Jump to content
LaL

Sen. Obama and Sen. McCain Exchange Letters on Ethics Reform

12 posts in this topic

Recommended Posts

Posted
February 2, 2006

The Honorable John McCain

United States Senate

241 Russell Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

Dear John:

Thank you for inviting me to participate in the meeting yesterday to discuss lobbying and ethics reform proposals currently before the Senate. I appreciate your willingness to reach out to me and several other Senate Democrats to discuss what should be done to restore public confidence in the way that Congress conducts its business. The discussion clearly underscored the difficult challenge facing Congress.

You and many in the Democratic Caucus have played a major role in reform efforts in the Senate. In fact, the Indian Affairs Committee hearings you led were instrumental in promoting public awareness of the culture of corruption that has permeated the nation's capital.

As you know, Senator Harry Reid and others in the Democratic Caucus have taken an important step by introducing S. 2180, the Honest Leadership Act, which imposes many of the same disclosure requirements for lobbyists that you have proposed, while also strengthening enforcement, eliminating "pay to play" schemes, and imposing more restrictive rules on meals, gifts, and travel that Members and their staff can receive from special interests that advocate before Congress. This bill, which now has the support of 40 members of the Democratic Caucus, represents a significant step in addressing many of the worst aspects of corruption that have come to light as a result of the Justice Department investigation of Jack Abramoff.

I know you have expressed an interest in creating a task force to further study and discuss these matters, but I and others in the Democratic Caucus believe the more effective and timely course is to allow the committees of jurisdiction to roll up their sleeves and get to work on writing ethics and lobbying reform legislation that a majority of the Senate can support. Committee consideration of these matters through the normal course will ensure that these issues are discussed in a public forum and that those within Congress, as well as those on the outside, can express their views, ensuring a thorough review of this matter.

Given the state of affairs in Washington, we have a historic opportunity to make fundamental changes in the way our government operates so that the actions we take as public officials are responsive and transparent to the American people. Thank you again for your interest in this important matter.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama

United States Senator

February 6, 2006

The Honorable Barack Obama

United States Senate

SH-713

Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Obama:

I would like to apologize to you for assuming that your private assurances to me regarding your desire to cooperate in our efforts to negotiate bipartisan lobbying reform legislation were sincere. When you approached me and insisted that despite your leadership's preference to use the issue to gain a political advantage in the 2006 elections, you were personally committed to achieving a result that would reflect credit on the entire Senate and offer the country a better example of political leadership, I concluded your professed concern for the institution and the public interest was genuine and admirable. Thank you for disabusing me of such notions with your letter to me dated February 2, 2006, which explained your decision to withdraw from our bipartisan discussions. I'm embarrassed to admit that after all these years in politics I failed to interpret your previous assurances as typical rhetorical gloss routinely used in politics to make self-interested partisan posturing appear more noble. Again, sorry for the confusion, but please be assured I won't make the same mistake again.

As you know, the Majority Leader has asked Chairman Collins to hold hearings and mark up a bill for floor consideration in early March. I fully support such timely action and I am confident that, together with Senator Lieberman, the Committee on Governmental Affairs will report out a meaningful, bipartisan bill.

You commented in your letter about my "interest in creating a task force to further study" this issue, as if to suggest I support delaying the consideration of much-needed reforms rather than allowing the committees of jurisdiction to hold hearings on the matter. Nothing could be further from the truth. The timely findings of a bipartisan working group could be very helpful to the committee in formulating legislation that will be reported to the full Senate. Since you are new to the Senate, you may not be aware of the fact that I have always supported fully the regular committee and legislative process in the Senate, and routinely urge Committee Chairmen to hold hearings on important issues. In fact, I urged Senator Collins to schedule a hearing upon the Senate's return in January.

Furthermore, I have consistently maintained that any lobbying reform proposal be bipartisan. The bill Senators Joe Lieberman and Bill Nelson and I have introduced is evidence of that commitment as is my insistence that members of both parties be included in meetings to develop the legislation that will ultimately be considered on the Senate floor. As I explained in a recent letter to Senator Reid, and have publicly said many times, the American people do not see this as just a Republican problem or just a Democratic problem. They see it as yet another run-of-the-mill Washington scandal, and they expect it will generate just another round of partisan gamesmanship and posturing. Senator Lieberman and I, and many other members of this body, hope to exceed the public's low expectations. We view this as an opportunity to bring transparency and accountability to the Congress, and, most importantly, to show the public that both parties will work together to address our failings.

