia’s invasion of Georgia casts a spotlight on Scheunemann’s business interests and McCain’s conduct as a senator.

Scheunemann’s firm lobbied McCain’s office on four bills and resolutions regarding Georgia, with McCain as a co-sponsor or supporter of all of them.

In addition to the 49 contacts with McCain or his staff regarding Georgia, Scheunemann’s firm has lobbied the senator or his aides on at least 47 occasions since 2001 on behalf of the governments of Taiwan and Macedonia, which each paid Scheunemann and his partner Mike Mitchell over half a million dollars; Romania, which paid over $400,000; and Latvia, which paid nearly $250,000. Federal law requires Scheunemann to publicly disclose to the Justice Department all his lobbying contacts as an agent of a foreign government.

After contacts with McCain’s staff, the senator introduced a resolution saluting the people of Georgia on the first anniversary of the Rose Revolution that brought Mikhail Saakashvili to power.

Four months ago, on the same day that Scheunemann’s partner signed the latest $200,000 agreement with Georgia, McCain spoke with Saakashvili by phone. The senator then issued a strong statement saying that “we must not allow Russia to believe it has a free hand to engage in policies that undermine Georgian sovereignty.”

Rogers, the McCain campaign spokesman, said the call took place at the request of the embassy of Georgia. And McCain campaign spokeswoman Nicolle Wallace added that the senator has full confidence in Scheunemann. “We’re proud of anyone who has worked on the side of angels in fledgling democracies,” she said in an interview.

McCain called Saakashvili again on Tuesday. “I told him that I know I speak for every American when I said to him, today, we are all Georgians,” McCain told a cheering crowd in York, Pa. McCain’s Democratic rival, Barack Obama, had spoken with Saakashvili the day before.

In 2005 and 2006, McCain signed onto a resolution expressing support for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Georgia; introduced a resolution expressing support for a peace plan for Georgia’s breakaway province of Ossetia; and co-sponsored a measure supporting admission of four nations including Georgia into NATO.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080813/ap_on_el_pr/mccain_lobbyist

Some of you are probably now spinning it and saying, “but he meant well and so he took some money too”, but there is more.  According to Opensecrets.org (a site that explores where candidates are getting money from) McCain has received more than a million dollars-$1,298,401 to be precise- from Political Action committees compared to just under two thousand for Obama.  So who has been giving money to McCain and who is McCain soliciting for funds?  If you said Bush’s fundraisers you would be correct:

Feb. 15 (Bloomberg) — Senator John McCain, whose money woes last year almost sank his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, is turning to President George W. Bush‘s top fundraisers to help finance his campaign.

Top McCain fundraisers such as Wayne Berman are seeking help from Bush Pioneers and Rangers who have been aligned with other candidates or were neutral. Pioneers raised at least $100,000 for Bush in 2000 or 2004 and Rangers raised at least $200,000 in 2004.

“Bringing the people who give and raise money for other candidates is an element of unifying the party,” said Berman, who raised more than $200,000 for Bush in 2004 and is managing director of Washington-based Ogilvy Government Relations.

The McCain campaign announced on Feb. 12 that Mercer Reynolds, national finance chairman for Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign, had signed on to help. Reynolds was instrumental in helping Bush raise a record $259 million four years ago.

McCain laid off staff in July and took out a $3 million loan before the New Hampshire primary victory that resurrected his campaign. He raised $37.5 million in 2007, behind former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani‘s $59.2 million and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney‘s $53.9 million. Romney also loaned his campaign $35.4 million. Giuliani and Romney have endorsed McCain since they dropped out of the race.

McCain raised more than $7 million in January compared with the $6.8 million he took in for the last three months of 2007. Campaign finance figures are due to be released Feb. 20.

The McCain Comeback

“If you go back to last July, there were only a handful of people who thought McCain had a chance to win,” said campaign adviser Charlie Black, chairman of the Washington lobbying firm BKSH & Associates Worldwide. “But he believed it. It required running without much money and having to run one state at a time.”

The fundraisers are helping finance McCain’s primary campaign for now. He has said he would accept federal funding for the general election if the Democratic nominee does.

Through the end of last year, McCain raised less than half as much as either Senator Hillary Clinton of New York or Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, who are fighting it out for the Democratic nomination. Each raised more than $100 million last year.

Venture capitalist Floyd Kvamme, who raised at least $100,000 for Bush in 2000 and was helping Giuliani this year, said he was approached by the McCain campaign after his candidate withdrew from the race.

“Senator McCain will make a fine candidate,” said Kvamme, partner emeritus at the Menlo Park, California-based venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. “I will back him and I think a number of other Giuliani and Romney supporters will do the same thing. The fundraising piece will come into gear at some point.”

