Scheunemann’s Georgian Bucks
The Washington Post takes a look at McCain advisor Randy Scheunemann’s lobbying work on behalf of Tblisi:
Sen. John McCain’s top foreign policy adviser prepped his boss for an April 17 phone call with the president of Georgia and then helped the presumptive Republican presidential nominee prepare a strong statement of support for the fledgling republic.
The day of the call, a lobbying firm partly owned by the adviser, Randy Scheunemann, signed a $200,000 contract to continue providing strategic advice to the Georgian government in Washington.
If it were actually the case that we are all Georgians this would obviously be no big deal, but in the real world it’s a bit of an issue when an influential member of a major presidential campaign is an agent of a foreign government. Georgia’s position in the current conflict is certainly a sympathetic one, but it’s absolutely crucial to keep the scope and nature of America’s genuine interests at stake, something that can be difficult to do with hundreds of thousands of dollars at stake. Similarly, it’s crucial to keep the moral stakes in perspective — recalling that this is a fight over land not ideology and a fight the Georgians unwisely chose to pick — which, again, can be hard to do with hundreds of thousands of dollars at stake.
27 Responses to “Scheunemann’s Georgian Bucks”
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August 13th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
“it just adds to the continuing mystery of how McCain preserves this image of being the scourge of lobbyists when he is almost a caricature of the kind of politician who conduct is managed by a series of lobbyists who manage his actions on almost every point of policy.”
I suspect the dynamic is the same one that led the moralist GWB to do such evil while maintaining his image as a moralist. Most politicians have to come to terms with the real moral conflicts inherent in the job. Bush and McCain think of themselves as being above all that due to their faith/honor (respectively), fail to grapple with the conflicts honestly, and consequently lose them by default.
As for why the image is preserved, I think that’s basic social dynamics — and the press is basically a social institution. It’s rude not to accept someone as they present themselves. A large fraction of the press to this day retransmits GWB’s self-presentation with only modest caveats if any.
August 13th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
I actually don’t have that much sympathy for Georgia, precisely because as yet I am far from satisfied the invasion of South Ossetia was justified.
August 13th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Similarly, it’s crucial to keep the moral stakes in perspective — recalling that this is a fight over land not ideology and a fight the Georgians unwisely chose to pick — which, again, can be hard to do with hundreds of thousands of dollars at stake.
I disagree with this. At least as important as the ancestral lands bit is the fact that Georgia is committed to an independent, democratic, and Western developmental track and Russia doesn’t want independent, democratic, and pro-Western states on its border. That is fundamentally ideological. But more important than that — there is a basic international norm at stake. Russia just invaded and conquered Georgian territory on premises every bit as flimsy as those the United States used to invade Iraq. It becomes even more important to defend this principle with the so-called “great powers.” Randy Schueneman could be Stalin’s great-grandson for as much as it matters as to the basic normative dimensions of this conflict and the implications for future great power behavior.
I will qualify this by saying that, Matt, I think you have actualy been impressively judicious in poking holes in the arguments of those (like me) freaked out by the prospect of a newly expansionist Russia, and those freaked out (like say Josh Marshall) by the prospects of renewed US-Russia cold war tensions.
So, tell me, going through the actual list of NATO members, are there member-states for whom the US interest is so low that you would be willing to blow-up the whole NATO defense pact pretense in order to avoid having to defend those nations against Russian aggression?
August 13th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Oh, and yes of course it is crazy that a lobbyist for Georgia is advising McCain on his policies for Georgia. If Georgia wasn’t a central foreign policy issue right now, then maybe it would be sufficient that Scheunemann has reduced his direct ties to Georgia (although it would still call into question McCain’s nominal stance with respect to lobbyists working for his campaign). But under the circumstances, the only viable response is for Scheunemann to recuse himself from McCain’s campaign.
August 13th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
In all seriousness, I can’t get too upset about this. Obviously it’s bad to have foreign agents of any kind consulting on your foreign policy. But in this case, it’s hard to see how McCain and his campaign have been beneficial to Georgia and their cause. In fact, this is probably the most compelling evidence to date that McCain is a maverick: he doesn’t care that his top foreign policy advisor gets paid lotsa cash money by Geogia… by golly he’s still gonna screw the Georgians over anyway. Bravo!
August 13th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
So McCain’s is just Saakashvili’s puppet?
http://www.political-buzz.com/
August 13th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Sure seems like this episode would make for a good Obama ad hitting McCain on his alleged strength.
“When a world crisis erupts, who does John McCain turn to for advice: the lobbyists and registered foreign agents who run his campaign.” (Oh, and wikipedia).
“Registered foreign agent” and “John McCain” in the same sentence — I like the sound of that.
August 13th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
seconding rafe’s point:
it’s not just that mccain is using a foreign agent.
the really damning thing is that the foreign govt. relied on mccain’s foreign policy shop for advice–and walked straight into a military blunder of the most devastating kind.
i mean–these people were relying on the rah-rah bullshit that scheunemann and mccain are still putting out. and by trusting mccain’s judgment, the georgians ended up totally screwed.
john mccain: wrong on foreign policy, once more. dead wrong. just ask the georgians.
August 13th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
Finland seems to do just fine, and Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania aren’t on Russia’s hit list either. What Russia isn’t crazy about is having a policy of containment pushed under the guise of whiskey, sexy, democracy. Whether you think that’s right or wrong isn’t as important as the fact that Russia’s leaders think this and they’re literally calling the shots.
