NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday February 15, 2008

McCain calls on corrupt DeLay to stump for him in Phoenix

Sen. John McCain sent disgraced former Rep. Tom DeLay to stump for him in Arizona to convince skeptics that McCain deserves their vote.

“Relying on a man like Tom DeLay – who is most famous for using lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s sky box and his indictments on conspiracy and money laundering – flies in the face of what McCain wants us to believe about his ethics,” said Emily Bittner, spokeswoman for the Arizona Democratic Party. “It’s remarkable that McCain would let someone with DeLay’s reputation try to win over his skeptics.”

DeLay visited the meeting of Republicans in Legislative District 11, on the east side of Phoenix, to tell them to vote for McCain. The LD11 group has long opposed McCain. (http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/225057)

According to a story in the Arizona Daily Star today, recounting DeLay’s visit on behalf of McCain:

Under the leadership of GOP District 11 Chairman Rob Haney, the group has introduced resolutions censuring the senator and declaring that it will not support him because of his work on comprehensive immigration and campaign-finance reform.

Haney and others remain skeptical of McCain, and DeLay’s gesture of lukewarm support didn’t smooth things over completely.

DeLay is also known for his bitter partisan dealings in Congress, most notably for his K Street project. He pressured lobbying firms to hire only Republicans from the Hill, to further solidify the relationship between their money and the government.

According to Salon.com, DeLay ran the K Street project as a ”’Tammany Hall operation’ that ensures only Republicans are hired for big lobbying jobs that pay as much as $1 million a year. Once hired, ‘everyone is expected to contribute some of that money back into Republican campaigns.’” (http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2005/04/08/scandals/index1.html)

“This begs the question: What are McCain’s plans for DeLay?” Bittner said. “Is McCain going to include DeLay in his cabinet? Is he going to find a lobbying contract for DeLay? Is he going to keep using him on the stump?”