Thursday, May 7, 2009

"We Need More Police."


For years, I've always gotten ill when I heard the name of Max Baucus, the spectacularly corrupt senior senator from Montana. Baucus represents everything that is wrong with American politics, which is to say representing everything that is best for Corporate America, an entity that Gore Vidal once said is America's only political party. His very name makes me think of Baccus, the bloated, inebriated Greek god of wine.

After having silently followed his voting record for years, I've been meaning to take some seriously brutal body shots at this thoroughly rotten wad o' fuck for years. And his conduct at a Senate Finance Committee hearing regarding health care a few days ago had finally shattered my silence. It is health care and Baucus's mealy-mouthed sentiments about respecting all views with which I'll be taking exception today.

As one single payer advocate after another got up to remind Baucus that a national single payer plan is what we need, they were led out of the chamber by the Capitol Police. True, they were disrupting a Senate hearing and speaking out of turn. But why were they speaking out of turn? Because, among the 15 people sitting before the Committee to testify during this health care reform hearing, not a single one of them represented the voices calling for the single payer health care plan that virtually every economist says we need.

In fact, Baucus at one point joked, "We'll need more police." The people in the Senate chamber thought it was a fucking riot, as if the people being hustled out by the police were crazed loonies exposing their privates or drunken fans running onto a playing field during a baseball game. That's how entrenched the corruption is on Capitol Hill. It's part of the culture, it's policy, and any interruption of the greased wheels of corporate progress is risible at best, prosecutable and punishable at worst.

When Baucus' standup routine was over, he then piously said that all views will be respected and represented. Yet just last March, Baucus told the Helena Independent Record that single payer health care is "off the table."

In other words, Baucus' health care plan that he's been pushing since November (which sounds a lot like Obama's, in which a dysfunctional hybrid of private and public plans will be offered) is a mere reshuffling of the deck chairs, just a more creative way of keeping our money flowing into the pockets of unconscionable HMOs who really make their money by denying us health care. In short, business as usual. And business under Baucus will be always be mutually very good.

As Ezra Klein wrote in The New Prospect last November,
Baucus is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. Staffers like to say that the committee is responsible for all the money the government raises and half of what it spends -- and that's not too far from the truth. It is the only Senate committee able to construct new funding streams, which gives it incredible authority over the country's social-policy architecture. It has control over taxes and trade, Social Security and Medicare, health reform and unemployment benefits. Even a carbon-pricing bill would probably need its sign-off.

It's the most open secret on the Hill that Max Baucus is in more pockets than lint. The old political canard of "Follow the money" is no better exemplified than in the career of the senior senator from Montana. As another Klein, this one Howie, wrote last November in "Can Max Baucus Be Trusted With Crafting Health Care Policy?",
Since 1990 HMOs have bribed members of Congress to the tune of a cool $59,090,991, the biggest year of all being... 2008 ($10,342,979). Not counting presidential candidates, the biggest recipient of their largesse is none other than Max Baucus... In the same period, Big Pharma ponied up $162,360,555. And in that period from 1990 the uber civic minded Insurance Industry showered members of Congress with $304,486,143 in bribes, $38,231,774 alone this year. Take out the defeated and the retired and the presidential candidates and Baucus was the 5th biggest recipient... Notice a pattern?

In other words, if you want a blueprint that'll predict how Baucus will vote on some issues, just follow this handy guide. Can Max Baucus be trusted with crafting health care policy? Surely, Howie Klein was asking a rhetorical question.

But the American public he pretends to represent aren't the only people who have been bullied by Baucus. He's also trying to strongarm the CBO (the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office) to laud his fiscally unsound health care proposal. Such a Mafia tactic is suspiciously reminiscent of the Bush administration twisting dicks and arms at NASA, the EPA, Langley and other organizations that couldn't be trusted to toe the dysfunctional Inner Party line.

Toward the end of his article, Ezra Klien wrote,
But some reformers remain skeptical about Baucus' commitment to the issue. "The thing you have to understand about Max Baucus," says one longtime observer, "is that he's a good guy. His heart really is in the right place. But the worry is that if health reform fails, he'll still be able to sleep at night."

