FAQ
Q. What's the purpose of this site?
A. For years, John McCain has been portrayed, by both himself and the media, as a proponent of reform who wants to reduce the influence of lobbyists and special interests. However, in his current run for president, he has surrounded himself with some of the post powerful lobbyists in Washington, who have helped him raise millions of dollars and, in some cases, hold paid positions with his campaign. We hope this site will make clear how deeply connected John McCain is to Washington's lobbyist culture.
Q. Are these the only lobbyists to which John McCain is connected?
A. Not by a long shot -- well over 100 lobbyists either raise money for McCain or work on his campaign. Listing all of them would be overwhelming, so we picked the 40 lobbyists we thought deserved the most attention, because of the money they've raised, the clients they've represented, or their notoriety.
Q. What do the lines between John McCain and various lobbyists represent?
A. All the lobbyists listed on our site either hold prominent roles in McCain's campaign (including a few who have been forced to resign in the wake of scandal) or have helped bundle contributions from donors, many of whom they also represent in Washington.
Q. What do the lines connecting one lobbyist to another mean?
A. Washington's tight-knit lobbyist culture means that many of the people featured on this site have either worked for the same firm or have represented the same client (some companies have dozens of lobbyists at their disposal). The lines between lobbyists represent those connections.
Q. What's the significance of the "Clients Gave" number?
A: When you click on a lobbyist, the "Clients Gave" figure represents how much money the clients (and affiliated PACs) of that lobbyist have contributed to John McCain's campaign committees and leadership PAC, the Straight Talk America PAC since 1989. This information comes from a Campaign Money Watch analysis of data from the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.
Q. What's the significance of the "Lobbyist Got Paid" number?
A: The "Lobbyist Got Paid" figure represents how much money that lobbyist's firm made from those clients on contracts on which the lobbyist was included.
Together, the “Clients Gave” and “Lobbyist God Paid” figures illustrate that these lobbyists have a vested interest in gaining access to McCain on behalf of their clients.
Q: What does N/A mean?
A: Some of these lobbyists have only worked in-house for a client, meaning they don’t report their earnings to the government.
Q. What is Campaign Money Watch?
A. Campaign Money Watch is a nonpartisan campaign finance watchdog group that seeks to hold politicians accountable for where they receive their political donations. The organization is a project of the Public Campaign Action Fund. For more information, visit http://www.campaignmoney.org.
