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| Topic: How Much Does One Vote Cost? | |
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So the Democrats aren't happy just spending our tax dollars (our debt actually) on buying votes from thru ACORN and the SEIU.. Now they're using our tax money (debt) to outright buy votes in the Senate..
Now, this is nothing new.. This goes on all the time, really. What is new, however, is for the recently purchased Congressman or Senator to announce that the vote was bought and to divulge the amount for which she was purchased.. I guess this is the kind of transparency Obama was promising us.. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/21/AR2009112102272_pf.html Sweeteners for the South By Dana Milbank Sunday, November 22, 2009 Staffers on Capitol Hill were calling it the Louisiana Purchase. On the eve of Saturday's showdown in the Senate over health-care reform, Democratic leaders still hadn't secured the support of Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), one of the 60 votes needed to keep the legislation alive. The wavering lawmaker was offered a sweetener: at least $100 million in extra federal money for her home state. And so it came to pass that Landrieu walked onto the Senate floor midafternoon Saturday to announce her aye vote -- and to trumpet the financial "fix" she had arranged for Louisiana. "I am not going to be defensive," she declared. "And it's not a $100 million fix. It's a $300 million fix." It was an awkward moment (not least because her figure is 20 times the original Louisiana Purchase price). But it was fairly representative of a Senate debate that seems to be scripted in the Southern Gothic style. The plot was gripping -- the bill survived Saturday's procedural test without a single vote to spare -- and it brought out the rank partisanship, the self-absorption and all the other pathologies of modern politics. If that wasn't enough of a Tennessee Williams story line, the debate even had, playing the lead role, a Southerner named Blanche with a flair for the dramatic. After Landrieu threw in her support (she asserted that the extra Medicaid funds were "not the reason" for her vote), the lone holdout in the 60-member Democratic caucus was Sen. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas. Like other Democratic moderates who knew a single vote could kill the bill, she took a streetcar named Opportunism, transferred to one called Wavering and made off with concessions of her own. Indeed, the all-Saturday debate, which ended with an 8 p.m. vote, occurred only because Democratic leaders had yielded to her request for more time. Even when she finally announced her support, at 2:30 in the afternoon, Lincoln made clear that she still planned to hold out for many more concessions in the debate that will consume the next month. "My decision to vote on the motion to proceed is not my last, nor only, chance to have an impact on health-care reform," she announced. Landrieu and Lincoln got the attention because they were the last to decide, but the Senate really has 100 Blanche DuBoises, a full house of characters inclined toward the narcissistic. The health-care debate was worse than most. With all 40 Republicans in lockstep opposition, all 60 members of the Democratic caucus had to vote yes -- and that gave each one an opportunity to extract concessions from Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) won a promise from Reid to support his plan to expand eligibility for health insurance. Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) got Reid to jettison a provision stripping health insurers of their antitrust exemption. Landrieu got the concessions for her money. And Lincoln won an extended, 72-hour period to study legislation. And the big shakedown is yet to occur: That will happen when Reid comes back to his caucus in a few weeks to round up 60 votes for the final passage of the health bill. Republicans also knew that a single defection would kill the bill, so they tried to pressure the holdouts. "That's what we've got to choose today: Do we choose life or do we choose death?" declared Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.). "We just need one vote, one vote on the other side." But Landrieu had already made up her mind. She went to the floor during the lunch hour to say that she would vote to proceed with the debate -- but that she'd be looking for much bigger concessions before she gives her blessing to a final version of the bill. "My vote today," she said in a soft Southern accent that masked the hard politics at play, "should in no way be construed by the supporters of this current framework as an indication of how I might vote as this debate comes to an end." Among the concessions she'll seek: more tax credits for small business and a removal of the version of the "public option" now in the bill. That turned all the attention to the usually quiet Lincoln, who emerged from the cloakroom two hours later to announce her decision. Her attire was school-principal prim -- blue suit with knee-length skirt, orange silk scarf tied tightly at the neck -- and she was clearly uncomfortable in the spotlight. She spoke with the diction of somebody giving a dramatic reading, and she stumbled more than once as she read, botching the crucial line: "I will vote to support, of, the, the, will vote in support of cloture on the motion to proceed to this bill." She argued, a bit too strenuously, that "I'm not thinking about my reelection" in 2010. All the same, she made clear that Democratic leaders would have to give more if they want her to vote yes as the health-care debate continues. Specifically, she demanded removal of the public option. "I am opposed to a new government-administered health-care plan," she warned, further cautioning that "I will not vote in favor of the proposal . . . as it is written." By the time this thing is done, the millions for Louisiana will look like a bargain. |
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300 million bucks. lol
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wonder how much her vote will cost when the "real" vote comes up in the senate.
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I wouldn't expect any less from a damn polish*tan.
I read this the other day online and what a disgrace. I say good luck to any polichicken that votes for this socialized healthcare. They might be looking for another job come their time for election. |
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remember... no earmarks will be passed.
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Be nice to read the actual OFFER though, instead of the paraphrase. What other details were included, on what grounds the money was offered,,,etc,,,,
Since when is a politician accepting more funds for their constituency new or immoral. They usually are the ones asking for just that. The rub is showing proof that this was her singular motivation as opposed to an added perp to what she might have voted for on other grounds. For example...Maybe I dont know if I should let my son travel alone. I am torn between keeping him safe and allowing him to discover his strength and independence. I am then confronted with the following argument from him,,,,he will be chaperoned by our pastor(just throwing in what is important to ME), he will have a cell phone on him at all times with a GPS tracker, he will be helping less fortunate on his trip,,, AND for participating, I will receive a household stipend for the time he is gone. Now,, some might ASSUME that my reason for accepting was the money, but it could be that, based upon all the other reasons, I decided it was a good idea and the money was just an extra,,, motive is always hard to prove but easy to assume, especially with such few details |
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New Orleans ain't called the "Big Easy" for nothing.
