McCain pushed legislation for land swap to benefit his campaign?!

[babylonsister]

:popcorn:

McCain Pushed Land Swap That Benefits Backer

By Matthew Mosk
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 9, 2008; A01


PRESCOTT, Ariz. -- Sen. John McCain championed legislation that will let an Arizona rancher trade remote grassland and ponderosa pine forest here for acres of valuable federally owned property that is ready for development, a land swap that now stands to directly benefit one of his top presidential campaign fundraisers].

Initially reluctant to support the swap, the Arizona Republican became a key figure in pushing the deal through Congress after the rancher and his partners hired lobbyists that included McCain's 1992 Senate campaign manager, two of his former Senate staff members (one of whom has returned as his chief of staff), and an Arizona insider who was a major McCain donor and is now bundling campaign checks.

When McCain's legislation passed in November 2005, the ranch owner gave the job of building as many as 12,000 homes to SunCor Development, a firm in Tempe, Ariz., run by Steven A. Betts, a longtime McCain supporter who has raised more than $100,000 for the presumptive Republican nominee. Betts said he and McCain never discussed the deal.

The Audubon Society described the exchange as the largest in Arizona history. The swap involved more than 55,000 acres of land in all, including rare expanses of desert woodland and pronghorn antelope habitat. The deal had support from many local officials and the Arizona Republic newspaper for its expansion of the Prescott National Forest. But it brought an outcry from some Arizona environmentalists when it was proposed in 2002, partly because it went through Congress rather than a process that allowed more citizen input.

Although the bill called for the two parcels to be of equal value, a federal forestry official told a congressional committee that he was concerned that "the public would not receive fair value" for its land. A formal appraisal has not yet begun. A town official opposed to the swap said other Yavapai Ranch land sold nine years ago for about $2,000 per acre, while some of the prime commercial land near a parcel that the developers will get has brought as much as $120,000 per acre.

more...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/08/AR2008050803494_pf.html

[gateley]

1. K&R

I also posted this -- and I hope it gets a LOT of coverage during the GE. I think there will be plenty of ammo for us to use against McCain.

[babylonsister]

3. Sorry, gateley. I did do a search for the word 'swap' but must have

missed yours. The m$m needs to start paying attention, which is why this bloody primary needs to end.
As Media Matters noted, some 'journalists' can't walk and chew gum:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=3261199

[gateley]

5. It's okay -- it sank -- and it's worth posting again! nt

[AzDar]

2. K & R....

:kick:

[Happyhippychick]

4. Hmmmmm.....veddy interesting.....

[marylanddem]

6. We always knew he was a slimeball

More of this shit will come out.

[babylonsister]

7. Yes, if the m$m ever starts actually reporting on important stuff. nt

[Lugnut]

8. K&R n/t

[marmar]

9. Republicans are to corruption.....

..... As flies are to (fill in the blank).

[spanone]

10. yep, that's what a 'maverick' does.....robs, cheats, steals & lies....did i miss something?

[OhioChick]

11. K&R

Maybe you can help me.....At one point, McCain suggested a 2 year mandatory service in the military. Not sure if this was before or after bush was in office. A co-worker said "no he didn't" but I'm certain of hearing it. I searched on it several times, but couldn't find anything. Do you recall him saying this?

Also makes you wonder why Cindy doesn't want to release her financial records. They hounded T. Heinz for this. I know that Cindy has/had financial ties to Big Oil and Big Pharma. Hmmmmm....

:kick:

[WA98296]

12. K&R

[blondeatlast]

13. McCain is devious--he's always opposed to (or ignorant) of something

that smacks of corruption--witness his "naivete" at being invited to board Charles Keating's jet for a ride to DC to meet with the powerful banker himself. I was 20ish when that happened and I could have told him it was a conflict of interest and thoroughly unethical--but the Man Who Would be Bush"had no idea..." :eyes:

That is a beautiful area adjacent to a Flagstaff park and old homes built decades ago that fade into the gorgeous landscape--and the owners respect the land and water there.

Ruskin set his sights on prime development property astride a major interstate, land adjacent to the Flagstaff airport and a contiguous stretch of the ranch that would allow housing development. He estimated that the ranch land, if subdivided and developed, would easily sell for more than $250 million -- and that had to be calculated into any swap.

No way would Ruskin's land be the equivalent of this (I know where Ruskin's land is located, too). Beautiful, but nothing rivaling the forest land he wanted to swap.

This was a big issue in AZ but the Danforths and Quayles made it disappear. Any McCain thread should be on the Greatest; this one needs far more exposure. K&R.