John McCain in The Boston Globe

On Foreign Policy: $1M political donations by Chinese Army should not be legal

Which of the following constitutes a violation of US law?
• An American businessman in China, aware that bribery is a common business practice there, gives a Chinese Communist party official $100 to listen to his proposal.
• A subsidiary of a corporation owned by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army gives $1 million apiece to the Democratic and Republican parties in the hope that it may acquire technology that could eventually have a weapons application.
  If you answered that only the businessman is in violation of our laws while the Chinese Army-owned company acted within its rights, then you would know just how badly our campaign finance laws have failed our country. You know just how influential big money special interests have become in Washington. We cannot reform anything until we reform the way we finance political campaigns. Until we abolish soft money, Americans will never have a government that works as hard for them as it does for special interests. Source: Boston Globe, p. A19 (editorial by McCain) Jan 28, 2000

  On Government Reform: Veto any pork-barrel bill

  “I will refuse to sign any pork-barrel bill that crosses my desk,” McCain says. “And if Congress overrides my veto and tries to force me to waste your money, I’ll make sure you know who they are, every single one of them.” It does not seem to be an idle threat. McCain scrutinizes all spending bills, looking for frivolous projects - even if they are intended for Arizona. Appropriators have been known to warn fellow lawmakers not to push for a project unless they are willing to be revealed by McCain. Source: Boston Globe, “Political Notebook”, p. A16 Dec 5, 1999

  On Government Reform: Influence peddling helps the Chinese Army

  McCain presents himself as an independent voice for reform of the political system, and places his campaign finance ideas at the fore of his presidential bid. He regularly calls the current system “an elaborate influence-peddling scheme.” The McCain campaign contends that “these lobbyists need to protect their self-interest so much that they’re willing to allow the Chinese Army to continue to make contributions to our political system,” according to McCain’s press secretary. Source: Jill Zuckman, Boston Globe, p. A3 Sep 20, 1999

  The above quotations are from Media coverage of MA political races in The Boston Globe. Click here for other excerpts from Media coverage of MA political races in The Boston Globe. Click here for other excerpts by John McCain. Click here for a profile of John McCain.

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  Page last updated: Oct 11, 2020