Suspending Fundraising?

By now, everyone has heard of John McCain’s decision to suspend his campaign, cease all advertisements and commercials, and halt his fundraising efforts until after the proposed $700 billion Wall Street bail-out bill is passed.

Problem is: Despite what’s being reported on other blogs and The Boston Globe, McCain hasn’t suspended fundraising. Quoting from The Boston Globe:

The McCain campaign clarified that in addition to suspending campaign events, it is also putting advertising and fundraising on hold.

To be sure, under public financing laws, McCain’s not exactly raising funds directly for his campaign; all donations go to his Campaign Compliance Fund, which helps him “defray legal and accounting costs,” the RNC, and the “Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania Republican Parties.”

Simply put, it’s a baldfaced lie to assert that McCain has ceased fundraising activities.

Next week’s fundraiser in California is still on as scheduled.

After all, if McCain is really suspending fundraising, then why is he still asking for contributions on his campaign website? Apparently, his wife was also raising money in Washington State today.

McCain’s campaign “suspension” appears to be nothing more than a media ploy.

A suspension, by definition, would require a temporary halt in all campaign activities. Synonyms for the word “suspension:”

—Synonyms 1–3. intermission, interruption, discontinuance, cessation, abeyance, hiatus.

Otherwise, he’s simply changing his schedule, and with all the earned media attention he received as a result of this ploy, why would he need to advertise? It’s been wall-to-wall McCain campaign coverage all day long. Seriously.

Let’s not allow ourselves to be fooled: McCain hasn’t voted in the Senate since April. Today’s Washington Post/ ABC poll shows a nine point lead for Obama nationwide. And we now know the House is very close to a compromise bill- 98% complete. Here’s a draft of the summary of the compromise bill.

Frankly, the notion that this requires us to delay Friday’s Presidential debate is absurd, and now, more than ever, we need to hear a thorough discussion of the issues from the two men who would like to be our next President.

Responses

Adrian Chandler

September 25, 2008

just a little much i think. if you say half of what he said and only say, john mccain said he is suspending his campaign…yeah i can see your point. but he said im suspending my campaign and going back to washington. its obvious that by saying this he meant we was going to stop CAMPAIGNING until this crud is over. it seems a little absurd to suggest in order for him to be doing the “right” thing, he should shut down his website for a week, doesnt it? Also if McCain had had his way, we would have already heard ten debates. But the Messiah refused to do them. Barak Obama is kind of like that skit on SNL from back in the day, where the teleprompter goes out on a morning show and will ferrell eats david alaan griers head. im positive joe biden wouldnt have a head if barak had to debate without a format.

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Adrian Chandler

September 25, 2008

my bad…disregard eveything i said about fundraising. i misread something. my apologies. do keep regarding the second half though!

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Lamar White, Jr

September 25, 2008

Adrian,

From all indications, McCain’s campaign has not “suspended” anything. He’s still airing commercials. His surrogates are still attacking Obama on cable news. And he’s still collecting donations.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/25/during-suspension-mccain_n_129280.html

Either way, I’m not sure what your point is about Obama. The Messiah jab is one of those hackneyed, tired McCain campaign memes. I mean, I GET it. I just- honestly- think it’s such a loaded metaphor (laden with so many uncomfortable accusations one can make against those who decide to use it) that I’d rather leave it alone.

That said, I think anyone who has followed this campaign throughout the past eighteen months knows, beyond a doubt, that Barack Obama can think on his feet.

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dlc

September 25, 2008

yeah, i guess its the mccain camp thats running around saying “Jesus was a community organizer, pontius pilate was a governor.” as far as thinking on his feet, i just love that all those nuanced “uhs”!

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Lamar White, Jr

September 25, 2008

dlc, I’ve never heard anyone in the Obama campaign make such a claim, but I understand that the line was a reaction to Guiliani’s and Palin’s apparent disdain for community organizing– which, by the way, was something Obama was doing right after he graduated college.

Compare that to Guiliani, who, after college, married his second cousin, and Palin, who, after attending five colleges in six years, went to work as a TV sports reporter.

Seriously.

The faux-Left Behind commercial(s) and its Messianic implications were both created and perpetuated by the McCain campaign.

I’ll take someone who says “uh” because they’re trying to find the right word over someone who speaks without even thinking any day of the week.

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Lamar White, Jr

September 25, 2008

From Salon.com:

McCain campaign manager held fundraising dinner Wed.

John McCain’s announcement that he’s suspending his campaign to help work on a bailout plan is looking less and less sincere by the minute.

At about 4:30 p.m. EDT on Wednesday afternoon, McCain spokesman Brian Rogers e-mailed reporters to say, “To be clear, in addition to suspending his campaign to return to Washington to work for a bipartisan solution to this problem, this campaign is suspending its advertising and fundraising.”

Apparently, someone forgot to tell the boss.