August 13th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
In all likelihood, the events were orchestrated by the Russians to come to a crisis while Bush was sitting in a stadium box with Putin.
They were prepared to launch a completely successful counterinvasion in 14 hours, utilizing armor, naval, and air forces with commando assaults in western Georgia and a massive cyberassault against Georgia’s computer networks – which they rehearsed last month. Most likely, the Russians prepared for the assault, instructed the S. Ossetians to begin provocations, then waited until the Georgians fell into the trap.
August 13th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
Njorl,
I can believe the Russians were trying to provoke the Georgians into invading South Ossetia. But that doesn’t excuse the Georgians for responding by invading South Ossetia.
But to be clear, it is not like I am rah-rahing the Russians either–I don’t find a need to sympathize strongly with either side.
August 13th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
David W. —
EU and NATO seek to quell Russia-Estonia spat
Latvia Expels Russian Diplomat As Security Risk
Lithuania threatens to block EU-Russia talks
Sure, NATO is almost by defintion a containment vehicle. What the recent events in Georgia proves is that it’s necessary. And Russia only calls the shots insofar as no one in the west has much of an appetite for any military confrontation with anyone, putting aside whether it’s with Russia or not. It’s not for military reasons. The Russian military is still in fairly poor condition and they genuinely fear the air power and naval resources that NATO can bring to bear. I don’t think the US ought to needleesly provoke Russia, but neither should we act as though they are anything close to the behemoth they were 17 years ago.
August 13th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
I find it hard to believe that McCain–who Wikipedia’d Georgian history–knows anything about Georgia outside of what Scheunemann tells him.
Scheunemann is an agent of the Georgian regime.
So, McCain isn’t NECESSARILY Saakashvili’s puppet–he’s merely informed solely by somebody whose job it is to bend his actions toward the best interests of Saakashvili.
If McCain were president, we would have invaded Georgia. And I would have begun driving north.
August 13th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
I can’t believe that no one is picking up on Scheunemann’s full role yet.
1. Scheunemann and Charlie Black were/are both registered lobbyists for Lockheed. Bruce Jackson is a former VP at Lockheed.
2. Lockheed stands to make billions from NATO expansion because of interoperability requirements.
3. Scheunemann and Bruce Jackson are co-founders of multiple pro-NATO-expansion groups.
4. It was for that specific reason that they were both tapped by Hadley to create the Committee for the Liberation of Iraq.
5. Charlie Black was the lobbyist for Chalabi’s INC before the Iraq War. Scheunemann wrote the Iraqi Liberation Act that funded Chalabi in 1997.
This is really easy, kids.
August 13th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
As well as the Lockheed connection, there’s also the Israeli connection to Georgia, which is all over the Israeli press but has been barely mentioned in the press here in the land of the free and the home of the brave: Georgia’s 29-year-old {!) Defense Minister and its Reintegration Minister are both Hebrew-speaking former residents of Israel. Not surprisingly, Israeli interests have been selling lots of arms and training to Georgia. Israel’s Foreign Ministry is currently trying to lower Israel’s profile in the war in order to repair damage done to Israel’s relationship with Russia, but some people in Israel’s Defense Ministry are telling them to butt out.
August 13th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
Njorl: “In all likelihood, the events were orchestrated by the Russians to come to a crisis while Bush was sitting in a stadium box with Putin.”
Oh, bullshit. The same argument can be made – with much more evidence – that it was orchestrated by the US, with Saakashvili attacking Ossetia mere days after visits by US officials.
“They were prepared to launch a completely successful counterinvasion in 14 hours”
Have you heard of military intelligence? You know, those guys in Russia who have spent the last X years watching US and Israeli military arms and advisers going into Georgia, leading Russia to ask itself just who Georgia was intending to go to war with? You think they missed Georgia building up its military around Ossetia while at the same time proclaiming a “cease-fire?”
“massive cyberassault against Georgia’s computer networks”
Which allegedly is also bullshit, according to the computer trade press today:
Russia Might Not Have Attacked Georgian Websites, Researchers Say
http://www.crn.com/security/210003769
Online vandalism does not equal cyberwar
http://www.techworld.com.au/article/257157/online_vandalism_does_equal_cyberwar
“Most likely, the Russians prepared for the assault, instructed the S. Ossetians to begin provocations, then waited until the Georgians fell into the trap.”
Or, you know. vice versa.
Adam above is right – this is about NATO expansionism – and military contracts and war profiteering – as usual.
August 14th, 2008 at 9:11 am
“Russia Might Not Have Attacked Georgian Websites, Researchers Say”
Wow. What a forceful negation of my argument. How about you go eat some shellfish that “Might Not” kill you.
September 4th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
so lets get this straight.
georgia pays a lobbyist in the US close to a millon dollars.
the lobbyist becomes the chief foreign policy advisor to the Republican nominee.
georgia launches a pre-emptive attack on a separatist region.
the US proposes an aid package of 1 billion dollars…to georgia.(from the country that barely gave one third of that to the 2004 tsunami)
thats a 1000% return. nice work georgia!
in any other democracy there would be a swift and merciless campaign by the press to explose this breach of national security from within the government. get angry people.
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