McCain adviser ousted in conflict uproar

Politico

John McCain's campaign asked a prominent Republican consultant, Craig Shirley, to leave his official campaign role Thursday after a Politico inquiry about Shirley's dual role consulting for the campaign and for an independent "527" group opposing the Democratic presidential candidates. The campaign also released a new conflict of interest policy barring such arrangements.

Shirley, a conservative public relations veteran, doubled as a consultant to McCain and to the group Stop Her Now, a 527 group barred from coordinating its activities with presidential campaigns. He is not currently on the McCain campaign’s payroll, but would also step down from his role on McCain’s Virginia Leadership Team, a McCain spokesman, Brian Rogers, said.

"If you're working for a 527 involved in the presidential race, you won't have a named role in our campaign,” said Rogers.

Under the new policy, a copy of which was provided to Politico, “no person with a McCain Campaign title or position may participate in a 527 or other independent entity that makes public communications that support or oppose any presidential candidate.”

Shirley’s firm, Shirley & Bannister Associates, was paid more than $22,000 by McCain for work this February and March to win conservative support. Stop Her Now has paid the firm more than $155,000 since 2007 for public relations work.

Shirley said Stop Her Now wasn’t the sort of group airing hard-hitting, factually questionable attack-ads that have given 527s a bad name, but rather a “lighthearted” effort.

“This is not the nether regions of 527s,” he said.

But his background is in some of the hardest hitting Republican attacks on Democratic presidents and presidential hopefuls.

He was reportedly a member of the team that tarred Michael Dukakis with the “Willie Horton” ads in 1988, and later he helped organize the first press conference with Paula Jones, who had sued Clinton for sexual harassment. In 2004, his company did public relations work for a move attacking John Kerry for undermining the treatment of Vietnam Veterans, “Stolen Honor.”........