This Is Getting Kinda Ridiculous

May 11, 8:15 PMProgressive Politics ExaminerJay McDonough

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Yesterday's noteworthy discovery was that Doug Goodyear, John McCain's guy to manage the Republican National Convention, is a big time professional lobbyist for Exxon, General Motors and, to top it off, the military junta government of Burma.  Goodyear resigned yesterday evening after news of his lobbying ties were reported in the upcoming edition of Newsweek.

Today yet another McCain crony lobbyist resigned when his ties to the murderers governing Burma became public.  From Marc Ambinder:

Doug Davenport, the regional campaign manager for the mid-Atlantic states, founded the DCI Group's lobbying practice and oversaw the contract with Myanmar in 2002.

"Doug has tendered his resignation and we have accepted it," Jill Hazelbaker, McCain's communications director, wrote in a e-mail.

Goodyear and Davenport were recruited by McCain's campaign manager, Rick Davis, who has been accused by some current and former McCain advisers of take insufficient care of McCain's reformer brand by appointing lobbyists to key positions. Ironically, as Newsweek reported, Goodyear was asked to become convention CEO after Davis's lobbying firm partner, Paul Manafort, was nixed because of his own close ties to foreign governments and controversial companies.

Perhaps a brief refresher on the government of Burma is in order:

• Burma has been under military rule since 1962, when the democratic government was overthrown in a military coup d'etat.  The junta has ruled ruthlessly since.
• In 2007, Burmese dissidents followed by Buddhist monks staged anti-government protests.  The Burmese military put down the demonstrations, jailing and killing an unknown number of protesters (international media was barred from entering the country to cover the protests).
• Earlier this month, a devastating cyclone tore through Burma.  The United Nations is estimating one million Burmese are displaced and the death toll is estimated today at 100K.  As the Burmese are homeless and face rampant disease from lack of facilities and supplies, the junta is restricting aid and holding supplies rather than dispersing them to the Burmese people.
  

Who in good conscience could lobby for the murderous thugs now governing Burma?   And why would John McCain be so willing to associate himself with these guys?   

Jeez, I hope this election does become a debate about character and judgment because, at this point, it seems John McCain falls a little short in those departments.