John McCain, despite his feeble attempt at casting himself as a reformer and a maverick, continues to display the status quo in all of its glory. He hates earmarks at the podium, but having lobbyists on his staff that specialize in special favors is his true forté. The latest evidence of hypocrisy from the campaign comes in the form of John Green. Green is known for his efforts to tear down the embargo with Cuba, something his boss has tried to paint Barack Obama with.
From TPM:
Such conflicts between lobbyists on McCain's campaign staff and McCain's hard-line foreign policy positions have already created controversy and generated criticism for McCain. Campaign manager Rick Davis, for instance, made news and was criticized by Democrats for his lobbying on behalf of a Ukrainian businessman with deep commercial ties to Iran -- even though McCain has called for divestment against Iran.
McCain has argued in favor of keeping all sanctions against Cuba in place until they undertake various democratic reforms. What's more, he has aggressively attacked Obama for not taking as hard a line on Cuba. Obama argues in favor of easing travel restrictions with the country, something McCain says would "send the worst possible signal" to Cuba's leaders by unilaterally dropping travel restrictions.
McCain's employment of a lobbyist who pushed for the lifting of Cuba sanctions could also prove to be a controversial issue in the critical swing state of Florida, where many in the large Cuban exile community favor a hard line against Cuba.
McCain is having problems all across the map. Florida is just one state Bush won that is in jeopardy of going to Obama a little over three months from now. Ohio, Iowa, Colorado, Virginia, even the Dakotas, Montana and various other southern states besides Florida are now in play.
Oh and by the way, in case you were wondering why Green was lobbying against the stated position of McCain's regarding Cuba....it is because Green's client is an European giant in the alcohol business and the "Havana Club" rum brand is just that important. I wonder how his wife feels about all of that, coming from the domestic booze business herself.
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