More lobbyist problems for McCain: Campaign manager has ties to Iran

[suedanim]

McCain is neck deep in a veritable sewer of lobbyists. Good grief.

McCain Campaign Manager's Firm Worked for Ukranian Billionaire with Ties to Iran (http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/05/before_rick_davis_began_servin.php)

By Andrew Tilghman (http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/profile/atilghman) - May 30, 2008, 1:00PM


Before Rick Davis began serving as John McCain's campaign manager, his lobbying firm had a pretty cosmopolitan set of clients.

For example, Ukranian billionaire (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rinat_Akhmetov)Rinat Akhmetov, who has several business links to Iran.

To be sure, there's a good crowd of lobbyists in Washington who work for international firms with ties to Iran.

But Davis isn't just any lobbyist. He's a lobbyist-turn-presidential campaign manager who just a couple weeks ago (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/20/us/politics/20mccain.html?pagewanted=print)was drawing up rules on how to build a wall between lobbyists and McCain's political operatives. And McCain has been more hawkish than most of his colleagues about confronting (http://jeffreygoldberg.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/05/mccain_on_israel_iran_and_the_1.php)Iran.

And, interestingly, Davis' lobbying shop, Davis Manafort, was doing work for the Ukranian oligarch about the same time (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/24/AR2008012403383_pf.html)that Davis was serving as the president of McCain's Reform Institute.

Davis Manafort was helping Akhmetov's conglomerate, System Capital Management Holdings, to develop a "corporate communications strategy" between the beginning of 2005 through the end of summer 2005, the company said (http://www.scm.com.ua/en/publish/article/30438;jsessionid=184557B9BB9B81BBF30A7BFE3000E6EE) .

The company's subsidiary (http://www.scm.com.ua/en/assets/table), Metinvest, a steel company, has one of its 11 offices (http://www.metinvestholding.com/en/sales/sale/metals/metint/)in Tehran. And another subsidiary, Khartsyzsk Pipe Plant, sells (http://www.ukrpipe.com.ua/ENG/company.php?id=4)large pipes to Iran.

Those business ties go back to at least 2005, when Davis Manafort was working for the company, according to a handful of stories in business publications like the Russia & CIS Metals and Mining Weekly and the Mining and the Metals report, which we found on Nexis.

A McCain aide told us Davis did not work on that account while he was heading up the firm. And he was unaware of the company's ties to Iran.

[suedanim]

But you won't hear about on mainstream press!


Senior McCain aides continue K Street courtship (http://www.politico.com/blogs/jonathanmartin/0508/Senior_McCain_aides_continue_K_Street_courtship.ht ml)

May 30, 2008


John McCain's campaign manager and other senior officials met with about 70 top Republican lobbyists yesterday, making the case for why McCain is well-positioned and explaining why they've enacted tough rules barring the involvement of registered lobbyists in the campaign.

Rick Davis, McCain's top aide Christian Ferry, his deputy, and Frank Donatelli, the McCain campaign's liaison at the RNC each spoke, providing a general campaign update, details on their regional campaign manager system and the partnership between candidate and committee. RNC Chairman Mike Duncan was also in attendance.

The session, held at the GOP's Capitol Hill Club, was the second of three meetings planned between McCain's campaign and members of Washington's powerful lobbying community. Yesterday was aimed at those who work for multi-client firms. The campaign has previously met with representatives of trade associations and will later address those from the Washington office of corporations and businesses.

Dirk Van Dongen, a top GOP fundraiser and head of the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, said McCain's lobbyist policy was "the elephant in the room," but that Davis addressed it on the front end, preempting questions.

Van Dongen, who missed the first session for trade groups but attended yesterday, characterized Davis's explanation of the policy as one that simply was implemented to avoid conflicts of interest.

In attendance were such powerhouse lobbyists as former Reps. Bill Paxon and Bob Walker, Marc Lampkin, Kirk Blalock and Ron Bonjean.

One lobbyist at the meeting said he anticipated "teeth-gnashing" over McCain's new policy, but that it didn't come up during the question-and-answer session.

"This has not been good for mood-setting downtown," said the lobbyist of McCain's strict rules. But, this source said, he and his fellow Republican K Street denizens want a Republican president so they're "moving on, saluting and falling in line."

[Trish]

Oh, but that doesn't matter. It was Davis' "firm" that was the lobbyist - not Davis. Isn't that the logic you used about Senator Obama's lobbyist connections? We couldn't hold Senator Obama responsible for the lobbyist ties to the OWNERS of lobbying firms or the EMPLOYEES of lobbying firms.

So if we're going to give Senator Obama a pass for this - Senator McCain is entitled to the same pass - right? I mean we don't want to be hypocritical or anything!

[suedanim]

Two reasons for posting this thread...

One ..to show McCain continues to have a lobbyest problem within his campaign staffing.

Two... to show that this gult be association trip the rightwingers brought into play is ridiculous... but is used only in regard to Obama, while McCain gets a pass in mainstream news, message boards and blogs.