John McCain's Sleezy Reform Institute

Talk about SPECIAL INTEREST CONNECTIONS, and taking care of your Good Old Boys Club. Take a look at this Source Watch Article on Reform Institute...why isn't the National Press asking John McCain some serious questions about this?

The Reform Institute

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The Reform Institute describes itself as "a multi-issue think tank that champions the national interest by formulating and advocating meaningful reform in vital areas of public policy, including campaign finance and election reform, energy and climate stewardship, homeland security, immigration reform and economic policy."^[1] The Institute, which is a 501(c)(3) non-profit group, was founded after the failure of the Arizona Senator John McCain's bid to win the 2000 Republican presidential nomination. McCain and former Democrat Senator Bob Kerrey were the two founding co-chairman of the institute's Advisory Committee. McCain resigned his position in 2005.^[1]

Contents [hide] 1 Background 2 Funding 2.1 Foundation supporters 2.2 Corporate supporters 3 Personnel 3.1 Board of Directors 3.2 Staff 3.2.1 Former staff and Board presidents 3.3 Consultants 3.4 Advisory board 3.4.1 Academic advisory committee 3.4.2 Government & politics advisory committee 3.4.3 Business & finance advisory committee 3.4.4 Former members of the advisory board 4 Consultants 5 Fundraising 6 Contact information 7 SourceWatch resources 8 External links 8.1 Sources 8.2 Articles

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Background

The Institute, which has been identified as both an astroturf organization and phony think tank, "primarily seems to be the 2008 McCain-for-President campaign-in-waiting."^[2][3] In August 2005, the Institute was "housed in the same Old Towne office building as McCain's re-election committee (Friends of John McCain)," his Straight Talk America PAC, and "his adviser's lobbying firm" Davis, Manafort & Freedman, Inc.^[4]

"The chairman of the board of the Reform Institute is ... John McCain," Bradley A. Smith wrote. "If you go to look at the press releases at reforminstitute.org, you will see that virtually every release mentions Sen. McCain in the first sentence. Not paragraph, sentence. Who runs the Reform Institute? Well, the president is Richard Davis, who is paid over $110,000 a year. Who is Richard Davis? He was John McCain’s 2000 campaign manager. The counsel to the Reform Institute is Trevor Potter, whose law firm is paid more than $50,000 a year for the work. Who is Trevor Potter? Why, he was legal counsel to McCain 2000! The finance director of the Reform Institute is a woman named Carla Eudy. She was finance director for McCain 2000. The communications director is Crystal Benton; she was McCain’s press secretary.

"Recently the Reform Institute, which bills itself as 'a thoughtful, moderate voice for reform in the campaign finance and election administration debates,' launched what it calls the Natural Resources Stewardship Project. And what does natural resources stewardship have to do with 'campaign finance and election administration'? As near as I can tell, its only connection to campaign finance and election administration is, as the institute’s site tells us, that 'Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman have introduced the Climate Stewardship Act' in Congress. And, of course, John McCain is planning to run for president again, and his signature issue, other than campaign finance regulation, is global warming. To run the Natural Resources Stewardship Project, the institute hired John Raidt, who, you guessed it, served 15 years working on 'environmental initiatives' for Sen. McCain," Smith wrote.

"And how is the Reform Institute funded? With contributions, in six figures or more, from individuals and corporations, including the cable company Cablevision. Cable companies are constantly before the Senate Commerce Committee, which Sen. McCain chaired at the time of Cablevision’s contribution. In fact, Cablevision gave $200,000 to the Reform Institute around the same time its officials were testifying before the Senate Commerce Committee. Appearance of corruption, anyone?", Smith asked.^[5]

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Funding

The Reform Institute's 2005 annual return to the Internal Revenue Service reoported total revenue of $1,156,354 and total expenditure of $1,131,768.^[6]On its website it provides a detailed historical list of contributors to the group. However, it is not possible to identify current donors.

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Foundation supporters

The foundations listed as having supported the institute since its foundation include:

• Joseph Hoyt Foundation less than $5,000
• Allison Family Foundation, between $5,000 and $49,999
• The David Geffen Foundation, between $5,000 and $49,999
• Manafort Family Foundation, between $5,000 and $49,999
• Rockefeller Brothers Foundation, between $5,000 and $49,999
• The Educational Foundation of America, above $50,000
• The JEHT Foundation, above $50,000
• Jerome Kohlberg, Jr. Revocable Trust, above $50,000
• McMullen Family Foundation, above $50,000
• Proteus Fund, above $50,000
• Stuart Family Foundation, above $50,000
• Tides Foundation, above $50,000

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Corporate supporters

• Carnegie Corporation of New York, above $50,000
• CSC Holdings, Inc, above $50,000
• American International Group, above $50,000

