I know Max Baucus is basically a fraud, but do you think he’s going beyond whoring for corporations to actually operating in bad faith? Is he aware that Chuck Grassley is never going to agree to anything worth passing or that can pass? Has he stalled this process intentionally or because he’s stupid?
About The Author
BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
Early on when he was defending foreclosing any discussion of single-payer, I thought he looked genuinely agonized. It was the look of a social worker telling her client that they don’t deserve any more support but not being able to say that it’s bullshit from a moron boss that she can’t do anything about. Or the general having to defend military decisions forced on him by a clueless superior.
So who is Baucus’s superior? I don’t get the impression it’s just the insurancecos. It looks like somebody bigger and scarier with more direct threats to hold over him. Blackmail? Who knows. In any case, if he had a shred of honor left he’d resign his chairmanship.
baucus may be a lot of things, most of them bad, but stupid isn’t one of them.
he has no intention of doing anything that would upset his masters…who are primarily the pharmaceutical and health insurance industries, and special interest business pacs. according to the center for responsive politics,
ergo, by default, he’s a shameless corporate whore, operating in bad faith, with the goal of stalling the process, or abet in the implementation of enough poison pill amendments to kill it completely.
What Shameless said. He’s not a fraud, he’s a member of the control class the corporate party has installed. He is aware that Grassley is an excuse. He is stalling because he is responding to his money-base (the corporations who fund him, and I’m sure have promised a fat position once he retires.)
Sorry – What Dada said.
That he and the other 5 have been negotiating so long without presenting any details to the rest of the committee leads me to say bad faith. If he wanted to produce something he could.
They will present something as late as they can, but working out the details hasn’t been the main goal.
He’s not stupid, he’s greedy. And with the crowd he runs with going for the cash is considered ‘being a genius’.
Follow the money.
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/110729
nalbar
look at john, help is on the way, kerry’s numbers…$8,994,077.
help my ass.
Max’s problem is that his former staff members are littered all over as lobbyists for Health Care/Insurance/Drug Industries. He still listens to them like they are working for him. My friend that was a staffer for Baucus awhile back emailed the following response about your post.
Max is not that sinister. Most of it is that he is an old school senator. remember he has been there a long time. In his mind he thinks he can get a group together that wants to make a deal, sit around a table and hammer out a bill.
But in this case he doesn’t realize how bad the problem is or the urgenecy of the moment. Like many long term politicians, he lives in a bubble. This window of opportunity won’t come back for another 15-20 years. If this bill fails health care reform could become kryptonite politically. No one will ever touch it again.
He basically thinks with this group he can get a workable bill for the US Senate. But the country needs more than minor insurance reform bill.
One thing as well is I’m surprised how little the WH has done. I mean politically this is one of Obama’s biggest deals of his presidency. He hasn’t done near enough selling it. Remember Bush selling tax cuts. He did a much better job. Also no arm twisting from WH on congress members. They need to step it up. I mean one big example is Messina. He can’t go talk to his “father”? What is the point of him being on staff? Maybe his old baucus buddies are making too much money off this thing.>
The whole point of hiring Clintonite Jim Messina was for his tight relationship with Baucus. Articles talked about their father/son relationship. Messina should be held accountable for Baucus’s behavior. I am big fan of this Twitter feed.
http://twitter.com/NotMaxBaucus
Shorter ‘your friend’;
“You don’t understand. He’s a great guy who is sitting around a table trying to get it done. It’s not his fault he already has the best health care in the world so has not had to pay attention to what ‘normal’ people need. It’s the brown guys fault anyway.”
Sounds like a wanker.
nalbar
all of the above.
Simply:
–Yes
I know Max Baucus is basically a fraud, but do you think he’s going beyond whoring for corporations to actually operating in bad faith?
YES
Is he aware that Chuck Grassley is never going to agree to anything worth passing or that can pass?
YES
Has he stalled this process intentionally or because he’s stupid?
INTENTIONALLY
Too many bloggers cut Max way too much slack. He’s an insurance industry mole who stayed alive long enough to finally become committee chair. It’s all come down to this moment in history and now, by God, Max is “gonna dance with the girl who brung him.”