As I noted, I initially believed you shared that goal. But I understand how important the opportunity to lead your party's effort to exploit this issue must seem to a freshman Senator, and I hold no hard feelings over your earlier disingenuousness. Again, I have been around long enough to appreciate that in politics the public interest isn't always a priority for every one of us. Good luck to you, Senator.

Sincerely,

John McCain

United States Senate

February 6, 2006

The Honorable John McCain

United States Senate

241 Russell Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

Dear John:

During my short time in the U.S. Senate, one of the aspects about this institution that I have come to value most is the collegiality and the willingness to put aside partisan differences to work on issues that help the American people. It was in this spirit that I approached you to work on ethics reform, and it was in this spirit that I agreed to attend your bipartisan meeting last week. I appreciated then - and still do appreciate - your willingness to reach out to me and several other Democrats.

For this reason, I am puzzled by your response to my recent letter. Last Wednesday morning, you called to invite me to your meeting that afternoon. I changed my schedule so I could attend the meeting. Afterwards, you thanked me several times for attending the meeting, and we left pledging to work together.

As you will recall, I told everyone present at the meeting that my caucus insisted that the consideration of any ethics reform proposal go through the regular committee process. You didn't indicate any opposition to this position at the time, and I wrote the letter to reiterate this point, as well as the fact that I thought S. 2180 should be the basis for a bipartisan solution.

I confess that I have no idea what has prompted your response. But let me assure you that I am not interested in typical partisan rhetoric or posturing. The fact that you have now questioned my sincerity and my desire to put aside politics for the public interest is regrettable but does not in any way diminish my deep respect for you nor my willingness to find a bipartisan solution to this problem.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama

United States Senator

http://obama.senate.gov/letter/060206-sen_..._ethics_reform/

Filed: Timeline
Posted
I would like to apologize to you for assuming that your private assurances to me regarding your desire to cooperate in our efforts to negotiate bipartisan lobbying reform legislation were sincere.

...

I concluded your professed concern for the institution and the public interest was genuine and admirable. Thank you for disabusing me of such notions ... I'm embarrassed to admit that after all these years in politics I failed to interpret your previous assurances as typical rhetorical gloss routinely used in politics to make self-interested partisan posturing appear more noble. Again, sorry for the confusion, but please be assured I won't make the same mistake again.

...

I understand how important the opportunity to lead your party's effort to exploit this issue must seem to a freshman Senator, and I hold no hard feelings over your earlier disingenuousness.

Wow, what a d i c k.

mccain-angry.jpg

Man is made by his belief. As he believes, so he is.

Country:
Timeline
Posted

I thought ethics reform was supposed to be done in the first 100 hours? Whatever happened to that? The only thing that was accomplished was publicly disclosing earmarks, not actually eliminating or reducing them. Anyone who actually thinks they can control over 530 Congressmen and women and stop them from doing pork barrel spending (which has been done for what, almost 2 centuries now?) to cater to constituents and especially to big business, is seriously being a lapdog drinking from the spinning McCain or Obama toilet.

This is merely an election stunt on both sides.

Filed: Other Timeline
Posted
I thought ethics reform was supposed to be done in the first 100 hours? Whatever happened to that? The only thing that was accomplished was publicly disclosing earmarks, not actually eliminating or reducing them. Anyone who actually thinks they can control over 530 Congressmen and women and stop them from doing pork barrel spending (which has been done for what, almost 2 centuries now?) to cater to constituents and especially to big business, is seriously being a lapdog drinking from the spinning McCain or Obama toilet.

This is merely an election stunt on both sides.

Election stunt or not, it's the tone of the correspondence here that is relevant.

Country:
Timeline
Posted
I thought ethics reform was supposed to be done in the first 100 hours? Whatever happened to that? The only thing that was accomplished was publicly disclosing earmarks, not actually eliminating or reducing them. Anyone who actually thinks they can control over 530 Congressmen and women and stop them from doing pork barrel spending (which has been done for what, almost 2 centuries now?) to cater to constituents and especially to big business, is seriously being a lapdog drinking from the spinning McCain or Obama toilet.