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Personnel

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Board of Directors

• Charles Bass, former congressman (R-NH)
• Charles Kolb, Committee for Economic Development
• Pam Pryor, Convoy of Hope
• Daniel Ortiz, Legal Advisor
• Cecilia Martinez, Executive Director

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Staff

• Cecilia Martinez, Executive Director
• Daniel Ortiz, Legal Advisor
• Dr. Juan Hernandez, Senior Fellow of the Institute's Comprehensive Immigration Reform Initiative
• Robert W. Kelly, Senior Advisor for Homeland/National Security
• Nichole Remmert serves as the development director for the Reform Institute.
• Kerry Buker, Coordinator on Climate and Energy Policy and Executive Assistant
• Chris Dreibelbis serves as the Communications and Economic Policy Director for the Reform Institute.
• Tina Guthrie, Program and Research Associate for homeland security, energy, and climate change.
• Sarah Wambaugh, Program and Research Assistant for campaign reform and economic policy.

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Former staff and Board presidents

• Crystal Benton, Communications Director
• Winnie Strzelecki, Field Director
• Daniel Prieto, Director and Senior Fellow of the Homeland Security Center
• Tina Guthrie, Program and Research Associate on Homeland Security
• Kate Falchi, Program and Research Associate
• Steven Bogden, Research Assistant to Homeland Security
• Herb Allison (2001-2003)
• Richard Davis (2003-2005)
• Amo Houghton 2005-2006
• John Gardner (2006-2007)

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Consultants

• Tony Corrado is a professor at Colby College and assists the Institute with research that involves money in politics.
• Sam Hirsch is a partner in Jenner & Block's Washington, D.C. office. With Ortiz he was project director for the Institute's publication, Beyond Party Lines: Principles for Redistricting Reform.
• BJ Martino is a Vice President with The Tarrance Group, a political research and strategy firm that conducts polling on behalf of the Institute.
• Ken Nahigian, Senior Advisor to the Institute's Center for Energy and Environmental Progress.
• Don Murphy, Senior Advisor to the Institute's State Strategies Initiative
• Kristen Murray, Project Director for the Institute’s 2007 publication Playing Fair: 527 Reforms in the States.
• Ken Smukler, project manager for the 1-866-MyVote1 consortium.
• Tim Crawford, development and networking strategies.

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Advisory board

According to the Institute's website, is a "bipartisan group of notable academics, legal experts, election administrators, and public officials."^[7]

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Academic advisory committee

• Michael Alvarez, Associate Professor, Voting and Elections, California Institute of Technology
• Marion Just, Professor Politics and Mass Media, Wellesley College
• Raymond Wolfinger, Heller Professor, Political Science, University of California at Berkeley
• Tami Buhr, Director of Research Joan Shorenstein Center, Harvard University
• Charles Kolb, President, The Committee for Economic Development
• Norman J. Ornstein, American Enterprise Institute
• Anthony Corrado, Government Department, Colby College
• Thomas Mann, Senior Scholar, Brookings Institute
• Kristen Murray, Associate Professor, George Washington School of Law

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Government & politics advisory committee

• David Boren, Former. U.S. Senator, President of University of Oklahoma
• Ralph Munro, Former Secretary of State, State of Washington
• William Gardner, Secretary of State, State of New Hampshire
• Bob Kerrey, Former U.S. Senator
• John Raidt, Commission on National Guard and Reserves
• Lindsey Graham, U.S. Senator South Carolina
• Ron Michaelson, Executive Director, Illinois State Board of Elections
• Mark Spitzer, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

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Business & finance advisory committee

• Philip Emmer, Emmer Development Corp.
• David S. Pottruck, Chairman and CEO, Red Eagle Ventures, Inc.
• Matthew Freedman, Global Impact, Inc
• Col. Eric Rojo, U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce
• Robert Kelly, Managing Partner, Centauri Solutions,
• Joseph Schmuckler, Chief Operating Officer, Nomura Holding America, Inc.
• Cristina Munoz, Coca-Cola Enterprises
• Kim Binkley-Seyer, The Seyer Group

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Former members of the advisory board

• Former Congressman Amo Houghton (R-NY), Chair
• Cheryl Perrin, Campaign for America
• David Pottruck, former CEO, Charles Schwab

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Consultants

• Caplan and Drysdale, The 2005 annual report states that he was paid $51,523.^[8]
• John Raidt. The 2005 annual report states that he was paid $143,000.^[9]

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Fundraising

The web address for Reform Institute contributions is that for DonationReport.com, plus an extension code for The Reform Institute.

