Reid joins Hastert in last minute giveaway for insurance co's

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

And, our boy Reid lets us down - shows his corporate colors
Shame when a Dem screws the senior citizens.

Last-Minute Lawmaking by Hastert, Reid

Controversial Measures on Medicare, Land Use Slipped Into Session's Final Bill

By Jeffrey H. Birnbaum
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, December 16, 2006; Page A04

In the wee hours of the morning Dec. 7, Senate negotiators rejected a Medicare measure pushed by outgoing House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) that would have meant big revenues for an insurance company in Hastert's home state. But a day later, the $100 million proposal was alive and well, paired with a plan for a major Nevada land swap backed by Sen. Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), the incoming Senate majority leader.

The leaders' dealmaking went on behind the scenes during the final, frenetic hours of the 109th Congress. Hastert's provision, which would give certain Medicare beneficiaries additional time to change their health-care coverage, and Reid's plan, which involves more than 900 square miles of federal land, were included in a massive tax and trade measure approved by Congress shortly before its final adjournment early last Saturday morning.

Both provisions have been criticized as potentially harmful to public interests Land-use activists complained this week that Reid's provision would sell too much of the federal land to private developers and that it circumvents land-disposal procedures. Several senior senators objected to Hastert's provision on the floor of the Senate, saying it favored one type of Medicare plan over others. Representatives of Aon Corp., an insurance company based in Hastert's home state, lobbied for the provision....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/15/AR2006121501679.html

[RummyTheDummy]

1. No surprise. Reid is every bit as crooked as Hastert

Our govt. is a complete joke.

[stonecoldsober]

2. Damn! We're gonna need a MUCH bigger shovel!!

[babylonsister]

3. Baloney. nt

[Erika]

4. Agreed. n/t

[Occulus]

7. Okay, but explain his vote, then.

I certainly can't.

[hwmnbn]

5. Fuck this!!!.......

We can't let this slide. WTF is Reid thinking, that we're alright with this because he's a democrat?

Can Pelosi call him on the carpet. Can we demand accountability?

This is really pissing me off!!

[kanrok]

6. How much do you think these asshats pocketed?

Makes me want to puke.

[babylonsister]

8. Read what you are reporting and relaying! It's not always what you

read. Reid is not a bad guy, but we are now supposed to believe it. And it's not always about your horror at the system. Have some faith.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/15/AR2006121501679.html

Reid's provision would designate 900 square miles of Nevada as wilderness and would allow 70 square miles to possibly be sold to private investors. It is one of several proposals by Reid that would make large stretches of federal land in Nevada a combination of wilderness and private development. Proceeds of the land sales would go to assist local governments. Reid's Republican colleague from Nevada, Sen. John Ensign, co-sponsored the provision.

Some environmental groups approve of the land provision; one is the Campaign for America's Wilderness, which likes the way it expands wilderness designations. Other groups, such as the Seattle-based Western Lands Project, decry the loss of land to developers and the loss of revenue for the government.

"He's selling off federal land that belongs to all of us and keeping the money in Nevada," said Janine Blaeloch, director of the Western Lands Project.

Jim Manley, a spokesman for Reid, defended the provision as a way to protect wilderness areas, improve water conservation and enhance fire-prevention efforts. "The bill was the subject of numerous negotiations with stakeholders and will protect more than 500,000 acres of wild and sensitive public land as wilderness," Manley said.

[sandnsea]

14. Clinton did a bunch of these

I didn't like all of them, some of the swaps were a real boon to the ski industry. They got to put in developments that local communities often didn't want, on land they never would have gotten their hands on any other way. At the same time though, it's true that this is sometimes the only way to get land protected.

It's also true Nevadans don't tend to give a crap about developing the desert. In forested states, it takes forever to get community approval to even improve a highway. In Nevada, they practically make the decision at 8 am and start paving at noon. To get that much wilderness in Nevada seems like a pretty big deal to me, even if he had to give up some development land to get it.

[The Backlash Cometh]

17. I always suspected that the right-wingers weren't 100% wrong about

Clinton. That's why I'm not the first to join the Hillary bandwagon, even though I've defended the Clintons in the past when they were being attacked by the right. But they've had their shot at glory, had a good run, but now it's time to give someone new a chance to be the New and Future President. Someone who could actually live up to Kennedy's mythological image, someone who doesn't have the excess baggage of crony connections.

[NVMojo]

9. just like the bankruptcy give away to Citigroup, etc.

[alittlelark]

12. Speaking of Citigroup....

I sent my passport renewal Certified Mail..... I just got the signature note back.... It was stamped "CITIGROUP'.




SOOOOOOOO F'ed up....

[MannyGoldstein]

10. Meet The New Boss!

Same as the old boss!

(We just go fooled again!)

Mr. Reid's magic underwear must work no better than Willard Romney's. Reid's been involved in several amusing deals of late.

Well - BOHICA

[babylonsister]

11. Manny, get serious or get lost. Please. nt

[MannyGoldstein]

20. Uh

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=3017860&mesg_id=3017860

[alittlelark]

13. I'll 2nd Babylonsister

over and over and over.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

15. Politics and politicians as usual.

I wonder how much Harry and Denny will have contributed to their reelection campaigns by the Insurance companies and the land developers.

[The Backlash Cometh]

16. Reid? OUR Reid gave away public lands?

The man is toast. Not one DUer better back up the son of a bitch because this guy is no different than the asshats we ran out of office. How the hell is he going to prosecute Republicans for doing the same thing he just did?

That's why I'm not a Democrat. You have far too many Reid's and Liebermans in the party.

[Gman]

18. I'll back Reid up

He's a good man and damn better than the alternative. I will not pass judgment on the basis of one article and not knowing anything but a skimming of the facts.

[The Backlash Cometh]

19. Not good enough.

I will not compromise on integrity. "Better than," is not good enough. There is too much shady negotiating going on in this country and someone has to stop it. If you tolerate it in the Dem party, then how can you criticize the Republicans for tolerating it in their own.

Reid has some s'plaining to do.

[The Count]

23. How about his own words on escalating the war? "temporarily"

Are you backing him on that too?

[tabasco]

21. Which political party do you support?

I'm sure they are just perfect.

This is a compromise I don't like, and I'm not a big fan of Reid, but I try to keep things in perspective.

Maybe you think the republicans and the democrats are the same.

As far as I'm concerned, you can take your thousdands of posts and haul ass if you are going to trash the Democratic Party.

[The Backlash Cometh]

22. The Democratic Underground isn't an extension of the DLC or the DNC

It is a place where people can come to talk about democratic strategies and ideas. If you think this has all been about unquestioning loyalty to the Democrats versus the Republicans, then you missed the purpose of this message board. If you want to make the compromises you're making and be part of an exclusive club, then your best options are Democrats.com or even dailykos. So you can take your thousands of post and go there if you're unable to accept criticism of the party.

And the fact that the moderators have allowed me to speak my mind on this board tells me volumes about the real desire to connect with the people, rather than to continue alienating them.