Evidently John McCain doesn't spend all his time on talk shows lecturing us about the superiority of his values in all things, over those of our president. Nope, he has time for a little sub-rosa graft and deception, too:
... The campground lies at the core of an ancient Apache holy place ... and has had special protections since 1955, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower decreed the area closed to mining... President Richard M. Nixon’s Interior Department in 1971 renewed this ban.
...
The land grab was sneakily anti-democratic even by congressional standards. ... (Among those involved was Rick Renzi, a former Republican representative who was sent to federal prison in February for three years for corruption related to earlier versions of the land-transfer deal.) It always failed in Congress because of lack of support. But this time was different. This time, the giveaway language was slipped onto the defense bill by Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake of Arizona at the 11th hour. The tactic was successful only because, like most last-minute riders, it bypassed public scrutiny. (emphasis mine)
It’s worth noting that Rio Tinto affiliates have been McCain campaign contributors, and that Mr. Flake, before he made it to Congress, was a paid lobbyist for Rio Tinto Rössing Uranium (a huge uranium mine in Namibia). ... Rio Tinto, incidentally, has been called out in the past for environmental devastation...There was a time when it was less hard to respect the guy. Ever since Obama was elected it's become entirely impossible. This is only the latest example of why.
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