Thread: McCain cutting staff again!

McCain Staff Tell of Upcoming Shake-Up

Jul 2 12:25 PM US/Eastern
By LIZ SIDOTI
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - John McCain's campaign, trailing top Republican rivals in money and polls, is undergoing a significant reorganization with staff cuts in every department, officials with knowledge of the shake-up said Monday.

Some 50 staffers or more are being let go, and senior aides will be subject to pay cuts as the Arizona senator's campaign bows to the reality of six months of subpar fundraising, these officials said.

They spoke on the condition of anonymity because the plans have not been made public. An afternoon conference call was scheduled to announce the results of second-quarter fundraising.

Once considered the front-runner for the GOP nomination, McCain came in third in the money chase behind Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani, raising $13.6 million in the first three months of the year. He is struggling to reach that total in the second financial quarter.

Officials said the fundamental leadership of the campaign will not change; Terry Nelson, a veteran of President Bush's winning 2004 campaign, will remain campaign manager but may volunteer his time instead of drawing a salary.

Nelson declined to comment, and Brian Jones, the campaign's communications director, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Casting himself as the inevitable candidate as 2006 ended, McCain built an expansive national campaign organization that melded top operatives from Bush's political team with his own base of longtime loyalists from his failed 2000 presidential run.

But the fundraising hasn't come in as planned, and the initial spending was excessive, leading the campaign to cut some consultant contracts and low-to-mid-level jobs in the spring, and revamp their finance operation.

Despite those changes, McCain's fundraising continued to lag, and his polls numbers in key states have dropped.

The shake-up comes as McCain embarks on his sixth trip to Iraq, where he will spend the July 4 holiday with U.S. troops. In his last visit to Iraq in April, he was widely criticized for saying he was cautiously optimistic of success even as he toured Baghdad under heavy military guard. Iraqis accused him of painting too rosy a picture and U.S. critics argued he was out of step with reality.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

Looks like Amnesty McVain got run over by the outraged citizens' train. This is just priceless.

I love seeing total jerks get what's coming to them.

Notice also how the open borders AP writer conveniently neglected to mention exactly WHY McVain is being ignored and repudiated by US voters and conservative contributors. They just cannot bring their sorry asses to tell the truth as to the reason. Classic!

Bye Bye McCain. Now he needs to get out of political office in Arizona. I can't believe those people aren't screaming for him to get out.

Paige

Originally Posted by Paige

Bye Bye McCain. Now he needs to get out of political office in Arizona. I can't believe those people aren't screaming for him to get out.

Paige

I wonder about AZ sometimes. My sis lives there, and I met a lot of great people when doing border work. However, they do crap like elect Janet baby, and McVain, so who knows?!.?

H.

Wow Beautiful Tatoo.

Originally Posted by Paige

Wow Beautiful Tatoo.

Ty, I got it 3 years ago today (On our 10th anniversary, the wife and I both got tats).

H.

You know I am not one for tatoos. But this makes me think. Hmm!!!!!!!!

McCain... give it up and go home. You are not welcome as a president of the US or in a political seat in this government...and we hope the good people of Arizona will show you the door ASAP!!!!

He's really not a smart fella, is he? A child could've avoided the dunderheaded mistakes that he's made again, and again, and again.

/no sympathy
//good riddance

Good riddance.

The McCain cuts

A senior McCain adviser tells me that every department in the campaign will be trimmed backed, including some limited cuts in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

This source said they would now run "a more nimble campaign a la 2000."

Stylistically, the early going McCain campaign more resembled the well-oiled Bush-Cheney effort than it did McCain's make-it-up-as-we-go bid seven years ago.

From expensive staff salaries to extensive consultant contracts, they had the trappings of a campaign seeking to portray the aura of inevitability.

Those days are now over, as symbolized by the decision of McCain campaign manager Terry Nelson -- a former Bush operative and somebody whose own income from the campaign raised eyebrows -- to work the next two months for no salary.

Indeed, every senior staff member will see his or her take-home pay reduced, per another senior McCain source I've spoken with.

"The pain is being felt across the board," said this person.

McCain operatives wouldn't disclose exactly who is being laid off, but I'm told that the senior communications staff is still intact.

more BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!