Trouble for the RNC's St. Paul convention!
According to an AP story published by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Doug Goodyear, the man picked by the John McCain campaign to run the 2008 RNC resigned Saturday after a report that his lobbying firm used to represent the military regime in Myanmar. Goodyear, chief executive of DCI Group resigned and issued a two sentence statement, after Newsweek reported online was he paid $348,000 in 2002 to represent Myanmar's junta. According to Newsweek, Justice Department lobbying records show DCI pushed to "begin a dialogue of political reconciliation" with the regime and led a public relations campaign to improve the junta's image.
Newsweek said the firm drafted news releases praising Myanmar's efforts to curb the drug trade and denouncing claims by the Bush administration that the regime engaged in rape and other abuses.
The Newsweek article also reported that some of Goodyear's allies worry that worry the choice of Goodyear could fuel perceptions that McCain is surrounded by lobbyists. DCI Group earned $3 million last year lobbying for ExxonMobil, General Motors and other clients, the report said.
Newsweek further reported DCI has been a pioneer in running "independent" expenditure campaigns by so-called 527 groups, the kind of operations that McCain has denounced in his battle for campaign finance reform.
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