Another former Bush and Giuliani fundraiser, Dirk Van Dongen, said he is making calls for McCain now that he is the presumptive nominee.

Getting Behind the Nominee

“When the process winnows it down, the expectation is everybody gets behind the nominee,” said Van Dongen, who heads the Washington-based National Association of Wholesaler- Distributors and raised more than $200,000 for Bush in 2004.

Berman said that Bush fundraisers who have been on the sidelines have reason now to rally around McCain.

“What attracts them is the comeback story,” Berman said. “A lot of these folks don’t agree with him on every issue, but they’re attracted by the way he came back.”

Among those now in McCain’s camp is U.S. Representative Tom Reynolds of New York, who brought in more than $200,000 for Bush in 2004. “We should be moving toward getting unity in our party,” Reynolds said.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aW5bbTBdxcwk&refer=home

You see there is an old principle at play here and that is that you have to support those who pay you.  Considering that McCain is getting money from the same people who gave Bush two terms in office combined with the fact that McCain agrees with Bush on more than ninety percent of the issues means that He and Palin mean to say we will change almost nothing when they spout off with the mantra of “change you can believe in.”

Lastly lets look at McCain’s ties to big oil, another reason that he supports the war in Iraq, wants war in Iran, rails against Chavez, and backs Georgia.   Needless to say these ties are rather extensive.

A FACTSHEET FROM CAMPAIGN MONEY WATCH
Last Updated August 21, 2008

With oil prices skyrocketing and the economy on the brink of a recession, Americans are looking for candidates up and down the ballot to introduce meaningful plans to provide relief at the pump and put the economy back on track. Yet not all candidates have the American people’s interests foremost in mind. For those like Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) who receive large campaign contributions from the oil and gas industries, helping corporate donors is the top priority. After all, he who pays the piper calls the tune.

Since 1989, John McCain has raised more than $1 million dollars from the oil and gas industries (1)

• Employees and PACs of oil and gas companies have donated $1,698,760 to John McCain’s campaigns and leadership PAC since 1989.
• McCain has received substantial donations from executives and PACs of some of the country’s largest oil and gas companies, including Exxon Mobil and Chevron.
  

  Company	Gave McCain
  Hess Corp.	$98,050
  Exxon Mobil	$52,516
  Chveron Corp.	$42,600
  Moncrief Oil International	$20,600
  Southwest Gas	$20,750

• McCain has received more than twice as much money from the oil and gas industries in the 2008 cycle than in all other cycles since 1989.
  

Thirty-three McCain staffers and fundraisers have received $9.65 million in lobbying fees from at least 30 oil and gas industry corporations and associations. These lobbying clients’ executives and PACs have donated $225,651 to McCain’s campaigns. They include:

