Reform advocates boo McCain's plug for Bush

By Matt Smith/CNN

	VIDEO
Sen. John McCain addresses activists in Philadelphia who support his campaign finance reform proposals Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)

PHILADELPHIA (CNN) -- Campaign finance reform advocates were happy to hear from former Republican presidential contender John McCain on Sunday. They were less than thrilled to hear him ask for their help in electing George W. Bush president in November.

The Arizona senator's plug for the Texas governor's GOP presidential bid drew a hostile response from a raucous crowd at the opening of the otherwise left-of-center "Shadow Convention 2000" in Philadelphia, a few miles from the hall where Republican delegates will formally nominate Bush on Thursday.

"I am obliged, not by party loyalty but by sincere conviction, to urge all Americans to support my party's nominee, Gov. George Bush of Texas," McCain said to a rising chorus of hisses. "I think it's quite clear that he's the candidate who offers change and that the vice president is the candidate of the status quo -- and, as many people know, I don't care much for the status quo."

Sen. John McCain urged "all Americans to support" George W. Bush at his shadow convention appearance.

The heckling prompted McCain to threaten to walk out at one point and brought a rebuke from shadow convention host Arianna Huffington, who urged the crowd to respect differing viewpoints. But at other points in his speech, he was cheered wildly.

McCain, who bucked his party leadership to advocate a ban on unlimited contributions to political parties, said he agreed with Bush on 95 percent of the issues. Despite opposition within the party, he said the Republican tradition of Theodore Roosevelt was still alive and the GOP was still an effective vehicle for reform.

But he warned that current laws governing campaigns reward incumbents who place their own interests ahead of the country's needs, and have bred a sense of cynicism and apathy among the public that threatens "a swift and more certain end to our civilization than any foreign enemy."

"We are the beneficiaries of a campaign finance system that is nothing more than an elaborate influence-peddling scheme in which both parties conspire to stay in office by selling the country to the highest bidder," McCain said.

Huffington laud's McCain's 'high-wire act'

Political columnist and activist Arianna Huffington hosted the Sunday event.

The conservative McCain's appearance was an odd note at an otherwise left-leaning affair. Huffington, a former ally of ex-House Speaker Newt Gingrich, said she understood McCain had to balance his advocacy with party responsibilities.

"John McCain is the most important reform figure within the system," Huffington said. "But he's within the system. It's a high-wire act."

Organizers plan a similar shadow gathering when the Democrats convene August 14 for their nominating convention in Los Angeles. Part lecture series, part theater, the shadow conventions are focusing on three issues -- campaign finance reform, the persistence of poverty and the war on drugs.

"Neither party has anything to say about this," Huffington said.

The five-day event and other protests surrounding the GOP convention have drawn a wide array of people to Philadelphia. Drug decriminalization advocates, anti-poverty activists, students and academics roamed the halls of the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Center at the convention's opening.

McCain booster David Gouge was one of those who cheered the Arizona senator amid the hecklers.

"It's a powerful opportunity for people whose views are being totally overlooked by the major parties right now," said education activist and author Jonathan Kozol, one of those appearing at the convention.

While the most prominent Republican in the shadow conventions' lineup, McCain is not the only one: New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, a critic of federal anti-drug efforts, is scheduled to speak Tuesday.

Also set to speak at the shadow convention are Sen. Paul Wellstone, D-Minnesota; the Rev. Jesse Jackson; authors Kozol and William Greider; and comedians Al Franken and Harry Shearer. The events are taking place about four miles from the GOP convention hall on the University of Pennsylvania campus.

'Billionaires' mock Bush, Gore

Roaming the halls was Pat Keaney of United for a Fair Economy, one of the "Billionaires for Bush or Gore" -- a spoof criticizing the Democratic and Republican candidates' support for free trade and what the group sees as their lack of interest in addressing economic disparities.

Keaney was to appear in the "Million Billionaire March," part of the protest umbrella group Unity 2000's events Sunday. But there was a problem with his billionaire suit: "I don't have my pants," he said.

No big deal, he insisted. The "billionaires" had a mobile sweatshop ready to make him a new pair.

But seriously, Keaney said, both Bush and Vice President Al Gore's support for free trade and globalization are exporting an "unsustainable" American model.

"We're fighting silliness with silliness," he said.

UFE is one of the major co-hosts of the shadow conventions. Some of the group's less silly members said they were drawn by personal observations of hard times that aren't affected by the current economic boom.

"I'm very concerned about the widening gap between the rich and the middle class. It's not just the rich and poor anymore," said Joanna Vessella, a Methodist minister from Boston. "We keep hearing about how great the economy is, but a lot of people aren't seeing it."