The connection for the DonationReport.com website arrives at a Login page—requiring both a User ID and Password—which belongs to eDonation.com, a member of The Donatelli Group, a fundraising company that has raised campaign funds for the Republican National Committee, Republican National Convention, Bush-Cheney '04 Inc., John McCain, the NRA [1], Vets for Freedom, and an exhaustive list of Republican members of the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as other political organizations.^[10]

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Contact information

The Reform Institute
300 North Washington Street, Suite 600
Alexandria, VA 22314
Phone: 703 535-6897
FAX: 866 863-5510
Website: http://www.reforminstitute.org

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SourceWatch resources

• Campaign Finance Institute
• John McCain
• John McCain: U.S. presidential election, 2008
• McCain-Feingold (Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002)
• Soft money
• Think tanks

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External links

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Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} "About Us", accessed March 2008.
2. ↑ "Scampaign Finance", The Agitator (blog), March 17th, 2005.
3. ↑ Brian C. Anderson, "The Plot to Shush Rush and O’Reilly", City Journal, The Manhattan Institute, Winter 2006.
4. ↑ "The Horse McCain", Dangerus, August 5, 2005.
5. ↑ Bradley A. Smith, "John McCain’s War on Political Speech. How the Arizona senator and other campaign finance reformers use the law to muffle critics and trample the First Amendment," Reason Online, December 2005.
6. ↑ 2005 Annual return, page 1.
7. ↑ "About Us", accessed March 2008.
8. ↑ 2005 Annual return, page 24.
9. ↑ 2005 Annual return, page 24.
10. ↑ "Clients", Campaign Solutions website, accessed June 2008.

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Articles

• Daniel Seligson, "Poll Shows Little Passion For Election Reform," Stateline.org, June 28, 2001.
• Jim Drinkard, "Maverick McCain now leads a pack," USA TODAY, July 15, 2001.
• "Carnegie Forum on Money and Politics," Carnegie Corporation of New York, January 26, 2004.
• News Release: "Cases: Keep it Clean v. Flake: Intervenor / Amicus Filings. Legal Center & Reform Institute Amicus Brief," Campaign Legal Center, August 2004.
• Steve Soto, "Mr. McCain Soils Himself," The Left Coaster, March 8, 2005.
• Winfield Myers, "McCain's Own Loophole, & His Takeover of Local Reporting," Democracy Project, March 8, 2005.
• Mark Tapscott, "Who is the 'Contributor No. 8, Anonymous' Behind McCain Political Advisor's Tax-Exempt Reform Institute?" Tapscott's Copy Desk Blogspot, March 8, 2005.
• "McCain has some explaining to do," The Carpetbagger Report, March 8, 2005.
• Sandi, "McCain Allies Want Reform (and Money)," Vista On Current Events, March 8, 2005.
• Chris in Paris, "The McCain-Reform Institute wants money out of politics," AMERICAblog, March 8, 2005: "As soon as your check clears into their account. Yes, but will they also provide full sucking up capabilities like we witnessed during the campaign last year?"
• Doug Ireland, "John McCain, Hypocrite," Common Dreams, March 9, 2005.
• Captain Ed, "Inside McCain's Reform Institute," Captain's Quarters Blog, March 9, 2005.
• Richard Poe, "John McCain Gets Soros Cash," Moonbat Central, March 10, 2005.
• Jacob Sullum, "How John McCain Reformed. The Arizona senator hasn't changed since his Keating days," Reason Online, March 11, 2005.
• "Scampaign Finance," TheAgitator.com, March 17, 2005.
• The Skeptic, "McCain 'Leaves' Reform Institute," Skeptic's Eye, July 28, 2005.
• Jeff Goldstein, "McCain to America: 'Do as I legislate, not as I, uh, violate the spirit of said legislation in an attempt to ready myself for another presidential run in 2008'," protein wisdom, August 5, 2005.
• Ryan Sager, "The Horse McCain Rode in On," RHSager.com, August 8, 2005.
• Bradley A. Smith, "John McCain’s War on Political Speech. How the Arizona senator and other campaign finance reformers use the law to muffle critics and trample the First Amendment," Reason Online (posted by Free Republic with comments and 6-page pdf by Heartland Institute), December 2005.
• Brian C. Anderson, "Shut Up, They Explained. The left's regulatory war against free speech," WSJ OpinionJournal, January 25, 2006.
• Brad Smith [Bradley A. Smith], "McCain, Obama & Me," Division of Labour, February 9, 2006: "Then there is the 'Reform Institute,' which Senator McCain chairs and which some have called merely a sham McCain campaign front."
• Bob Bauer, "We guess that lunch is off…," More Soft Money Hard Law, August 14, 2006.
• Brian C. Anderson, "The Plot to Shush Rush and O’Reilly," City Journal/Manhattan Institute, Winter 2006.
• Andrew Zajac, Group muddies McCain message The Chicago Tribune, June 17, 2008.

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Source: Technorati (view all)