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Liberal Interest Groups for McCain

9:56 AM, Feb 27, 2008 • By BRIAN FAUGHNAN
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It's clear that a McCain/Obama presidential race would call into question some of the principles that we normally take for granted. One is that groups like Public Citizen would line up in lock step behind the Democratic candidate. Not true this year:

"Regardless of how many lobbyists are working on his campaign or raising money for him, John McCain has fought for 14 long, hard years for reforms that seriously limit lobbyists' power," Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen, said in a statement...

Claybrook said McCain has a record of standing up to powerful interests in Washington. "He has fought for campaign finance reform, limits on gifts and travel from lobbyists, and extensive public disclosure of lobbyists' activities - all of which limit the influence of lobbyists and the companies that hire lobbyists in Washington, D.C.," she said.

Public Citizen was founded by Ralph Nader in 1971, and has been run since 1982 by Joan Claybrook, a former official in the Carter administration. To say that Public Citizen rarely defends Republicans would be a huge understatement. Just another sign that 2008 will be a different sort of election.

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