Desperately Seeking Snowe: It's Not About Healthcare, It's About Corporate $ (Cenk @ HuffPo)

[ihavenobias]

By Cenk Uygur

There is a great misunderstanding as to why the Democrats are desperately seeking out Olympia Snowe to make a deal with on health care. It's not that they believe that if they get one Republican vote they can call the bill bipartisan. No one believes that's credible. And they actually don't need her vote to get the bill passed, because if they had the will to do it, they have 60 senators in their caucus to and take an on the bill.

No, they're desperate to get her on board so that they can pretend they had to compromise with her. She's their cover. Or their beard, if you like. You see, the corporatist Democrats (Max Baucus, Kent Conrad, Mike Ross, Rahm Emanuel) have always wanted to get in bed with the health care industry. They want to keep the lobbyist money squarely in the Democratic corner. If Snowe blows their cover and they have no Republican votes - they have no discernible reason to "compromise" away important parts of reform like the public option. Who are they compromising with? The jig is up. They're out of excuses. There would be no reason not to do a strong version of reform.

That is also why the Republicans would be furious with Snowe if she does the deal. Because what do they care if the Democrats get one Republican vote? You think they'd let the Democrats get away with calling that bipartisan? And the Republicans have said a million times that the Democrats have enough votes to get this bill passed on their own, if they had the stones to do it. They're practically goading them into it. Why? Because they want to tell industry that the Democrats screwed them and can't be trusted. There's only one place where their money is safe.

While we've all been having an earnest debate about what should go in the bill and how it should get done, . Who is better positioned through this bill to get more access to lobbyist largess? That's what all of this positioning has been about. That's why there are reports out now that the as we speak, perhaps even accepting her ridiculous trigger clause.

And now it looks like they might get her. Why? Because her numbers in Maine just . The art of American politics is figuring out how to deceive the electorate into thinking you're working for them for as long as possible while you funnel as much money as possible into your campaign coffers from corporate lobbyists. It's a virtuous circle for the politicians because the more money they have the more people they can trick into voting for them. If you get too close to the flame though, you can get burned. So Snowe will run back to the middle, and she'll get corporate money anyway for putting together the "compromise" (i.e. the that than they were making before through such things as "mandates" with no public option)...

to read the rest and to become a fan of Cenk at Huffington Post.

[FiveGoodMen]

1. If only those corporate 'persons' had to keep their filthy money away from politics

I'm sure Cenk is right.

"The art of American politics is figuring out how to deceive the electorate into thinking you're working for them for as long as possible while you funnel as much money as possible into your campaign coffers"

Truer words... and all that.

[ihavenobias]

7. I loved that line too.

He nailed it.

[bvar22]

2. The WORST thing that ever happened to the "Centrist" (Corporate)....

"Democrats" was to get a veto proof majority in The Senate.

NOW, their corrupt corporate asses are hanging out for ALL to see (except the willfully blind cheerleaders).

There are no more excuses.

In fact, there is NO reason to work for anything but HR 676 (Medicare for ALL).

Anything else...
ANYTHING ELSE is purely to protect Corporate Profits at the expense of the American People.


"There are forces within the Democratic Party who want us to sound like kinder, gentler Republicans. I want us to compete for that great mass of voters that want a party that will stand up for working Americans, family farmers, and people who haven't felt the benefits of the economic upturn."---Paul Wellstone

[DonCoquixote]

10. Anything else

Save for one thing,
if hr 3200 with a public option is a compromise that people can agree on right now, why not work for it? Or something like france and Australia where people who have their insurance can keep it?

The red states frankly are too set against HR 676, because they think it means that we will become the soviet union. Yes I will say it, America is not ready for hr 676, though I wish they were.

[yurbud]

11. great Wellstone quote. My favorite is his last commercial:

"I don’t represent the big oil companies. I don’t represent the big pharmaceutical companies. I don’t represent the Enrons of this world. But you know what? They already have great representation in Washington. It’s the rest of the people that need it.”

http://www.ourfuture.org/onmessage/borosage/borosage_oct30_02.cfm

Unfortunately, few Democrats in Congress could say the same.

[Turborama]

3. "Corporatist Democrats" - much more apt than 'blue dogs'

'Blue dog' sounds too quaint for these corporate lackeys.

:kick: & R

[Seldona]

4. Let's just hope the political pressure is so great they can't hide.

Besides I don't think Snowe would vote for anything seen as Democratic, even if she wrote the damn thing herself. They have way to much invested as the 'opposition party.'

[20score]

5. K&R!

[MedfordTim]

6. K & R

[Wetzelbill]

8. k and r

[MasonJar]

9. I have no doubt that this is exactly what is going on. Nothing else

makes sense. Isn't it wonderful that our reps, especially the president's men (and perhaps the pres) and our senators are more interested in doing what will keep them in power than in what will amke a real difference for the constitutents? They make me physically ill!

[yurbud]

12. Democrats: the OTHER corporate white meat

[pleah]

13. I think he is right about this and it just makes

me sick.
R'd yesterday, but forgot to post.