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Mary Landrieu’s Smooth Move

Check out this headline in the (reliably liberal) Baton Rouge Advocate:

GOP win may cost La. $300 million

Even though the deal struck to get Mary on board the Health Care Reform bandwagon was widely regarded as a “payoff”, it had a reasonable justification.

The money was to be used to help fill a gap the state faces because of a federal funding formula that penalizes Louisiana because “per capita income” rose during the infusion of insurance and federal government money to help rebuild after hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Now, with the HCR bill foundering, a statistical fix that might have been sold on its own merits to Democrats and Republicans alike is as dead as a mackerel.

Crossposted at RedState.com.

33 Comments

  1. It's unlikey that bribe would have survived final negotiations, and it's a gift from God that Obamacare has little chance of survival. The right thing to do is to introduce legislation that will force every state's contribution to be calculated on a realistic basis, and not on the basis of post – disaster financial influxes of capital. It seems that Mary was more interested in the political capital she thought she could get from this than in doing what's right and fair for the country.

  2. It's unlikey that bribe would have survived final negotiations, and it's a gift from God that Obamacare has little chance of survival. The right thing to do is to introduce legislation that will force every state's contribution to be calculated on a realistic basis, and not on the basis of post – disaster financial influxes of capital. It seems that Mary was more interested in the political capital she thought she could get from this than in doing what's right and fair for the country.

  3. macaoidh says:

    Every aspect of Landrieu's Louisiana Purchae action has been an unmitigated Charlie Foxtrot. She wasted 11 months in addressing the FMAP formula issue despite being asked by Jindal to give us a fix, then she threw it in as a bribe for the health care bill which would have cost Louisiana $1.3 billion extra – a net $1 billion shot to the shorts on top of the bad PR for the state thanks to her streetwalker act, THEN she tried to blame the thing on Jindal.

    And you're correct – now that her gambit has proven to be a complete disaster the prospects for Louisiana to escape the effects of the funding formula glitch are absolutely nil.

    This is a firing offense, and Landrieu couldn't be luckier that she doesn't come up for re-election until 2014.

  4. macaoidh says:

    Every aspect of Landrieu's Louisiana Purchae action has been an unmitigated Charlie Foxtrot. She wasted 11 months in addressing the FMAP formula issue despite being asked by Jindal to give us a fix, then she threw it in as a bribe for the health care bill which would have cost Louisiana $1.3 billion extra – a net $1 billion shot to the shorts on top of the bad PR for the state thanks to her streetwalker act, THEN she tried to blame the thing on Jindal.

    And you're correct – now that her gambit has proven to be a complete disaster the prospects for Louisiana to escape the effects of the funding formula glitch are absolutely nil.

    This is a firing offense, and Landrieu couldn't be luckier that she doesn't come up for re-election until 2014.

  5. Paul VZ says:

    Actually, the best thing to do would be to elminate the unConstitutional Medicaid program, along with a bunch of others, altogether, but I know that will no happen any tim soon .

  6. Paul VZ says:

    Actually, the best thing to do would be to elminate the unConstitutional Medicaid program, along with a bunch of others, altogether, but I know that will no happen any tim soon .

  7. Ed Niedbalski says:

    Like everything that this administration does to run the flim-flam by us…..the way to be able to state facts and lie at the same time is to hide what is really going on…and medicaid like all of the rest of the unfunded mandates where politicians ( and I am speaking of both parties ) crow about doing something without spending any federal money….yeah! they take their hand out of our front pocket and reach in our back pocket…..then they can use these unfunded mandates as bribes whenever they need a vote….and of they get it out of our other back pocket.

  8. Ed Niedbalski says:

    Like everything that this administration does to run the flim-flam by us…..the way to be able to state facts and lie at the same time is to hide what is really going on…and medicaid like all of the rest of the unfunded mandates where politicians ( and I am speaking of both parties ) crow about doing something without spending any federal money….yeah! they take their hand out of our front pocket and reach in our back pocket…..then they can use these unfunded mandates as bribes whenever they need a vote….and of they get it out of our other back pocket.

  9. Ed Niedbalski says:

    To continue….sometimes they get caught with their hands in our pantsand we notice…and the game is up…..which is when they fall back, as Mary did, "Well isn't that great….you caught me with my hand in your pocket, but guess what, it is you who will punished because I won't give you back your share of the booty I was trying to take out of everyone else's pocket….and they express amazement when the voters figure out their flim-flam

  10. Ed Niedbalski says:

    To continue….sometimes they get caught with their hands in our pantsand we notice…and the game is up…..which is when they fall back, as Mary did, "Well isn't that great….you caught me with my hand in your pocket, but guess what, it is you who will punished because I won't give you back your share of the booty I was trying to take out of everyone else's pocket….and they express amazement when the voters figure out their flim-flam

  11. Mary Landrieu has disgraced herself and our state. Perhaps she can go to Nevada and live under the auspices of Harry Reid because we certainly do not want her in Louisiana. I can't wait for the chance to vote against her and to campaign against her until that time. She has proven to be a traitor to the people of Louisiana.

