Phoenix, AZ (JUNE 30) - U.S. Senate Candidate J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ) today said Sen. John McCain must make public his close ties to all the Washington, D.C., lobbyists who are running his current campaign and who have profited from his 28 years in Congress.
"In just 16 days, we will finally face each other in two, time-limited debates, so it is best the incumbent defends his past now so we can discuss our plans for Arizona's future," Hayworth said.
"I don't have multi-million dollar lobbyists hanging on my coat sleeves bankrolling my campaign, but John does," he said. "The voters deserve to know just which K-Street lobbyists are depending on a McCain win. It's certainly not the people of Arizona."
According to Time Magazine, 19 fundraisers and advisors were high-priced lobbyists for Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac and have benefited from the Senator's long tenure in Congress.
McCain campaign manager Mark Buse has made $460,000 lobbying on behalf of troubled Freddie.
McCain's long-time consultant Charlie Black has made more than $820,000, likewise, lobbying for Freddie.
Rick Davis, McCain's long-time confidant, ran his failed Presidential campaign and worked for a third party organization that paid him hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight off regulations for Freddie and Fannie.
According to recent news reports, the failures of Freddie and Fannie have cost taxpayers $145 billion, and the Congressional Budget Office estimates the losses could balloon to $400 billion. If housing prices fall, experts caution the cost to taxpayers could hit $1 trillion.
"The insider world that John lives in with his lobbying friends must first be disclosed completely. Then, if he is the true reformer he says he is, he should sever those ties immediately," Hayworth said. "John McCain says he went to Washington to change things, but Washington has changed him. He's been there too long and become too friendly with the insiders who pull the strings. It's time to thank him for his service and welcome him home."
Hayworth said McCain needs to provide his constituents with a complete list of lobbyists who have benefited from his service in Congress before the July debates.
"Arizonans need to know if Sen. McCain is working for us, or working for the lobbyists who finance and run his campaigns," Hayworth said. |
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