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You are here: Home / Politics / Domestic Politics / The best Senate money can buy

The best Senate money can buy

by DougJ|  July 21, 200910:23 am| 40 Comments

This post is in: Domestic Politics, Democratic Stupidity

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Wise moderate Max Baucus in action:

Top health executives and lobbyists have continued to flock to the senator’s often extravagant fundraising events in recent months. During a Senate break in late June, for example, Baucus held his 10th annual fly-fishing and golfing weekend in Big Sky, Mont., for a minimum donation of $2,500. Later this month comes “Camp Baucus,” a “trip for the whole family” that adds horseback riding and hiking to the list of activities.

To avoid any appearance of favoritism, his aides say, Baucus quietly began refusing contributions from health-care political action committees after June 1. But the policy does not apply to lobbyists or corporate executives, who continued to make donations, disclosure records show.

Baucus declined requests to comment for this article. Spokesman Tyler Matsdorf said the senator “is only driven by one thing: what is right for Montana and the country. And he will continue his open process of working together with the president, his colleagues in Congress, and groups and individuals from across the nation to get this legislation passed.”

I just hope that he and other Blue Dogs can stop the liberal suicide march.

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Reader Interactions

40Comments

  1. 1.

    robertdsc

    July 21, 2009 at 10:27 am

    Goddamned animal. String him up by his thumbs. Fucker.

  2. 2.

    Crashman06

    July 21, 2009 at 10:29 am

    This is so depressing. The Blue Dogs are going to torpedo this chance. Nothing good will come from it.

  3. 3.

    Rick Massimo

    July 21, 2009 at 10:30 am

    To avoid any appearance of favoritism, his aides say, Baucus quietly began refusing contributions from health-care political action committees after June 1.

    June 1?

    Of this year?

    As in seven weeks ago?

    I knew he thought we were stupid, but I didn’t think he thought we were THAT stupid.

  4. 4.

    A Mom Anon

    July 21, 2009 at 10:31 am

    “To avoid any appearence of favoritism”? Seriously? Someone had the balls to even hint at that?

    There’s not enough bleach in the fucking world to scrub DC clean of this infection.

  5. 5.

    SadOldVet

    July 21, 2009 at 10:31 am

    There was a time in Amerikan history when it could be said that “we have the best politicians that money can buy”. Now it can only be said that “we have politicians that money can buy”.

    Unfortunately, Baucus and Ben Nelson do not follow the principled positions of esteemed senators like Evan Bayh. Senator Bayh adamantly refuses to let campaign contributions from the pharmaceutical and biotech and medical insurance industries affect his votes! Of course, Susan (his wife) being paid about $1 Million a year to sit on the boards of directors of Wellpoint (Anthem/Blue Cross/Blue Shield) and multiple pharmaceutical and biotech corporations will also have no impact upon his votes!

  6. 6.

    Punchy

    July 21, 2009 at 10:33 am

    I really never thought Obama’s health care reform would be scuttled by a fucking Democrat. This is political fragging at its worst.

    Montana showing its true colors once again.

    sigh

  7. 7.

    aimai

    July 21, 2009 at 10:37 am

    God, I hate these people. Really hate them.

    aimai

  8. 8.

    C Nelson Reilly

    July 21, 2009 at 10:38 am

    Max needs to get a tire swing for the camp.

  9. 9.

    Comrade Jake

    July 21, 2009 at 10:39 am

    Read Reich’s post over at TPM. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Honestly, read that piece and tell me you’re not on the fence as to whether or not this bill is going to be a big pile of stinking dogshit.

  10. 10.

    SGEW

    July 21, 2009 at 10:39 am

    . . . the senator “is only driven by one thing: what is right for Montana and the country.”

    That’s two things, goddammit. I hate that shit.

  11. 11.

    K. Grant

    July 21, 2009 at 10:40 am

    Yep, been thinking rather a lot as of late of that scene in the Untouchables, with DeNiro talking about teamwork with the bat in hands. I know this isn’t Obama’s style. But it would be so satisfying for a moment like this to transpire as he talks to the Blue Dogs at the White House today. Metaphorically speaking, of course.

