List of McCain Fund-Raisers Includes Prominent Lobbyists [View All]

[RedEarth]

Source: nyt

Senator John McCain has staked his campaign for the presidency in large part on his reputation as a reformer intent on curbing the influence of money in politics.

But an examination by The New York Times of a list of 106 elite fund-raisers who have brought in more than $100,000 each for Mr. McCain found that about a sixth of them were lobbyists. The list of “bundlers” was released on Friday by the McCain campaign.

The sizable number of lobbyists, who are outnumbered on the list only by those working in the financial services industry, offers another example of the balancing act that Mr. McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, is having to strike as he campaigns for the presidency and seeks to maintain his reputation as a reformer.

The McCain campaign’s disclosure on Friday of its top bundlers of contributions was part of its efforts to furnish a sense of financial transparency to the public, in keeping with Mr. McCain’s past focus on overhauling campaign finance and his criticism of the influence of special interests in Washington.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/21/us/politics/21bundlers.html?em&ex=1208923200&en=24780b6c2f928fad&ei=5087%0A