Prior to yesterday, you probably never heard of a company called the DCI Group or its chief executive, Doug Goodyear. But now you have.The public relations executive whom Senator John McCain’s campaign had chosen to run the Republican National Convention this summer resigned his post on Saturday after a magazine reported that his firm had lobbied for the military junta that runs Myanmar.
The executive, Doug Goodyear, said in a statement that he was stepping down as the coordinator of the convention, which will be held Sept. 1-4 in Minneapolis-St. Paul, “so as not to become a distraction in this campaign.”
[...]
The rulers of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, have been widely condemned for stymieing relief efforts after a cyclone ravaged the country’s coastal areas on May 3, killing thousands. The United States has denounced the Burmese government as one of the world’s most repressive, and Mr. McCain, Republican of Arizona, has long been critical of the government as well. During the campaign, he has called for Myanmar’s leaders to halt human rights abuses.
I think it's fair to say that Myanmar's government is one of the most evil and corrupt regimes in the world -- "illicit narcotics, human rights abuses and political repression," according to former U.N. ambassador John Bolton. Currently, the junta is in the process of allowing tens of thousands of its own citizens to die in the aftermath of a cyclone. So, it's not a big surprise that the McCain campaign quickly ditched the chief executive of the company that lobbies for this regime.
It's not just Myanmar, either; DCI has also worked on such wonderful causes as protecting Big Tobacco and denying global warming. Great stuff, huh?
So, what does any of this have to do with Frank Wolf? Well, according to the FEC disclosure database, Wolf received $1,000 from DCI in December 2005. Knowing how much Frank Wolf cares about human rights, he’ll no doubt be refunding this contribution voluntarily soon. We’ll see, but we're not holding our breaths.
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