Brazen Thievery

thief by Larry Miller

A FaceBook friend of mine recently commented that there used to be a time when bribery and corruption were done behind closed doors. Now they hold press conferences to announce their price. She is right… and we’ve just witnessed the most recent proof as Democrats struggled to squeeze their Senators to get Barack Hussein Obama’s health insurance scheme passed.

An unapologetic Harry Reid commented, “A number of states are treateddifferently than other states. That’s what legislation’s all about: compromise.” Meaning those that held out were had even more taxpayer money redistributed to their states. As usual, those standing against the government takeover got the shortest end of the financial stick while those rolling over to the pressure from above reaped the rewards of their treachery.

Most everyone is aware of the $300 million Louisiana Purchase of Mary Landrieu and the Cornhusker Kickback that showed Ben Nelson unworthy of being referenced as “The Honorable”. Those are but two instances of Harry Reid falling into the Chicago thugocracy practice of buying off their obstacles to their plans. It is possible they avoided the far worse fate of a “suicide” in Fort Marcy Park… not that that ever happened in the nation’s capitol.

A caucus of conservatives in the house has compiled a list of a few more payoffs benefitting various Senators who appeared to be objecting to one or more aspects of this sinister plan.

Carl Levin of Michigan secured an exemption from the insurance tax for Michigan non-profit insurers… Blue Cross Blue Shield Plans of Michigan in particular.

Bernie Sanders of Vermont added $10 billion dollars for community health centers and the National Health Services Corps.

Bill Nelson negotiated a deal where Florida’s Medicare Advantage subscribers would be grandfathered into the system and will be able to keep their coverage.

Daniel Akaka and Daniel Inouye saw to it that Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) extension for Hawaiian hospitals which is for facilities serving a disproportionate share of Medicaid and uninsured persons. No other state received this extension.

Joe Lieberman reached an agreement that hospitals in Connecticut and Michigan would receive an extension of section 508 of the MediCare Modernization Act of 2003 that would yield higher reimbursements for services.

Chris Dodd secured $100 million for a “Health Care Facility” at a public research university that could only apply to the University of Connecticut.

Max Baucus, prior to his inebriated discourse before the Senate received funding for an extensive pilot program to aid residents near the EPA Superfund site near Libby, Montana.

This is pork on a scale never seen before. I can only think of the words of one of my childhood heroes – Illinois Senator Everett Dirksen who commented “A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking about real money.” And this was fifty years ago when a billion dollars was considered a lot of money.

It is clear that none of these were looking for anything more than their own advantage. It is also clear that none of these is really worthy of being addressed as “The Honorable”. Many of these elected elites have heard ad nauseum from their constituents that people simply do not want this socialist scheme. Yet they lunge forward in the race to destroy the best medical system in the world. We are not fighting this on philosophical grounds alone. We are in this fight for the well being of the young, the elderly and the unconnected who could loose their lives as a result of insufficient care. This program has real life and death implications and so many are opposing this plan with the passion of an academic discussion.

This redistributionist insurance hustle is intruding on each of our families ability to function and take care of our young and elderly, and we are expected to write or call those who are supposed to be representing us. We have been doing this and they have been ignoring us. Polite requests have fallen on deaf ears… time to step up a level or two. All we have left is to follow the advice of Ronaldus Magnus when he said, “When you can’t make them see the light, make them feel the heat.” Time to break out the torches and pitchforks!

Originally posted at Political Christian © Larry Miller

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