  12. 12.

    NonyNony

    July 21, 2009 at 10:41 am

    @Punchy:

    I really never thought Obama’s health care reform would be scuttled by a fucking Democrat.

    What?

    How long have you been a Democrat? I figured that if health care reform went down it would be because some group of Blue Dogs got together, killed it, and blamed it on the Republicans. This is what they do, and what they’ve been doing for at least 20 years.

    One difference this year is that I imagine they got terrified when Snarlin’ Arlen switched over to the Dem side and then Al Franken got seated. Now they can’t blame their failures on the Republicans – the Blue Dogs are going to be co-owners of this failure to get health care reform passed (along with Obama — if this fails it’s going to be a tough slog for him to get back up to the top of the game again). That’s a difference. I don’t think they quite understand that they aren’t going to be able to slough off the blame this time – we’ll see I guess.

  13. 13.

    gex

    July 21, 2009 at 10:44 am

    There are no words. We are so fucked as a nation. I wholeheartedly agree that we needed to have Obama win and try to fix things up rather than have McCain win and let the full consequences of Republican “policies”, which the Blue Dogs subscribe to, become apparent to even the delusional. But it just sucks that saving them from themselves means they never have get the chance to learn exactly why they are wrong. And so we have to keep fighting the same goddamn battles over and over again.

    The fact that a large percentage of people who go into bankruptcy are there because of health care costs AND had insurance when it happened should be proof enough to everybody that this system does not work. But no. Who are you going to believe, the goddamn facts, or their fucked up ideology?

  14. 14.

    Punchy

    July 21, 2009 at 10:47 am

    @NonyNony: Havent really followed politics until a year or so ago. So no, not familiar with the BD’s M.O.. Not really sure why they’re called Blue Dogs.

    Had figured that the Repubs would filly this into death. Now with a filly-proof majority, they still cant pass it. Anyone wanna guess the kind of shit Republicans would pass if they had a 60-Senate majority?

    It’s shit like this that makes me want to be a Republican, to enjoy the kind of team loyalty those fuckers have for each other.

  15. 15.

    Napoleon

    July 21, 2009 at 10:47 am

    @Comrade Jake:

    Comrade Jake said: “Honestly, read that piece and tell me you’re not on the fence as to whether or not this bill is going to be a big pile of stinking dogshit.”

    I have no doubt that is what it will be. Obama has sat on his hands while the debate spun out of control. The only chance for it to get past is for him to play nothing but hardball with the blue dogs, but he hasn’t.

  16. 16.

    ds

    July 21, 2009 at 10:49 am

    The ’94 health bill was scuttled by Democrats.

    Back then their excuse was that Clinton didn’t involve them in the process and just dumped a massive proposal on their laps.

    This time they’re going to try to scuttle on the basis of their new found deep concern over the deficit. Never mind that a lot of the necessary reforms like regulating the insurance companies don’t cost money, or even save money.

    “Sorry guys, we just couldn’t afford it!”

  17. 17.

    Keith G

    July 21, 2009 at 10:51 am

    When a good thing is also a bad thing:

    I applaud Obama’s notion of “returning” to Congress its former role as a co-equal branch, unfortunately that give clowns like Baucus more ability to screw over Americans.

    And what Rick said at #3.

  18. 18.

    Montysano (All Hail Marx & Lennon)

    July 21, 2009 at 10:51 am

    @Rick Massimo:

    I knew he thought we were stupid, but I didn’t think he thought we were THAT stupid.

    Yesterday, a gentleman from the govt agency that oversees TARP and other bailout schemes told us that the U.S. taxpayers could be on the hook for as much as $24T. Yet what do I see on my teevee last night? Some dingbat in Maryland haranguing her GOP congressman about birth certificates, with the rest of the crowd loudly supporting her.

    Yeah, we’re that stupid.

  19. 19.

    garyb50

    July 21, 2009 at 10:53 am

    If playing hardball is a euphemism for guillotine, I’m all for it. Nothing else works with a Blue Dog.

  20. 20.