This is merely an election stunt on both sides.

Election stunt or not, it's the tone of the correspondence here that is relevant.

It's relevant to what? If there's no sincerity, or if this is, as usual, feigning sincerity, this is a waste of paper, and time.

Filed: Other Country: Israel
Timeline
Posted (edited)

Obama lied to McCain about wanting to work with him on ethics reform. The response he received reflected the lie. He instead, had capitulated to the Dem leadership and reversed his promise to McCain.

Obama then went on national television to lie about this incident to Pastor Rick Warren when he said that he had actually crossed the aisle to work with John McCain on McCain's ethics reform initiative, which he did not, as this letter proves.

Thanks for allowing that to be cleared up!

Edited by Virtual wife
Posted
Obama lied to McCain about wanting to work with him on ethics reform. The response he received reflected the lie. He instead, had capitulated to the Dem leadership and reversed his promise to McCain.

Obama then went on national television to lie about this incident to Pastor Rick Warren when he said that he had actually crossed the aisle to work with John McCain on McCain's ethics reform initiative, which he did not, as this letter proves.

Thanks for allowing that to be cleared up!

Are we reading different letters? That's not what I read at all.

Filed: Other Country: Israel
Timeline
Posted
Obama lied to McCain about wanting to work with him on ethics reform. The response he received reflected the lie. He instead, had capitulated to the Dem leadership and reversed his promise to McCain.

Obama then went on national television to lie about this incident to Pastor Rick Warren when he said that he had actually crossed the aisle to work with John McCain on McCain's ethics reform initiative, which he did not, as this letter proves.

Thanks for allowing that to be cleared up!

Are we reading different letters? That's not what I read at all.

The letters don't tell the whole story. Context matters.

Filed: Other Timeline
Posted
Obama lied to McCain about wanting to work with him on ethics reform. The response he received reflected the lie. He instead, had capitulated to the Dem leadership and reversed his promise to McCain.

Obama then went on national television to lie about this incident to Pastor Rick Warren when he said that he had actually crossed the aisle to work with John McCain on McCain's ethics reform initiative, which he did not, as this letter proves.

Thanks for allowing that to be cleared up!

Are we reading different letters? That's not what I read at all.

The letters don't tell the whole story. Context matters.

Why don't you come back and prove the real context to us then. In a verifiable format.

Filed: Timeline
Posted
Obama lied to McCain about wanting to work with him on ethics reform. The response he received reflected the lie. He instead, had capitulated to the Dem leadership and reversed his promise to McCain.

Obama then went on national television to lie about this incident to Pastor Rick Warren when he said that he had actually crossed the aisle to work with John McCain on McCain's ethics reform initiative, which he did not, as this letter proves.

Thanks for allowing that to be cleared up!

Are we reading different letters? That's not what I read at all.

The letters don't tell the whole story. Context matters.

Why don't you come back and prove the real context to us then. In a verifiable format.

You can pull the context on www.dittohead.com. :D

 

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
- Back to Top -

Important Disclaimer: Please read carefully the Visajourney.com Terms of Service. If you do not agree to the Terms of Service you should not access or view any page (including this page) on VisaJourney.com. Answers and comments provided on Visajourney.com Forums are general information, and are not intended to substitute for informed professional medical, psychiatric, psychological, tax, legal, investment, accounting, or other professional advice. Visajourney.com does not endorse, and expressly disclaims liability for any product, manufacturer, distributor, service or service provider mentioned or any opinion expressed in answers or comments. VisaJourney.com does not condone immigration fraud in any way, shape or manner. VisaJourney.com recommends that if any member or user knows directly of someone involved in fraudulent or illegal activity, that they report such activity directly to the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement. You can contact ICE via email at Immigration.Reply@dhs.gov or you can telephone ICE at 1-866-347-2423. All reported threads/posts containing reference to immigration fraud or illegal activities will be removed from this board. If you feel that you have found inappropriate content, please let us know by contacting us here with a url link to that content. Thank you.
×
×
  • Create New...