Comments on: Sub-straight talk

By: Pigilito

Pigilito — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 14:22:05 +0000

Short sighted mistake on his part, if true.

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 15:28:36 +0000

I’m confused on this, I guess I don’t know what institution McCain Inc. took the loans from.

If McCain applied for FEC Funds, and took out loans, using the acquiring of those funds as collateral, wouldn’t the loans be a private matter?

Sure, he’s “defaulting” on the loans, not in the sense he is not paying them back, but that the collateral he claimed doesn’t exist; but that is between McCain Inc, and the Bank, not the FEC.
Unless the FEC is the Bank, which I don’t think is true.

So why do the loans matter in the withdrawal process?

By: Stephen

Stephen — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 16:00:42 +0000

Jeremy,

There’s no issue of defaulting on the loans. I’ll try to put more in an update.

By: John the Marine

John the Marine — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 17:19:34 +0000

Interestingly enough Obama has put a “hold” on the Republican FCC appointment. Which in turn means that at the momment it can’t make a ruling. The courts are another matter. Now I’m no Obama cheerleader but it does seem kind of ironic that Mr. Campaign Finance Reform (McCain) finds himself in this pickle. In my mind Stephen your above observations are an illustration of why the Gov shouldn’t be in the “Campaign Finance” business. Wasting my money on some political blowhard’s rhetorical diarrhea is more insulting than most government programs.

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 04:26:09 +0000

Ah, excellent points. I didn’t think of the “What if” for those failing campaigns which request federal money.

The good news is that the FEC would only fund X/2 in your scenerio (up to 54 Million) as they would only match what said candidate can raise on their own, correct?

And, even so, based on the system, as is. Candidate Inc, only gets the money in March, when they need it in January/February. So they HAVE to take out the loan if they want to spend said money. Severeal now-failed candidates, this cycle, have done this; (Dodd, Biden, and Tancredo, I believe) so the problem is already there. So why is McCain’s case such an issue, as he can easily repay said loans, and not be a burden on voluntary tax payers?
(I say voluntary, cause I’ve never checked off that box on my returns)