I relay the concern to Baucus. "In life," he replies, "you try to be as effective as you possibly can be. Would I not sleep at night, having tried my hardest? I wouldn't that first night, but for how many nights after that, I just don't know."

Later in our interview, Baucus returns to the question, concerned that he didn't answer it fully. "Is it okay if we don't reform health care? It's not okay at all. But will I sleep at night?" And here, he laughs. "I mean, hell, I'm a pretty good sleeper."

Then he sobers up. "It's not okay, though."

You can complain to this bloated whore's office this way:

Senator Max Baucus
511 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 224-2651 (Office)
(202) 224-9412 (Fax)

Or email him here through this petition to ensure that it's still not OK to sleep too comfortably.

5 Comments:

At May 7, 2009 at 8:42 PM, Blogger VforVirginia said...

Great!

 
At May 7, 2009 at 10:12 PM, Blogger www.democratz.org said...

A call to action.

If you don't like a particular TV program, you call their sponsors and tell them you will boycott them until the program either goes off the air or changes to your liking. This works similar with
political parties, politicians and their sponsors (campaign contributors).

If you have a blog please post this on your blog. I want to get at least 100,000 people to sign these petitions, the first one which you can demand single payer health care and a fix to the Medicare prescription drug benefit.

Read and sign these legislative petitions please and get hundreds of people to sign them and they will automatically go to Republican minority leaders Sen. McConnell and Rep. Boehner right away once you sign the petiton.

http://tinyurl.change.org/EzKoE

http://tinyurl.change.org/upFFg

http://tinyurl.change.org/SmldU

http://tinyurl.change.org/zcCYl

http://tinyurl.change.org/DppEP

You can also go to http://action.democratz.org

 
At May 7, 2009 at 11:58 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

You have such a strong voice. I'm glad you're back, and back with a vengeance--keep it going!

 
At May 8, 2009 at 10:33 AM, Blogger The Minstrel Boy said...

he's in the bag to the pharmecutical giants so deep that i'm sure they've anticipated his sleeping needs and have him well supplied.

both for pills to fall asleep, then pills to wake up, then pills to take a dump, pills to pee, pills to fuck, pills to go back to sleep.....

 
At May 9, 2009 at 2:15 AM, Blogger Cosa Nostradamus said...

.
Please use this link to email the US Senate Finance Committee and let them know what you think of arresting doctors and hearing only lobbyists who oppose what 60% of us want: Universal single-payer national health care.

Let them know we won't forget this at election time.
.

 

Post a Comment

<< Home

KindleindaWind, my writing blog.

All Time Classics

  • Our Worse Half: The 25 Most Embarrassing States.
  • The Missing Security Tapes From the World Trade Center.
  • It's a Blunderful Life.
  • The Civil War II
  • Sweet Jesus, I Hate America
  • Top Ten Conservative Books
  • I Am Mr. Ed
  • Glenn Beck: Racist, Hate Monger, Comedian
  • The Ten Worst Music Videos of all Time
  • Assclowns of the Week

