John McCain’s campaign sent out a fundraising e-mail a few hours ago, soliciting supporters to drop $250 for a personalized McCain logo banner. The subject of the e-mail, Frank Donatelli, says he and his wife have “been proud to work for and support” John McCain since his first presidential bid, and are proud to publicly showcase their support for the presumptive GOP nominee.
Frank Donatelli, however, is a longtime lobbyist:
McCain Tapped Lobbyist Frank Donatelli To Run His Efforts At RNC. McCain tapped lobbyist Frank Donatelli to become deputy chairman of the Republican National Committee. The New York Times reported Donatelli will “act as the main liaison between the committee and the McCain campaign.” Donatelli is a lobbyist at McGuire Woods and previously served as a lobbyist at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. His clients have included AT&T, Exxon Mobil, PhRMA, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Verizon. [New York Times, 3/7/08; McGuire Woods, accessed 5/12/08; Senate Lobbying Disclosure Records, accessed 5/12/08]
Donatelli Enlisted to Improve Ethiopia’s Relationship with U.S. In a September 2005 letter sent to Ambassador Kassahun Ayele of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Donatelli set forth his obligations under their contract, namely to provide “government relations and related public communications services to assist and work with Ethiopia in Washington, D.C., in promoting and strengthening Ethiopia’s relations with the United States and, in general, providing such other appropriate advice and assistance as will serve to achieve these purposes.” [FARA Database, accessed 3/18/08, Letter signed by Frank Donatelli on 9/6/05]
Human Rights Watch:
“The Ethiopian Government’s Human Rights Record Remains Poor.” According to Human Rights Watch’s World Report 2008, “The Ethiopian government’s human rights record remains poor, both within the country and in neighboring Somalia, where since early 2007 thousands of Ethiopian troops have been fighting an insurgency alongside the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia. Government forces committed serious human rights violations, including rape, torture, and village burnings, during a campaign against Ethiopian rebels in eastern Somalia Region (Region 5). Abuses took place in other parts of the country, notably in Oromia State where local officials carried out mass arrests, extra-judicial killings and economic sanctions.” [Human Rights Watch, accessed 5/12/08, emphasis added]
You would think John McCain could find at least one supporter who isn’t a lobbyist, right?
For all those lobbyists staffing John McCain’s campaign, here’s a banner for all of them to share. In fact, I won’t even charge $250 for it.
Source: democrats.org
7 thoughts on “McCain appoints Woyanne lobbyist as top campaign official”
Elias,
I have a different take on the US presidential elections. I almost have a nonchalant attitude to whether McCain wins or any of the Democratic contenders. I really do not believe it would make an iota of difference who wins the election vis-à-vis, say, the Horn of Africa. Unfortunately, I think we will see the same nonsense policy the cowboy from Texas has been following. It is in the system, I am afraid.
We know McCain is amirror image of Bush; Hillary will just rep[eat what her husbad did and Obama has to satisfy to the military-industrial complex if he is going to stay in power or even alive. It is a dogy-dog world out there and the neo-cons will do anything (I mean anything including murder) to achieve what they want to achieve.
Bert,
I do share somewhat yout notion, with slight difference. At this time and administration, children and women are being butchered under the guise of eradicating terror throughout East Africa. The blind and ignorant cawboy have protected the Woyanne human right abuser, where almost all medias were effectively blacked out. I truely believe under democratic administration there is very good chance at minimum, we may get detailed coverages how Ethiopian warlord destroyed millions under the watchful eyes of cawboy from Texas. We may have documentary on most of butchered children, women, elders,scholars, have forced this doggy dog world rethink our state of dying in a dark.
Change is good also, unless some sort of change, we can’t move an inch forewards. Ethiopians are dying by staggering numbers, the policey this administration persued is accomplice in eradicating, massive number of poor Ethiopians who have not seen a drop of grain west supposedy have been damping at THUGERE juntas mercy.
Elias, Obama may not do a lot but he has better handle and ways to bring to forefront the gross neglects, massive human right abuses, desregard for prisons full children being torched by the invading army of TPLF.
Vote for Obama, he is smart, well educated, capable of understanding Africa’s complex issues than c- texan.
Dictators will probably continue to buy influence around washington. However, the fact that this campaign exposed the degree of their contribution to the suffering of people who live under dictatorships is an important issue in terms of energizing our resolve to free our people, and also gives a better picture to the western society how their leaders are enabling the suffering of the poor in third world. Unfortunately, the western tax payers will not be told the whole story. Hopefully someone will see the connection.
Bert said it all for me. However any help that we can get to evict the tyrant from power is welcome,but we won’t get it from Mccain.
The comment that it doesn’t matter who wins the November election should be understood like this:
It doesn’t matter who rules Ethiopia. They are all Ethiopians, with the same authoritarian approach. Emperor. Derg. TPLF. They are all Ethiopians and that are basically the same. They all use force. They all prevent free elections. They all put journalists in jail or chase them out of the country. Ethiopians are so divided that they can’t have good government because that requires that leaders have to be trusted. No Ethiopian I know will ever trust most leaders. Who do you trust?
Meles knows this. It was easy to fragment the opposition when he saw that he was losing control. Now he has no opposition.
America has problems. Everybody knows that. I wish Ethiopia has the same problems!
ELIAS uR nothing.u live in america for long time but ur brain is like rat
US foreign policy is consistent, the methods might change but the core objectives of the policy stay the same no matter who the president is. This has been proven again and again since the end of WWII. The US is an imperial power who has permanent interests, not permanent friends or enemies, friends or enemies are selected by how they serve the core interests of American imperial power. Just see how consistent the policy towards Iraq was since Bush one, then Clinton continued it by starving the Iraqi people through blockade, bombings and inserting paid Arab opponents (like Zarkawi in northern Iraq), then Bush two, finished the job. My Ethiopian brothers make your own reality, don’t wait for Obama to deliver you from dictatorship, you and you can do it with your people following your own policies, then any US administration will have no choice but to deal with you in a respectful way.
Now as everyone can see Woyanne policies are determined, funded and executed by the US state department, that is how specific they will get to make sure their interests are served, no single president in the US can change that.