The National Journal’s Peter Stone reports that Rick Davis, McCain’s campaign manager, held a dinner at New York City’s famous 21 Club Wednesday night at which he met with about a dozen top New York-based fundraisers. Stone writes:

The dinner meeting, according to an attendee, included an update on McCain’s decision to return to Washington today, criticism of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Jr. for failing to act more decisively earlier, and calls for more fundraising for the party by leading New York money harvesters…

Even though campaign officials were temporarily told to suspend their fundraising and other activities per McCain’s instructions, [Woody Johnson IV, a top GOP fundraiser] told the assembled guests that they “ought to redouble their efforts” to make sure that an upcoming fundraiser in New York on Oct 14 is a success, according to the attendee.

Separately, the Obama camp is working overtime — and, obviously, with good reason — to press a case that McCain never truly suspended his campaign at all. In a memo sent to reporters Thursday night, Obama spokesman Bill Burton said, “[M]ake no mistake: John McCain did not ‘suspend’ his campaign. He just turned a national crisis into an occasion to promote his campaign. It’s become just another political stunt, aimed more at shoring up the Senator’s political fortunes than the nation’s economy.”

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Lamar White, Jr

September 25, 2008

Associated Press:

McCain campaign slows, but doesn’t stop
Thu Sep 25, 7:59 pm ET

WASHINGTON – Republican presidential nominee John McCain vowed Wednesday to suspend his campaign to focus on the nation’s financial crisis, but there were plenty of signs of activity Thursday — including an apparently live fundraising link on the campaign’s Web site.

On Wednesday, McCain said: “Tomorrow morning, I will suspend my campaign and return to Washington after speaking at the Clinton Global Initiative. I have spoken to Sen. Obama and informed him of my decision and have asked him to join me.”

He offered no details, but senior campaign adviser Steve Schmidt later told reporters: “We’re just not going to engage right now in the back and forth of the campaign,” adding that meant appearances, rallies and TV advertising would be canceled. In an e-mail to reporters, spokesman Brian Rogers added that fundraising would be halted, too.

McCain appeared that evening in an interview on CBS’ newscast, but canceled a planned appearance on David Letterman’s “Late Show.” His vice presidential running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, made a highly visible visit to ground zero in New York on Thursday morning. McCain spokeswoman Nicole Wallace appeared on NBC’s “Today” show.

The campaign sought to pull television ads off the air, but halting ads isn’t like turning off a light switch because of the many broadcast stations must be contacted through middlemen. But Schmidt, speaking to reporters Thursday evening, said: “All of our television advertising at this hour is down.”

But in what sounded like presidential politicking, Schmidt said Obama was acting in a “politically predatory fashion” for seeking to buy McCain’s vacated commercial air time. “It’s an example once again of Sen. McCain putting his country first whereas Sen. Obama puts Sen. Obama first.”

E-mail messages continued to trickle out from the campaign, but at a far slower rate than normal. And the Huffington Post, a left-leaning Web site, said it had called 15 McCain campaign offices in battleground states, and none said it was suspending operations.

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Adrian Chandler

September 26, 2008

Point well taken. I havent seen any messianic campaign ads, but i do know that the term messiah was bestowed upon obama, not bacause of community organizing, but because of the way the media falls down to their knees to praise everything obama does (with n o criticism of the things he doesnt). i mean seriously, a news anchor isnt supposed to say “i get tingly feelings in my legs when obama speaks”. thats not fair and balanced. But thats a whole nother bucket of cats. And if Obama is quick on his feet, how come at Saddleback he maybe answered two questions? Whats his stance on abortion? “Its above my pay grade.” Algebra two is above my pay grade, because i suck at math. But if asked the same question he was, ” When does life begin?” , “Conception” . done deal. It doesnt have anything to do with feet. It has to do with morals. not right or left morals. simply honestly to the core of you BELIEVING in something. and the only thing ive seen obama believe in , and stand by, is how much bush sucks, and mccain is “too much like him”.

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Lamar White, Jr

September 27, 2008

Adrian, c’mon, there’s an entire cable news network, Fox News, that has been criticizing and attacking Obama– fairly or unfairly– for the past eighteen months. I don’t see how anyone can legitimately make that argument. Fox’s primetime ratings are nearly double that of MSNBC and CNN. And when he’s not being criticized and attacked on Fox during primetime, many of those same anchors are attacking him in the morning on talk radio.

To be sure, on second thought, it probably wasn’t the McCain campaign that actually started this Messiah meme. More than likely, it was Fox. Check these out:

Regarding Obama’s performance at Saddleback, I respect your opinions on conception. It’s a subject that has been debated by religious scholars and scientists alike for hundreds of years.

I believe we can make much more progress on this issue by working together to reduce abortions than we could by demanding people to believe in a shared set of metaphysical certitudes.

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Adrian Chandler

September 29, 2008

well spoken sir. Im working on a new post on my podcast about media bias..i’ll shoot you a link when i get it up. cheers!

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