  • Links to the first 33 Assclowns of the Week.
  • Links to Assclowns of the Week 38-63.
  • #106: The Turkey Has Landed edition
  • #105: Blame it on Paris or Putin edition
  • #104: Make Racism Great Again Also Labor Day edition
  • #103: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Toilet edition
  • #102: Orange is the New Fat edition
  • #101: Electoral College Dropouts edition
  • #100: Centennial of Silliness edition
  • #99: Dr. Strangehate edition
  • #98: Get Bentghazi edition
  • #97: SNAPping Your Fingers at the Poor edition
  • #96: Treat or Treat, Kiss My Ass edition
  • #95: Monumental Stupidity double-sized edition
  • #94: House of 'Tards edition
  • #93: You Da Bomb! edition.
  • #92: Akin to a Fool edition.
  • #91: Aurora Moronealis edition.
  • #90: Keep Your Gubmint Hands Off My High Pre'mums and Deductibles! edition.
  • #89: Occupy the Catbird Seat/Thanksgiving edition.
  • #88: Heil Hitler edition.
  • #87: Let Sleeping Elephants Lie edition.
  • #86: the Maniacs edition.
  • #85: The Top 50 Assclowns of 2010 edition.
  • #(19)84: Midterm Madness edition.
  • #83: Spill, Baby, Spill! edition.
  • #82: Leave Corporations Alone, They’re People! edition.
  • #81: Hatin' on Haiti edition.
  • #80: Don't Get Your Panties in a Twist edition.
  • #79: Top 50 Assclowns of 2009 edition.
  • #78: Nattering Nabobs of Negativism edition.
  • #77: ...And Justice For Once edition.
  • #76: Reading Tea Leaves/Labor Day edition.
  • #75: Diamond Jubilee/Inaugural Edition
  • #74: Dropping the Crystal Ball Edition
  • #73: The Twelve Assclowns of Christmas Edition
  • #72: Trick or Treat Election Day Edition
  • #71: Grand Theft Autocrats Edition
  • #70: Soulless Corporations and the Politicians Who Love Them Edition
  • Empire Of The Senseless.
  • Christwire.org: Conservative Values for an Unsaved World.
  • Esquire's Charles Pierce.
  • Brilliant @ Breakfast.
  • The Burning Platform.
  • The Rant.
  • Mock, Paper, Scissors.
  • James Petras.
  • Towle Road.
  • Avedon's Sideshow (the new site).
  • At Largely, Larisa Alexandrovna's place.
  • The Daily Howler.
  • The DCist.
  • Greg Palast.
  • Jon Swift. RIP, Al.
  • God is For Suckers.
  • The Rude Pundit.
  • Driftglass.
  • Newshounds.
  • William Grigg, a great find.
  • Brad Blog.
  • Down With Tyranny!, Howie Klein's blog.
  • Wayne's World. Party time! Excellent!
  • Busted Knuckles, aka Ornery Bastard.
  • Mills River Progressive.
  • Right Wing Watch.
  • Earthbond Misfit.
  • Anosognosia.
  • Echidne of the Snakes.
  • They Gave Us a Republic.
  • The Gawker.
  • Outtake Online, Emmy-winner Charlotte Robinson's site.
  • Skippy, the Bush Kangaroo
  • No More Mr. Nice Blog.
  • Head On Radio Network, Bob Kincaid.
  • Spocko's Brain.
  • Pandagon.
  • Slackivist.
  • WTF Is It Now?
  • No Blood For Hubris.
  • Lydia Cornell, a very smart and accomplished lady.
  • Roger Ailes (the good one.)
  • BlondeSense.
  • The Smirking Chimp.
  • Hammer of the Blogs.
  • Vast Left Wing Conspiracy.
  • Argville.
  • Existentialist Cowboy.
  • The Progressive.
  • The Nation.
  • Mother Jones.
  • Vanity Fair.
  • Salon.com.
  • Citizens For Legitimate Government.
  • News Finder.
  • Indy Media Center.
  • Lexis News.
  • Military Religious Freedom.
  • McClatchy Newspapers.
  • The New Yorker.
  • Bloggingheads TV, political vlogging.
  • Find Articles.com, the next-best thing to Nexis.
  • Altweeklies, for the news you won't get just anywhere.
  • The Smirking Chimp
  • Don Emmerich's Peace Blog
  • Wikileaks.
  • The Peoples' Voice.
  • Dictionary.com.
  • CIA World Fact Book.
  • IP address locator.
  • Tom Tomorrow's hilarious strip.
  • Babelfish, an instant, online translator. I love to translate Ann Coulter's site into German.
  • Newsmeat: Find out who's donating to whom.
  • Wikipedia.
  • Uncyclopedia.
  • anysoldier.com
  • Icasualties
  • Free Press
  • YouTube
  • The Bone Bridge.
  • Powered by Blogger