9 Aug 2008
McCain adviser lobbied for Republic of Georgia
Republican Presidential nominee John McCain has long been critical if not overtly hostile towards Russia in speeches, and there’s now some indication as to why.
According to a Talking Points Memo, McCain campaign adviser Randy Sheunemann has and possibly continues to lobby for Georgia.
Randy Scheunemann is a foreign policy adviser to John McCain. Scheunemann has served as a lobbyist with Orion Strategies and Scheunemann & Associates for foreign governments such as Georgia, Macedonia and Taiwan. He has also lobbied for the National Rifle Association and a group called the Caspian Alliance.
He has reportedly lobbied for the Republic of Georgia while working for the campaign. This year he was registered to lobby for the NRA.
Scheunemann was a board member for the neoconservative think tank Project for the New American Century, in addition to creating The Committee for the Liberation of Iraq in late 2002 and serving as its executive director.
McCain has come out with some of the sharpest rhetoric against Russia since the outbreak of hostilities in South Ossetia. McCain also supports kicking Russia out of the G8 and establishing the Missile Shield in order to “hedge against potential threats from possible strategic competitors like Russia and China.”