Reid Buys Sen. Landrieu's Vote for $100M

On page 432 of the Reid bill, there is a section increasing federal Medicaid subsidies for “certain states recovering from a major disaster.”

The section spends two pages defining which “states” would qualify, saying, among other things, that it would be states that “during the preceding 7 fiscal years” have been declared a “major disaster area.”

I am told the section applies to exactly one state: Louisiana, the home of moderate Democrat Mary Landrieu, who has been playing hard to get on the health care bill.

In other words, the bill spends two pages describing would could be written with a single world: Louisiana. (This may also help explain why the bill is long.)

Senator Harry Reid, who drafted the bill, cannot pass it without the support of Louisiana’s Mary Landrieu.

How much does it cost? According to the Congressional Budget Office: $100 million.

If Senators were accountable to state legislatures, this kind of thing wouldn't happen. State legislatures wouldn't give up their power for any amount of money, nor would they allow Senators to vote for pork-laden bills that they'd have to pay for.

With such blatant vote-buying, our politicians have shown that they'll do whatever it takes to pass this freedom-stealing bill. REAL ID? Patriot Act? They have nothing on a bill putting your health in the government's hands.

This is the last nail in our freedom's coffin. The bright side? You're not hit for taxes for expatriation if you make less than $139K/year.

I know the saying is not to trust the government, but I gotta tell ya, I don't trust the electorate that put these tyrants in power. As bad as this government is, when people start freaking out as the dollar crashes, there's no telling what these lunatics will do.