  12. Mary Landrieu has disgraced herself and our state. Perhaps she can go to Nevada and live under the auspices of Harry Reid because we certainly do not want her in Louisiana. I can't wait for the chance to vote against her and to campaign against her until that time. She has proven to be a traitor to the people of Louisiana.

  13. jbaldy says:

    Perhaps this is just another endorsement of the theory that the people we elect to national office should put country first, state second, district third and self last. Her self-promotion in an attempt to help her constituents (not necessarily the same as the state as a whole) was very misguided in the blatant attempt for bribery. SHAME ON DIRTY HARRY AND MARY!!!

  14. jbaldy says:

    Perhaps this is just another endorsement of the theory that the people we elect to national office should put country first, state second, district third and self last. Her self-promotion in an attempt to help her constituents (not necessarily the same as the state as a whole) was very misguided in the blatant attempt for bribery. SHAME ON DIRTY HARRY AND MARY!!!

  15. Bill Hindman says:

    Do any of you guys listen to the middle? Are you all living in your little area of the world without any contact with the mainstream of American life? Mary did a good job getting the funding formula changed IF the stupid health care legislation passed. Fortunately, it may not. However, she handled this matter well in Louisiana's best interests. BTW, I am a Republican.

    • macaoidh says:

      Bill, you're uninformed.

      Most notably, the Senate health care bill would NOT have changed the FMAP formula. It would have given Louisiana a one-time payment of $300 million to "offset" some of the state's expenses as a result of the glitch in the formula that has forced the state's costs higher than ever intended. But because of mandates the bill would have put on the states – mandates which were at issue where Ben "Cornhusker Kickback" Nelson's vote was being bought – Louisiana was to absorb a $1.3 billion kick in the rear over the course of the next 10 years. So no, Mary wasn't acting in Louisiana's best interest. That's a lie. She would have cost the state a net $100 million per year over the next decade; that's not in our interest.

      As for the "mainstream of American life," some 64 percent of the country opposes Obamacare. If that 64 percent is fringe, we've got an awful lot of fringe in America.

      And what's the purpose of "BTW, I am a Republican?" Is that supposed to impress?

  16. Bill Hindman says:

    Do any of you guys listen to the middle? Are you all living in your little area of the world without any contact with the mainstream of American life? Mary did a good job getting the funding formula changed IF the stupid health care legislation passed. Fortunately, it may not. However, she handled this matter well in Louisiana's best interests. BTW, I am a Republican.

    • macaoidh says:

      Bill, you're uninformed.

      Most notably, the Senate health care bill would NOT have changed the FMAP formula. It would have given Louisiana a one-time payment of $300 million to "offset" some of the state's expenses as a result of the glitch in the formula that has forced the state's costs higher than ever intended. But because of mandates the bill would have put on the states – mandates which were at issue where Ben "Cornhusker Kickback" Nelson's vote was being bought – Louisiana was to absorb a $1.3 billion kick in the rear over the course of the next 10 years. So no, Mary wasn't acting in Louisiana's best interest. That's a lie. She would have cost the state a net $100 million per year over the next decade; that's not in our interest.

      As for the "mainstream of American life," some 64 percent of the country opposes Obamacare. If that 64 percent is fringe, we've got an awful lot of fringe in America.

      And what's the purpose of "BTW, I am a Republican?" Is that supposed to impress?

  17. P.J.Kelley says:

    Accepting a bribe is criminal. Accepting a bribe from a sitting Marxist socialist President shows criminality on Mary's part and Obama as well. It matters not that Mary's intent was to "help" Louisiana. What is fair for one state is fair for every state. Not only was Mary's actions criminal, they were also unconstitutional. It's a dark day in America when a U. S Senator or Representative plays footsie with a Commie President. Mary has got to go.

    • Stephen says:

      Its amazing how many people call a President who has lowered taxes, wants added competition in the market, fights protective tariffs in the name of free enterprises, and has offered tax breaks to almost every industry across the board, a marxist socialist. I guess Marxism doesn't mean what it once did. I too will call him a marxit socialist when he actually enacts a policy that it such.

  18. P.J.Kelley says:

    Accepting a bribe is criminal. Accepting a bribe from a sitting Marxist socialist President shows criminality on Mary's part and Obama as well. It matters not that Mary's intent was to "help" Louisiana. What is fair for one state is fair for every state. Not only was Mary's actions criminal, they were also unconstitutional. It's a dark day in America when a U. S Senator or Representative plays footsie with a Commie President. Mary has got to go.

    • Stephen says:

      Its amazing how many people call a President who has lowered taxes, wants added competition in the market, fights protective tariffs in the name of free enterprises, and has offered tax breaks to almost every industry across the board, a marxist socialist. I guess Marxism doesn't mean what it once did. I too will call him a marxit socialist when he actually enacts a policy that it such.

