Sweeteners For The South (Louisiana Purchase: $300 Million For Landrieu)

Washington Post ^ | November 22, 2009 | Dana Milbank

[raptor22]

Staffers on Capitol Hill were calling it the Louisiana Purchase.

On the eve of Saturday's showdown in the Senate over health-care reform, Democratic leaders still hadn't secured the support of Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), one of the 60 votes needed to keep the legislation alive. The wavering lawmaker was offered a sweetener: at least $100 million in extra federal money for her home state.

And so it came to pass that Landrieu walked onto the Senate floor midafternoon Saturday to announce her aye vote -- and to trumpet the financial "fix" she had arranged for Louisiana. "I am not going to be defensive," she declared. "And it's not a $100 million fix. It's a $300 million fix."

It was an awkward moment (not least because her figure is 20 times the original Louisiana Purchase price). But it was fairly representative of a Senate debate that seems to be scripted in the Southern Gothic style. The plot was gripping -- the bill survived Saturday's procedural test without a single vote to spare -- and it brought out the rank partisanship, the self-absorption and all the other pathologies of modern politics. If that wasn't enough of a Tennessee Williams story line, the debate even had, playing the lead role, a Southerner named Blanche with a flair for the dramatic.

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.

[raptor22]

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D., La.)

http://landrieu.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm

Washington, D.C.

328 Hart Senate Building United States Senate Washington, DC 20510

(202) 224-5824, (202) 224-9735 fax

New Orleans

Hale Boggs Federal Building 500 Poydras Street, Room 1005 New Orleans, LA 70130

(504) 589-2427, (504) 589-4023 fax

Baton Rouge

Room 326, Federal Building 707 Florida Street Baton Rouge, LA 70801

(225) 389-0395, (225) 389-0660 fax

Shreveport

U.S. Courthouse 300 Fannin Street, Room 2240 Shreveport, LA 71101

(318) 676-3085, (318) 676-3100 fax

Lake Charles

Capital One Tower One Lakeshore Drive, Suite 1260 Lake Charles, LA 70629

(337) 436-6650, (337) 439-3762

[Mamzelle]

Her office is a street lamp on a corner of Bourbon Street.

[albie]

A caller into Sean on Friday said they tried all the numbers posted to contact the traitor and none answered or vm was full.

[Anti-Bubba182]

Every Democrat knows Hellfire will land on them if they don't vote for this bill. Landrieu made a show and got paid some more. There never was any doubt.

Machiavelli himself would gag in revulsion at the process.

[paddles]

Harry Reid’s little street whore.

[stboz]

Sounds like the story of the woman who was asked if she would hop into bed with the next guy that came along.

She indignantly replied," Certainly not!

Asked again if she would do it for a million dollars, she replied,"Well, okay, but I'm not some prostitute or anything."

To that the questioner offered, "Oh, but you are. We're just trying to establish your price."

[Tzimisce]

She’s proud of her pay off by the way.

[Drill Thrawl]

Outside of government this is known as bribery or payola and is illegal.

To paraphase Nixon, "It's not illegal when the democrats do it.

[Snickering Hound]

[Sybeck1]

30 pieces of silver?

[PLD]

All I can say is I knew she was a traitor too..All the Dem’s are fools, this little woman has a sure thing she will get reelected by her welfare group..And get money out of it..Time for the country to be taken back by the real Americans.. Wasn’t her daddy a criminal from Louisiana?

[animal172]

All 535 members of Congress are whores. The only difference is in the price. It should be the law of the land that bills should stand on their own with no amendments. Let the light of day shine on the skulduggery going on in our names. There are no words to describe the frustration, anger and angst that I am feeling.

[Hessian]

If each piece of silver is worth $10 mil...

[UCANSEE2]

That makes her a prostitute.

Actually, I think they are all prostitutes. Comes with the job.

[Enough is ENOUGH]

Landrieu boldly announces that her seat is up for sale to the highest bidder.

[ROTB]

I wonder how her constituents feel about this payoff. Did they “win”?

[UCANSEE2]

Another way to look at this is that Landrieu negotiated a higher price in order to sell out, and brought more money back to her state. This is, is it not, what the voters in her state want?

Of course, $200 million will be taken off the top by Landrieu and friends. But the voters will be happy they got $100 million.

[animal172]

You are right. She did sell out......our country.