    Ash Can

    July 21, 2009 at 10:55 am

    After all the horseshit the WaPo has been printing lately, it’s finally done something right by printing this article. It probably did so because it finds fault with a Dem, but this is nonetheless information that needs to be publicized. Golf clap.

  21. 21.

    Montysano (All Hail Marx & Lennon)

    July 21, 2009 at 10:57 am

    @Comrade Jake:

    Read Reich’s post over at TPM.

    Shorter Reich: Because we’re broke, we don’t have enough money to pay Big Pharma and the insurance/medical machine to stop screwing us.

  22. 22.

    aimai

    July 21, 2009 at 11:05 am

    Not to nutpick but I saw in a right wing thread a woman angrily assert that there was “no health care problem” because her doctor had just called her up and tried to schedule her children for a Swine Flu shot. So, no problem. No other health care delivery system in the world is so efficient! QED the whole health care debate is a democratic fiction to rip people off.

    I’ll say its efficient! My doctor hasn’t called me up to schedule those shots for my (insured) children because the vaccine doesn’t yet exist.

    aimai

  23. 23.

    Zifnab

    July 21, 2009 at 11:07 am

    Something is going to get passed. It’s going to contain good and bad legislation – real progressive reforms for the health care industry and a giant pack of give-aways to the industries.

    And when we’re all done, we get to take a second look at our ballooning budget, and the 2010 or 2012 Congress gets to revisit health care and make cuts. And then we see whether we get to cut the good stuff or the bad. And that’s when we’ll know what health care is going to look like as we go down the road.

  24. 24.

    jenniebee

    July 21, 2009 at 11:15 am

    Coincidentally, the sidebar ad has changed from Thai Sex Tourism to an ad for the “Bighorn River Resort,” complete with promises of great fly fishing.

    So what I’m taking away from this is that AI has definitely not reached the point of understanding snark.

    Woot! USA! USA! USA!

  25. 25.

    Cris

    July 21, 2009 at 11:20 am

    I swear, completely truthfully, I voted for Bob Kelleher, not for this asshole.

  26. 26.

    b-psycho

    July 21, 2009 at 11:20 am

    @Punchy:

    Anyone wanna guess the kind of shit Republicans would pass if they had a 60-Senate majority?

    They’d simultaneously ban flag-burning and legalize fag-burning?

  27. 27.

    jwb

    July 21, 2009 at 11:22 am

    Actually, I think the centrist Democrats know very well that they are going to own the failure on health care if it doesn’t pass. I presume that the one thing these politicians understand is their electoral prospects, and that they recognize the very real danger that if nothing passes we will see a very, very high percentage of Democrats in marginal districts, no matter what their position, defeated in 2010, so I think it highly unlikely that nothing will pass. The real question is whether anything sensible will pass, and I just don’t think we are close enough to the end game to know, because so far the whole process has been characterized by a refusal to talk about the hard choices—at least in public. (Which is also understandable: why go on record for something that might come back and bite you in a campaign before you have to.) In any case, I really don’t think they can pass anything while completely avoiding hard choices so it will depend on what happens when the end game comes and each of the centrist Democrats has to make those choices.

  28. 28.

    Boudica

    July 21, 2009 at 11:34 am

    @zifnab
    And when we’re all done, we get to take a second look at our ballooning budget, and the 2010 or 2012 Congress gets to revisit health care and make cuts. And then we see whether we get to cut the good stuff or the bad. And that’s when we’ll know what health care is going to look like as we go down the road.

    I was wondering if Obama’s plan was to get some health care reform passed now, then in 2012 when he’s a lame duck, push through a big reform package, maybe single-payer.

  29. 29.

    YellowJournalism

    July 21, 2009 at 11:43 am

    Add all of this to the fact that it’s more important to most people to see Susan Boyle sing on a crappy talent show (that wouldn’t get half the ratings it gets if it were shown in the fall/winter) rather than hear our President discuss health care and it makes you want to cry.

  30. 30.

    Tax Analyst

    July 21, 2009 at 12:38 pm

    SGEW said:
    “. . . the senator “is only driven by one thing: what is right for Montana and the country.”
    That’s two things, goddammit. I hate that shit.”

