[Davis Democrats] FW: Suing John McCain for violating FEC laws on June 24

[John Chendo]

------ Forwarded Message
From: Howard Dean <democraticparty at democrats.org>
Reply-To: <democraticparty at democrats.org>
Date: Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:52:04 -0400
To: john chendo <jac07 at dcn.org>
Subject: Suing John McCain

> 
> john,    <http://www.democrats.org/page/m/672300bf3c5f15cf/Q8HT98/VEsH/> I
> wrote to you in late February asking that you sign on in support of a
> complaint we made to the Federal Election Commission regarding John McCain.
> The complaint was fairly simple.  John McCain decided to break a promise he
> made to the American people -- he said that he would accept federal matching
> funds for his primary campaign, but then backed out of the pledge after he
> started receiving staggering amounts of lobbyist and special interest money.
> We asked the FEC to enforce the agreement he had made.  When they didn't act
> on our complaint -- one that thousands of Americans signed on to support -- we
> sued them.  Recently, a federal judge said that we had to give the FEC at
> least 120 days to act.  Their time runs out in one week, on June 24.  You can
> put pressure on John McCain to honor his agreement with the FEC by signing
> your support -- we need 100,000 Americans to stand up and demand that he keep
> the promise that he made the American people.  If we're ever going to have
> truly clean campaigns, it's going to take all of us fighting for them.  Click
> the link to add your name:   http://www.democrats.org/FECpetition
> <http://www.democrats.org/page/m/672300bf3c5f15cf/Q8HT98/VEsE/>   I know that
> lawsuits, FEC rulings, and the intricacies of campaign finance law can be a
> little dry.  But consider this: while both Senator Obama's campaign and the
> DNC have unilaterally rejected lobbyist and special interest money, John
> McCain's campaign is blatantly breaking campaign finance law to raise as much
> of it as they can.  John McCain -- the self-branded "maverick reformer" -- is
> the exactly the same kind of Republican we've seen for decades.  He breaks the
> rules to fit his own interests, and he does it at the expense of the American
> people and the integrity of the electoral process.  He knew exactly what he
> was doing when he signed the pledge with the FEC, because that used the money
> he was promised in return as collateral on a loan.  Be one of the 100,000
> people to send a message to John McCain -- the law matters, and we're not
> going to let McCain and his lobbyist supporters ignore it.  Click the link to
> add your name:   http://www.democrats.org/FECpetition
> <http://www.democrats.org/page/m/672300bf3c5f15cf/Q8HT98/VEsF/>   My February
> email is below. It explains in detail why we're taking this action.  It's time
> to put an end to this, and I hope you'll help.  Howard Dean   ----- Original
> Message ----- Subject: John McCain is breaking the law
>  Date: Mon 25 Feb 2008 03:50 PM
>  From: Howard Dean
>  To: john chendo 
>>   
>>       
>>         Dear john,
>> <http://www.democrats.org/page/m/672300bf3c5f15cf/Q8HT98/VEsC/> There was a
>> lot of talk last week about John McCain's blatant hypocrisy on ethics and
>> integrity in Washington.  Here we go again.  McCain is now breaking the law
>> by ignoring the campaign spending restrictions for the Republican primary
>> that came when he asked for federal matching funds -- funds he used as
>> collateral on a loan that helped keep his campaign going.  But now that the
>> lobbyist and special interest money has started pouring into his campaign,
>> he's trying to back out of the promise he made just a few months ago.
>> They're feeding so much cash into his bank account, this "reformer" wants
>> nothing to do with federal campaign finance laws anymore.  That's why today,
>> we're filing a formal complaint with the Federal Election Commission
>> demanding that John McCain be held to the campaign finance laws.   Trying to
>> back out shows a total lack of integrity and honesty -- he made a deal with
>> the American people to to abide by the law, and in return, he was guaranteed
>> taxpayer money that he used to back a loan.  john, I'd like you to add your
>> name in support of our complaint, and ask as many people as you can to sign
>> on.  American taxpayers made a deal with John McCain -- now that he's flush
>> with lobbyist cash, he wants to pretend that it never happened.  Sign on
>> right now:  http://www.democrats.org/FECpetition
>> <http://www.democrats.org/page/m/672300bf3c5f15cf/Q8HT98/VEsD/>   Here's the
>> background on the situation.  A few months ago, John McCain applied for and
>> was approved to receive federal matching funds.  Because he couldn't find
>> enough people to fund his campaign, he was also forced to apply for a $4
>> million line of credit, which he secured by using the federal matching funds
>> as collateral.  By taking the federal funding, he agreed to spend no more
>> than $57 million until the Republican convention.  But so far, his campaign
>> has spent at least $49 million -- leaving him with less than $10 million to
>> campaign with through September.  Now that he's won the nomination and has
>> the support of the Republican lobbyist and special interest machine, he's
>> trying to ignore that the whole thing ever happened.  He recently wrote a
>> letter to the FEC telling them that he was backing out, even though the FEC
>> is very clear that any request to withdraw from the agreement must be
>> approved; you can't just change your mind and take it back -- legally, you
>> have to be given permission.  McCain isn't asking because he knows he'll
>> never be granted permission, and he doesn't want to have to accept the
>> funding restrictions he agreed to when he used the money as collateral for a
>> loan.  He's ripping a page right from George Bush's playbook: ignoring the
>> laws when they aren't convenient and hoping no one will notice.  Stand up and
>> show him that hundreds of thousands of people have noticed -- he can't change
>> the rules in the middle of the game because he doesn't like how things are
>> going for him:  http://www.democrats.org/FECpetition
>> <http://www.democrats.org/page/m/672300bf3c5f15cf/Q8HT98/VEsA/>   Using
>> government programs when it's politically convenient and breaking the rules
>> when it's not ... remind you of anyone?  Just like George Bush, John McCain
>> thinks he's above the law.  McCain poses as a reformer, but seems to think
>> reforms apply to everyone but him.  Time to send him a message.  Howard Dean
>> 
>>  <http://www.democrats.org/page/m/672300bf3c5f15cf/Q8HT98/VEsB/>
>> 
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