  19. Steve says:

    Geez, almost all of you guys making comments seem to be angry teabaggers. I'm interested in how many of you decrying Mary Landrieu for taking a "bribe" were complaining when Tom Delay held the vote open for three hours in the early morning while working to bribe Rep. Nick Smith of Michigan?
    http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c…

    • macaoidh says:

      Calling someone an "angry teabagger" on this site is a slur and an offensive comment. Do it again and you're gone.

      Your point about Tom Delay is well-taken and what he did was no more acceptable than Harry Reid's antics with Landrieu and Ben Nelson. Lest we forget, the Republicans' methods and results were met with disaster at the polls in 2006 and 2008, a fate no one argues they deserved. Blaming Bush and the GOP is old, tired and irrelevant to the culpability of the current crowd.

      Stick around this site and you'll see that while the majority of our contributors are conservative we have absolutely no qualms about castigating the insiders in the Republican Party for their poor performance when it's warranted to do so.

  20. Steve says:

    Geez, almost all of you guys making comments seem to be angry teabaggers. I'm interested in how many of you decrying Mary Landrieu for taking a "bribe" were complaining when Tom Delay held the vote open for three hours in the early morning while working to bribe Rep. Nick Smith of Michigan?
    http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c…

    • macaoidh says:

      Calling someone an "angry teabagger" on this site is a slur and an offensive comment. Do it again and you're gone.

      Your point about Tom Delay is well-taken and what he did was no more acceptable than Harry Reid's antics with Landrieu and Ben Nelson. Lest we forget, the Republicans' methods and results were met with disaster at the polls in 2006 and 2008, a fate no one argues they deserved. Blaming Bush and the GOP is old, tired and irrelevant to the culpability of the current crowd.

      Stick around this site and you'll see that while the majority of our contributors are conservative we have absolutely no qualms about castigating the insiders in the Republican Party for their poor performance when it's warranted to do so.

  21. macaoidh says:

    Calling someone an "angry teabagger" on this site is a slur and an offensive comment. Do it again and you're gone.

    Your point about Tom Delay is well-taken and what he did was no more acceptable than Harry Reid's antics with Landrieu and Ben Nelson. Lest we forget, the Republicans' methods and results were met with disaster at the polls in 2006 and 2008, a fate no one argues they deserved. Blaming Bush and the GOP is old, tired and irrelevant to the culpability of the current crowd.

    Stick around this site and you'll see that while the majority of our contributors are conservative we have absolutely no qualms about castigating the insiders in the Republican Party for their poor performance when it's warranted to do so.

  22. macaoidh says:

    Calling someone an "angry teabagger" on this site is a slur and an offensive comment. Do it again and you're gone.

    Your point about Tom Delay is well-taken and what he did was no more acceptable than Harry Reid's antics with Landrieu and Ben Nelson. Lest we forget, the Republicans' methods and results were met with disaster at the polls in 2006 and 2008, a fate no one argues they deserved. Blaming Bush and the GOP is old, tired and irrelevant to the culpability of the current crowd.

    Stick around this site and you'll see that while the majority of our contributors are conservative we have absolutely no qualms about castigating the insiders in the Republican Party for their poor performance when it's warranted to do so.

  23. [...] change in policy. And since it still appears decidedly unlikely that the Senate bill will pass, Landrieu’s efforts seem to have come to naught altogether. Those critics say that her castigating Jindal for his inadequate defense of the Senator in the face [...]

  24. Stephen says:

    To be consistent, we should attack everyone who takes extra money. As a party we have backed Ted Stevens doing much worse than Landrieu year after year. Even Bunning waived pay-as-you-go to get emergency funds for Kentucky's snow storm before suddenly declaring it "a matter of principle". Just whose principles we are yet sure of course.

    So let me get this straight, as a party we are only against pork when its a Democrat getting it?

  25. Stephen says:

    To be consistent, we should attack everyone who takes extra money. As a party we have backed Ted Stevens doing much worse than Landrieu year after year. Even Bunning waived pay-as-you-go to get emergency funds for Kentucky's snow storm before suddenly declaring it "a matter of principle". Just whose principles we are yet sure of course.

    So let me get this straight, as a party we are only against pork when its a Democrat getting it?

  26. Stephen says:

    To be consistent, we should attack everyone who takes extra money. As a party we have backed Ted Stevens doing much worse than Landrieu year after year. Even Bunning waived pay-as-you-go to get emergency funds for Kentucky's snow storm before suddenly declaring it "a matter of principle". Just whose principles we are yet sure of course.

  27. Stephen says:

    To be consistent, we should attack everyone who takes extra money. As a party we have backed Ted Stevens doing much worse than Landrieu year after year. Even Bunning waived pay-as-you-go to get emergency funds for Kentucky's snow storm before suddenly declaring it "a matter of principle". Just whose principles we are yet sure of course.

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