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 So what? Louisiana needs the money. Wish someone from my state would do the same thing
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Be nice to read the actual OFFER though, instead of the paraphrase. What other details were included, on what grounds the money was offered,,,etc,,,, Since when is a politician accepting more funds for their constituency new or immoral. They usually are the ones asking for just that. The rub is showing proof that this was her singular motivation as opposed to an added perp to what she might have voted for on other grounds. For example...Maybe I dont know if I should let my son travel alone. I am torn between keeping him safe and allowing him to discover his strength and independence. I am then confronted with the following argument from him,,,,he will be chaperoned by our pastor(just throwing in what is important to ME), he will have a cell phone on him at all times with a GPS tracker, he will be helping less fortunate on his trip,,, AND for participating, I will receive a household stipend for the time he is gone. Now,, some might ASSUME that my reason for accepting was the money, but it could be that, based upon all the other reasons, I decided it was a good idea and the money was just an extra,,, motive is always hard to prove but easy to assume, especially with such few details  She is actually doing what she is supposed to be doing and looking out for the interests of her state
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I wouldn't expect any less from a damn polish*tan. I read this the other day online and what a disgrace. I say good luck to any polichicken that votes for this socialized healthcare. They might be looking for another job come their time for election. How do you account for all the other modern countries having healthcare?Even the people from other modern countries that are on Mingle think that us even having this discussion about healthcare is bizarre
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Topic: How Much Does One Vote Cost?
gimme a cigarette and you got mine |
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I wouldn't expect any less from a damn polish*tan. I read this the other day online and what a disgrace. I say good luck to any polichicken that votes for this socialized healthcare. They might be looking for another job come their time for election. How do you account for all the other modern countries having healthcare?Even the people from other modern countries that are on Mingle think that us even having this discussion about healthcare is bizarre
Why do are the people of this country so willing to become slaves of the state? |
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Edited by
msharmony
on
Sun 11/29/09 11:54 PM
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I wouldn't expect any less from a damn polish*tan. I read this the other day online and what a disgrace. I say good luck to any polichicken that votes for this socialized healthcare. They might be looking for another job come their time for election. How do you account for all the other modern countries having healthcare?Even the people from other modern countries that are on Mingle think that us even having this discussion about healthcare is bizarre
Why do are the people of this country so willing to become slaves of the state? I dont want to be a slave, I do want affordable healthcare for all in one of the richest countries on the planet and one of the unhealthiest of all the western nations(most of which offer national healthcare). |
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I wouldn't expect any less from a damn polish*tan. I read this the other day online and what a disgrace. I say good luck to any polichicken that votes for this socialized healthcare. They might be looking for another job come their time for election. How do you account for all the other modern countries having healthcare?Even the people from other modern countries that are on Mingle think that us even having this discussion about healthcare is bizarre
Why do are the people of this country so willing to become slaves of the state? I dont want to be a slave, I do want affordable healthcare for all in one of the richest countries on the planet and one of the unhealthiest of all the western nations(most of which offer national healthcare). Mis-inform-ation... Big time. Unhealthiest of all the countries... this is pure Hog Sloup and other such balderdash... been to other countries... GOOD health care in places such as germany is something only the rich get... sort of adaquate health care is what every one else gets. IF IT AINT BROKE DON'T FIX IT... Our health care system ain't broke But our governmet IS... Fix That. Bottom line... try not to preputate a lie because the other sheep are bleating... It is much harder to pass on misinformation in this day and age... Most of us can read. |
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I wouldn't expect any less from a damn polish*tan. I read this the other day online and what a disgrace. I say good luck to any polichicken that votes for this socialized healthcare. They might be looking for another job come their time for election. How do you account for all the other modern countries having healthcare?Even the people from other modern countries that are on Mingle think that us even having this discussion about healthcare is bizarre
Why do are the people of this country so willing to become slaves of the state? I dont want to be a slave, I do want affordable healthcare for all in one of the richest countries on the planet and one of the unhealthiest of all the western nations(most of which offer national healthcare). Mis-inform-ation... Big time. Unhealthiest of all the countries... this is pure Hog Sloup and other such balderdash... been to other countries... GOOD health care in places such as germany is something only the rich get... sort of adaquate health care is what every one else gets. IF IT AINT BROKE DON'T FIX IT... Our health care system ain't broke But our governmet IS... Fix That. Bottom line... try not to preputate a lie because the other sheep are bleating... It is much harder to pass on misinformation in this day and age... Most of us can read. thre is a difference between ONE of the unhealthiest, and THE unhealthiest,,,the problem with all the information out there is people tend to pick bits of it istead of including the full context |
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ok...
Full context. 2000 pages of more of the same (i.e bought votes, cash cows, thinly disguised pork and earmarks... you know congress as-it-has-done-business-for-decades... YEP CHANGE CAME... NOT!) the important full context. FIX OUR GOVERNMENT. bet THEN you could get ACTUALL health care that WORKS and will not cost generations or raise MY taxes to the point where working is not a paying proposition. |
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