    That’s OK, ’cause he didn’t mean any of it.

  31. 31.

    General Winfield Stuck

    July 21, 2009 at 12:45 pm

    I f somehow healthcare reform gets scuttled, the likely culprits will be industry bought and paid for money people on the Senate finance committee. Though I don’t think they will be able too, in the end, though Baucus and his soulmate Grassely will give it their all. Baucus has said he won’t pass anything without Grassely’s concurrence, and the public option, of which Grassely like all plutocrat goopers, hates.

  32. 32.

    Calouste

    July 21, 2009 at 2:03 pm

    “Spokesman Tyler Matsdorf said the senator “is only driven by one thing: what is right for Montana and the country Max Baucus. ”

    Fixicated.

  33. 33.

    Ruckus

    July 21, 2009 at 2:53 pm

    I’m not getting depressed over our current congress critters, I’m getting angry. And what gets me real angry is that I know that nothing, and I mean nothing that we do will make any difference in the short or long term.
    We have no money to buy these idiotsassholes, no one liberal enough to run against all of them, and no hope that any of that will change.
    I really feel like a chump because I joined the military with the belief that I might be helping my country. I served, got an honorable discharge and despite what JFK said, I want my country to serve me and all the rest of the people who live here. And this government is not doing that. Or even trying to fake it.
    Who do I see about this?

  34. 34.

    maya

    July 21, 2009 at 2:54 pm

    Instead of emailing Baucus, start emailing Montana’s Chamber of Commerce. Let them know that if they have an elected Big Hat like Baucus representing them, who isn’t going to help us with our health care issues, then perhaps Montana isn’t the place I, my family, or friends will want to visit and help them with their economy. I have a hunch that tourism is pretty much THE economy for Montana, including big game hunting. Yellowstone and Glacier are it’s biggest draws.

  35. 35.

    Johnny Beatle

    July 21, 2009 at 3:10 pm

    I’d say it’s time to forget these “blue dogs” – Pass the bill with 51 votes. It’s time to do what’s right. Let these fuckers go down in history as the ones who tried to stop health care reform and failed.

  36. 36.

    steve s

    July 21, 2009 at 3:15 pm

    Anyone wanna guess the kind of shit Republicans would pass if they had a 60-Senate majority?

    HR 1 Bill to legalize blowing up abortion clinics
    HR 2 Bill to deport all homos to Mexico
    HR 3 Bill to outlaw solar panels
    HR 4 Bill to require scientists to affirm a 6,000 yro earth
    HR 5 Bill to repeal the minimum wage
    HR 6 Bill to invade everything
    HR 7 Bill to return to the gold standard
    HR 8 Bill to arrest Hanoi Jane
    HR 9 Bill to dismantle the EPA
    HR 10 Bill to compel christian church attendance
    …

    Or they could just put it all in an Obnibus “Bill to Make America an Instant 3rd World Hellhole”

  37. 37.

    Ruckus

    July 21, 2009 at 3:55 pm

    @steve s:
    Too late

  38. 38.

    slippytoad

    July 21, 2009 at 4:38 pm

    To avoid any appearance of impropriety, Senator Baucus slid the Insurance Industry’s man-gristle an inch and a half out of his mouth in order to permit himself to speak somewhat coherently to his constituency.

    However, he remains unable to completely voice most of the vowels.

  39. 39.

    SirG

    July 21, 2009 at 9:34 pm

    Don’t you prople realize that the majority of Americans do not want government controlled healthcare.

    The only people that want it are those that will not pay for it and leftist lunatics such as yourselves.

    The comments on this of are horrid. Threatening officials and spewing hate. I thought the GOP had monopoly on hating.

  40. 40.

    mai naem

    July 21, 2009 at 11:30 pm

    As it happens Max BucksRus is the senator of a state that has one of the highest uninsured rates. Tell me again, why Harry Reid would put BuckRus in charge of health care reform? He obviously doesn’t give a shit about health care for the average Montanan . He’s been a senator for years and done zip about it.

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