Annals of McCain - Palin, XXII: lobbyists

Until his botched grandstanding over the financial crisis last week, John McCain hadn't set foot in the US Senate since last April. That doesn't mean he wasn't doing business as usual, though:

The Bush administration is currently in discussions to send $6 billion in arms to Taiwan. Yesterday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) sent a letter to President Bush, urging him to "add more submarines and new fighter jets to the package" as Taiwan had requested:

"The package will not include submarines or new F-16 aircraft. I urge the administration to reconsider this decision, in light of its previous commitment to provide submarines and America's previous sales of F-16s," McCain said. "These sales -- which could translate into tens of thousands of jobs here at home -- would help retain America's edge in the production of advanced weaponry and represent a positive sign in these difficult economic times." [via Politico]

McCain's desire to increase arms sales to Taiwan, however, raises questions about yet another conflict of interest involving his chief foreign policy adviser Randy Scheunemann, who previously lobbied for the Taiwanese government. (Think Progress)

Schuenemann is a top McCain advisor and a top Washington lobbyist. He was the lobbyist for the Republic of Georgia, John McCain's Big Stick he won't Talk Softly about. His firm has lobbied McCain 47 different times since 2001. John McCain knows what to do about crooked lobbyists distorting the political process. He hires them.