Republicans See Whores Everywhere!

One tactic the Republicans are using to sow doubt about the healthcare reform plan that they refused to take a part in creating, is to insist that certain Democrats have reached a consensus because certain senators have been "bought." The accusation carries a sting of corruption, and fits together with the long running slander that Obama and any politician out of Chicago must be crooked by historical proximity to that city.

Thus certain conservative commentators unworthy of mention, but mentioned anyway (Beck, Limbaugh) have likened Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu to a prostitute. Why? Because Louisiana politicians were able to get an additional $300 million in Federal money with their acceptance of the health bill making its way toward committee and Obama's pen holding hand.

As these things go, the method is to simplify a complex issue down to a calculus like "honest and hardworking" or "evil and corrupt," leaving nuance or state specifics aside. Given that many states handle health care, Medicare, and Medicaid differently, it should not be a surprise that certain politicians will seek adjustments, financial considerations, or time or implementation waivers to accommodate the unique circumstances of their own constituents. While you want to keep that to a minimum, since the main purpose of a Federal solution is to harmonize and simplify diverse laws, it's ridiculous to assume that you can create legislation without some exceptions. (In the same way it's ridiculous to assume that Obama could have come up with a health plan that did not have to compromise on some major goals).

Louisiana runs a rather unorthodox medical system, as pointed out in the N.Y. Times, and with the adjustments in the new legislation Louisiana stands to lose some $500 million in income. The $300 million in additional Medicaid help that its politicians carved out of negotiations is intended to plug the transitional shortfall.

The spending formula that determines how much each state is given in matching federal Medicaid funds is based on per capita income over a certain period. Louisiana’s per capita income took an enormous leap in the years after the storm — 42 percent, according to state officials — in part because many poor people left the state, but primarily because of the billions of dollars in recovery funds flowing into Louisiana.

Nevertheless, because of this formula, the federal share of Louisiana’s Medicaid costs is expected to drop around 10 percentage points by 2011, which state officials say could add up to $500 million a year.

“It’s something that will make you stop breathing just to think about it,” Mr. Levine said.

In late November, on the eve of her key vote allowing the Senate health care proposal to proceed, Ms. Landrieu won a provision that would bring $300 million into the state to help with this Medicaid shortfall

The commentators who are trafficking in perception over reality can reduce Senator Landrieu, quite simply, to being Obama's whore.  They know that their listeners and those with righteous anger are not about to go study Louisiana's medical system or listen closely to the explanations given by the politicians (all politicians being liars, all the time, about everything, unless it's something the voter reflexively agrees with). Because they know. Sitting in the car on the way to work in Iowa, or California, while eating a McDonald's Egg McMuffin sandwich, they just know that Limbaugh has it all figured out, as do they, and that this is outrageous.