This may be a little late, but…
John McCain’s campaign reform work did not stop with the McCain-Feingold bill but the maverick senator also opened a campaign Reform Institute that was funded by George Soros among others.
World Net Daily reported:
As Sen. John McCain assumes the GOP front-runner mantle, his long-standing, but little-noticed association with left-wing donors such as George Soros and Teresa Heinz Kerry is receiving new attention among his Republican critics.
In 2001, McCain founded the Alexandria, Va.-based Reform Institute as a vehicle to receive funding from George Soros’ Open Society Institute and Teresa Heinz Kerry’s Tides Foundation and several other prominent non-profit organizations.
McCain used the institute to promote his political agenda and provide compensation to key campaign operatives between elections.
In 2006, the Arizona senator was forced to sever his formal ties with the Reform Institute after a controversial $200,000 contribution from Cablevision came to light. McCain solicited the donation for the Reform Institute using his membership on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. In a letter to the Federal Communications Commission, he supported Cablevision’s push to introduce the more profitable al la carte pricing, rather than packages of TV programming.
Yet, the Reform Institute still employs the McCain campaign’s Hispanic outreach director, Juan Hernandez, as a senior fellow of its Comprehensive Immigration Reform Initiative.
Here is what the Reform Institute describes its connections to Senator McCain:
The Reform Institute was founded in 2001 in direct response to the millions of Americans who, during the 2000 presidential campaign, expressed profound disillusionment with corrupt fundraising activities and the political “closed shop.” The initial bipartisan Honorary Chairs of the Advisory Committee were Senator John McCain (R-AZ) and former Senator Bob Kerrey (D-NE). After Senator McCain resigned his position in 2005, former Congressman and former Fortune 500 CEO Amo Houghton of New York served as President.
Michelle Malkin posted a rundown on the donors to this institute, including George Soror, last month.
Hat Tip BG
