The $300 million Medicaid fix that Sen. Mary Landrieu got inserted into the Senate healthcare bill wasn’t the first “Louisiana Purchase” of the healthcare debate.
Before Rep. Joseph Cao (La.) cast the lone Republican vote for the healthcare bill in the House, he secured assurances from President Barack Obama to work on Medicaid funding, loan forgiveness and issues related to two of his local hospitals.
The best-known deal involved Reps. Dennis Cardoza and Jim Costa, two Blue Dog Democrats from the Golden State who secured funding for a medical school for California’s Central Valley.
The report mentions other last-second trade-offs and promises. Wavering legislators, fearful that a vote could cost them back home, hold out until leadership promises them a little sweetener.
But aren’t these “side deals” really bribes? Of course they are but probably none bigger than the Mary Landrieu $300 million deal.
Polls show only 38% of Americans favor ObamaCare but many politicians don’t care. Bribery must turn the ears of politicians deaf.
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