Another nail in the "Straight Talk Express" coffin...

For someone that billed himself as the "maverick anti-republican establishment candidate", McCain has now completely sold the last remaining fiber of his rapidly deteriorating soul to the devils that run the republican party.

If all of the sucking up to Bu$hCo over the past few years wasn't enough, then how is he going to explain how ethical he is when he hires a key player in the Tom DeLay money laundering crimes as a top advisor to his PAC?

There was a time where I was genuinely worried that McCain, a wolf if wolf's clothing but calls himself a sheep, would be able to pull the wool over enough people's eyes to be a threat in 2008.

I no longer think that.

Of course, the Washington Post misses the biggest part of this story in their article, but we now have something that cuts right to the heart of the nonsensical "straight talk" crap that McCain has been peddling while doing everything he can to appease the lunatic fringe that is running the republican party.

But, according to Josh Marshall's crew at TPM, the story reported about Terry Nelson isn't that he is the former political director for Dear Leader, or that he is the former deputy chief of staff of the Republican National Committee.  No, the story here is that Mr. Campaign Finance Reform and "straight talker" is hiring someone to act as his top advisor who not only had a crucial role in the DeLay money laundering crimes, but also was named in the indictment.  

According to SourceWatch:

Nelson was RNC Deputy Chief of Staff when, on or about September 11, 2002, Jim Ellis requested and proposed that contributions from the Texans for a Republican Majority PAC (TRMPAC) be exchanged with the RNC and the Republican National State Elections Committee (RNSEC) for contributions to "several candidates for the Texas House of Representatives that were supported by" TRMPAC.

On September 13, 2002, Ellis delivered a check from TRMPAC for $190,000 and a list with 7 "names of several candidates" to Nelson. On October 4, 2002, the RNC and RNSEC issued checks to the 7 candidates itemized on the list provided by Ellis.

"The donations to each candidate were made on the same day two weeks after Texans for a Republican Majority, created by U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, sent $190,000 in corporate money to the RNC group.

"Under state law, DeLay's political committee could not legally give corporate donations to candidates."

Of course, team McCain's hearts are all aflutter with their new top advisor:

Of Nelson, McCain said: "Straight Talk is fortunate to have the strategic guidance of one of the country's most seasoned professionals."

A McCain adviser described Nelson as the "best bricklayer in the business" for his ability to build and implement a massive grass-roots political organization.

So now, McCain not only has to explain why, while the Gulf Coast drowned, he was posing for this photo with Dear Leader like two peas in a pod:

He also now has to explain how the "Straight Talk Express" can run with someone that enabled illegal money laundering schemes and undercut the one piece of legislation that he is known for.

To us, McCain was exposed as a fraud a long time ago.  To many others, even intelligent people, they still see him as "the reformer" from 2000.  This decision to hire a money launderer, along with his "let them eat cake" moment while thousands of people were stranded or dying, should be his political death sentence.

We must make sure of that.