The McCain campaign is attempting to obfuscate very serious inquiries into their fundraising practices. According to reports, the McCain campaign has received more than the legal amount in donations from 6,653 donors, totaling a stunning $7,000,000 in his primary campaign alone. At least one donor gave McCain an outlandish $56,047, so far in excess of the legal limit of $2,300 as to make it no longer even a plausible mistake.

McCain’s primary battle was hard fought at first, and his campaign suffered from a lack of funds that was often reported. It seems that to counteract this poor fundraising showing, either the McCain campaign itself began using illegal tactics, or each the 6,653 donors decided separately, and without urging, to skirt the law to give McCain an advantage. If the number were under 1,000, I may have been more willing to believe the latter scenario. Such a large number of donors, however, and such an unbelievable amount of cash collected in this manner leads me to believe that it was a concerted and accepted tactic on behalf of the campaign.

Nineteen donors decided to give McCain over $10,000 each, an amount not only out of any bounds of legality, but one that comes quickly to the attention of campaign workers and management. Donors are the lifeblood of campaigns, without the needed cash a campaign is stagnant, and must rely on the free media to get their message out. Donors of large amounts are often personally called by management not only to thank them, but to invite them here and there to events. It’s a personal relationship building tool that ensures donations in the general election, and also that donor then becomes a valuable asset to the fundraiser for future donations in other campaigns and issue oriented political endeavors. To have a call list for management without the donation totals tallied next to the name is laughable, and wouldn’t be acceptable in even a third rate congressional bid.

This comes after the McCain campaign solicited $5,000 from a Russian government official, not only illegal on its face, but also an amount far exceeding the campaign contribution limits put forth under McCain-Feingold. The combined allegations raise serious concerns over the McCain campaign’s fundraising practices, and further highlights the hypocrisy of their hyperbolic charges against John McCain’s opponent, Senator Obama.

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