• John Green, McCain’s campaign liaison to Congress, has lobbied for Chevron, Hess, and the American Petroleum Institute, among others. This work, which took place between 2002 and 2008, earned Green and his firm $3,450,000. Employees and PACs of his clients have given McCain a total of $106,050 since 1989.
• Wayne Berman, a leading McCain bundler, has lobbied for Chevron, Amerada Hess, and the American Petroleum Institute, among others. This work, which took place between 2004 and 2008, earned Berman and his firm $3,170,000. Employees and PACs of his clients have given McCain a total of $105,300 since 1989.
• Steve Phillips, a leading McCain bundler, has lobbied for eight different oil and gas entities, including BP and Occidental Petroleum. This work, which took place between 2000 and 2007, earned Phillips and his firm $3,130,000. Employees and PACs of his clients have given McCain $40,950 since 1989.
• Charlie Black, a senior McCain advisor, has lobbied for Occidental Petroleum and Yukos Oil. This work, which took place between 2001 and 2007, earned Black and his firm $1,725,000. Employees and PACs of his clients have given McCain $18,550 since 1989.
• James Hyland, a McCain bundler, has lobbied for BP, the Independent Fuel Operators Association, the New England Fuel Institute, and Occidental Petroleum. This work, which took place between 2001 and 2004, earned Hyland and his firm $1,300,000. Employees and PACs of his clients have given McCain $34,050 since 1989.
• Rebecca Anderson, a member of the Women for McCain Steering Committee, has lobbied for three oil and gas companies: Bass Brothers Enterprises, Cheniere Energy, and Sunoco. This work, which took place between 2002 and 2007, earned Anderson and her firm $1,280,000. Employees of her clients have given McCain a total of $15,800 since 1989.
• Frank Donatelli, deputy chairman of the RNC, has lobbied for Exxon Mobil. This work, which took place between 1998 and 1999, earned Donatelli and his firm $1,120,000. Employees and PACs of his clients have given McCain $46,751 since 1989.
• Robert Asher, a bundler for the McCain campaign, has lobbied for WMPI Pty., a fuel supplier. This work, which took place between 2003 and 2005, earned Ascher and his firm $750,000.
• Kevin Fay, a fundraiser for the McCain campaign, has lobbied for Orion Refining. This work, which took place between 1998 and 2002, earned Fay and his firm $650,000.
• Tom Loeffler, McCain’s former national finance co-chairman, has lobbied for Tetco. This work, which took place between 2005 and 2007, earned Loeffler and his firm $620,000.
• Richard Hohlt, a fundraiser for the McCain campaign, has lobbied for Chevron. This work, which took place between 2006 and 2008, earned Hohlt and his firm $241,500. Chevron employees and PACs have given McCain $30,000 since 1989.
• Jack Oliver, a bundler for the McCain campaign, has lobbied for Shell Oil. This work, which took place between 2006 and 2007, earned Oliver and his firm $240,000. Shell employees and PACs have given McCain $7,050 since 1989.
• Dick Zimmer, McCain New Jersey honorary co-chair, has lobbied for Schlumberger Ltd. This work, which took place between 2002 and 2005, earned Zimmer and his firm $240,000.
• Sloan Rappoport, a bundler for the McCain campaign, has lobbied for Koch Industries. This work, which took place between 2005 and 2006, earned Rappoport and his firm $200,000. Employees of Koch Industries have given McCain $9,000 since 1989.
• Kirsten Chadwick, a member of the Women for McCain Steering Committee, has lobbied for Atlantic Richfield. This work, which took place between 1999 and 2000, earned Chadwick and her firm $160,000. Employees and PACs of Atlantic Richfield have given McCain $13,000 since 1989.
• Peter Madigan, a bundler for the McCain campaign, has lobbied for Shell Oil and Michael F. Barrett. This work, which took place between 1998 and 2002, earned Madigan and his firm $140,000. Employees of Shell Oil have given McCain $7,050 since 1989.
• James Pitts, a bundler for the McCain campaign, has lobbied for the Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition. This work, which took place in 2004, earned Pitts and his firm $140,000.
• Eric Burgeson, a fundraiser for the McCain campaign, has lobbied for BP. This work, which took place between 1999 and 2000, earned Burgeson and his firm $120,000. Employees and PACs of BP have given McCain $15,500 since 1989.
• Randy Scheunemann, McCain’s defense and foreign policy coordinator, has lobbied for BP. This work, which took place between 1999 and 2000, earned Scheunemann and his firm $120,000. Employees and PACs of BP have given McCain $15,500 since 1989.
• Jeffrey Weiss, a fundraiser for the McCain campaign, has lobbied for Yukos Oil. This work, which took place in 2004, earned Weiss and his firm $115,000.
• Ashley Davis, a member of the Women for McCain Steering Committee, has lobbied for TORP Technology. This work, which took place between 2006 and 2007, earned Davis and her firm $80,000.
• James Courter, a bundler for the McCain campaign, has lobbied for the New England Fuel Institute. This work, which took place in 2000, earned Courter and his firm $60,000.
• Vicki Hart, a member of the Women for McCain Steering Committee, has lobbied for Enron, the New England Fuel Institute, and Petroport. This work, which took place between 1998 and 2000, earned Hart and her firm at least $60,000. Employees and PACs of Enron have given McCain $11,500 since 1989.
• Elise Finley Pickering, a member of the Women for McCain Steering Committee, has lobbied for Koch Industries. This work, which took place between 2007 and 2008, earned Pickering and her firm $50,000 since 1989.
• Carlos Bonilla, an economic policy advisor to the McCain campaign, has lobbied for Oceaneering Intl. This work, which took place in 2008, earned Bonilla and his firm $40,000.
• Kerry Cammack, a fundraiser for the McCain campaign, has lobbied for Exxon Mobil. This work, which took place in 2006, earned Cammack and his firm $40,000. Employees and PACs of Exxon Mobil have given McCain $46,751 since 1989.
• Melissa Edwards, a member of the Women for McCain Steering Committee, has lobbied for Oceaneering Intl. This work, which took place in 2008, earned Edwards and her firm $40,000.
• Susan Molinari, a member of the Women for McCain Steering Committee, has also lobbied for Oceaneering Intl. This work, which took place in 2008, earned Molinari and her firm $40,000.

• Doug Davenport, a former McCain regional campaign manager, has lobbied for Welldog. This work, which took place in 2005, earned Davenport and his firm $20,000.

http://www.campaignmoney.org/mccainoil

and

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/05/12/1011227.aspx

That being said McCain and Palin may say “change you can believe in” but what they really mean is keeping the same old plutocracy.