Politics As Usual

When I heard about it I didn't believe it. When I found out that it was true I was in awe. As many by now know, congress has voted to open up debate on the healthcare bill, which is great. But the means by which they did so was not so great. In order to do so, all 60 Democratic votes in the Senate were needed in order to block a Republican filibuster, which they got from a price that will be paid by the American taxpayer.

One Democratic Senator, a Mrs. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, was originally opposed to voting with her Democratic colleagues to open up debate on the bill. In order to convince her otherwise, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, along with some other congressional Democrats, added a clause to the bill which promises to provide $300 million in aid to Landrieu's state of Louisiana in the form of a "Medicaid bonus."

Essentially, Landrieu's vote was bought by her colleagues. Is it just me, or is there something terribly wrong with this picture. Bribes are not the way voting on bills should be taking place. Unfortunately, there have been many instances on both sides of the aisle where congressional leaders were promised something in exchange for their vote, and it's perfectly legal.

During President Obama's campaign he promised to "clean up" Capital Hill. What happened to getting rid of "politics as usual." It is sickening that such a stunt can be pulled so openly in Washington D.C., with no shame what so ever. I am sure that Louisiana and the Katrina victims need the help, but this is certainly not the way to go about it. I am hopeful that President Obama has the courage to condemn his colleagues, and finally clean up Washington and put an end to this abomination.