Purchasing Louisiana (and Oregon, and Nebraska, and Arkansas)
In 1803, Thomas Jefferson was worried about possible military threats from both England and France. Too, he wanted to secure the port of New Orleans for the United States. To accomplish this, he instituted the Louisiana Purchase and for the sum of $15,000,000 bought 828,800 square miles of territory. The Louisiana Purchase gave the United States territory that would eventually become all or part of some 14 states and two Canadian Provinces.
In today’s dollars, that would translate to some $215,000,000 dollars. The purchase was ratified by a 24 to 7 vote in the Senate. The United States gained much land, and as Napoleon stated, eventual domination as a maritime power:
“This accession of territory affirms forever the power of the United States, and I have given England a maritime rival who sooner or later will humble her pride.”
And so it became true, the United States became that rival and is now the pre-eminent power in the world. At the same time, it has sunk to sheer bribery to pass a law that will bankrupt America and destroy the greatest health-care system in the world.
Harry Reid, and the leadership of the Democrat Party (not democratic at all) gave what amounts to a $300,000,000 million bribe to Senator Mary Landrieu (D-La.) to secure her vote for that monstrosity called health care reform.
Landrieu stated:
“I am not going to be defensive,” she declared. “And it’s not a $100 million fix. It’s a $300 million fix.”
Even Dana Millbank of the Washington Post can call a spade a spade, bribery bribery and rank opportunism rank opportunism.
“After Landrieu threw in her support (she asserted that the extra Medicaid funds were “not the reason” for her vote), the lone holdout in the 60-member Democratic caucus was Sen. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas. Like other Democratic moderates who knew a single vote could kill the bill, she took a streetcar named Opportunism, transferred to one called Wavering and made off with concessions of her own. Indeed, the all-Saturday debate, which ended with an 8 p.m. vote, occurred only because Democratic leaders had yielded to her request for more time.
“Even when she finally announced her support, at 2:30 in the afternoon, Lincoln made clear that she still planned to hold out for many more concessions in the debate that will consume the next month. “My decision to vote on the motion to proceed is not my last, nor only, chance to have an impact on health-care reform,” she announced.
“Landrieu and Lincoln got the attention because they were the last to decide, but the Senate really has 100 Blanche DuBoises, a full house of characters inclined toward the narcissistic.
[...]
“Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) won a promise from Reid to support his plan to expand eligibility for health insurance. Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) got Reid to jettison a provision stripping health insurers of their antitrust exemption. Landrieu got the concessions for her money. And Lincoln won an extended, 72-hour period to study legislation.
[...]
“Republicans also knew that a single defection would kill the bill, so they tried to pressure the holdouts. “That’s what we’ve got to choose today: Do we choose life or do we choose death?” declared Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.). “We just need one vote, one vote on the other side.”
“But Landrieu had already made up her mind. She went to the floor during the lunch hour to say that she would vote to proceed with the debate — but that she’d be looking for much bigger concessions before she gives her blessing to a final version of the bill.
“My vote today,” she said in a soft Southern accent that masked the hard politics at play, “should in no way be construed by the supporters of this current framework as an indication of how I might vote as this debate comes to an end.” Among the concessions she’ll seek: more tax credits for small business and a removal of the version of the “public option” now in the bill.
[...]
“[Lincoln] argued, a bit too strenuously, that “I’m not thinking about my reelection” in 2010. All the same, she made clear that Democratic leaders would have to give more if they want her to vote yes as the health-care debate continues. Specifically, she demanded removal of the public option. “I am opposed to a new government-administered health-care plan,” she warned, further cautioning that “I will not vote in favor of the proposal . . . as it is written.”
“By the time this thing is done, the millions for Louisiana will look like a bargain. [emphasis added]“
Who is kidding who here. A bargain? Not when final passage of this monstrosity will guarantee the bankruptcy of the United States. The bill alone is touted to cost just shy of a trillion dollars; add to that the cost of all the “bribes” that have yet to occur in exchange for a “aye” vote and the cost could be well over that figure. This on top of the so called “bail out” moneys and the “stimulus” moneys.
Were this kind of thing to happen in business or in Wall Street, the AG would pounce and bring indictments of bribery. In the Halls of Congress it is “business as usual” and that stinks!
Possibly Related Posts:
- Got Money?
- Fausta’s Blog: A gun is a teensy-weensy gun is a gun
- Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?
- It’s The Jobs Stupid!
- It’s the Economy, Stupid too (2)!
This is why P.J. O’Rourke christened our Congress a Parliament of Whores!
It’s a sad day for America with a Congress like this!
The most disturbing thing to me is how this act of outright bribery (with our money no less) is seen my our government and our news media as being perfectly acceptable and normal.
I loved Mary Landrieu’s argument: The bribe/payoff from the Obama administration wasn’t $100 million, it was $300 million! She may be a whore, but she’s no cheap whore!