SENATOR MARY LANDRIEU SAYS SHE DID NOT MAKE A BACK ROOM DEAL

Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu gained notoriety last year for year her decision to support the healthcare reform bill in exchange for a $300 million dollar earmark for her state.  Many who are outraged by this dubbed it the “Louisiana Purchase”.  Mary Landrieu objects to this, claiming that she did not do a deal in “a smoke-filled room”, and that she was merely correcting a mistake made by the federal government.  But her defense of this unpopular manuever demonstrates the real problem with agenda that is being forced upon this nation.

When asked about if she dislikes the term “Louisiana Purchase” for the deal, she replied:

 “Not only do I dislike it, it’s really a mischaracterization of what happened, it is not a special deal for me, it’s a fair deal for the people of Louisiana.  I’ll tell you what happened, the levees broke, and the hurricane hit and the levees broke.  Our personal income went up 40%, not down, according to the federal government.  It’s never happened in the history of the country and it’s false.  All the extra money, that poured into the state, the federal government claims we are 40% richer.  It’s laughable, it’s a joke.  So we fixed it. When the income goes up by 40%, our Medicare reimbursement drops.”

So let’s get this straight.  Because your state received billions in federal aid, you deserve millions more in federal aid because the federal aid you received was so much that it reduced the amount of aid that you are entitled too.  What is frightening is that a senator expects that to make sense to the people listening. 

She continues: “It’s because of the insurance money that poured in, and the federal funding that poured in, and it arbitrarily and artificially increased our per capita income.  The federal government is saying we are 40% richer, it’s a joke.”

Hold on.  Landrieu is actually claiming that Louisiana has been victimized by all of the federal aid and insurance money that has come to the state to help it rebuild.  This is important on many levels.  First if Louisiana is getting the money from the insurance companies, one would think that would be preferable to them being denied that money.  Second, she is basically saying that if you make more money, the government penalizes you, so it is better to make less so you can get the government to do more for you. 

She is saying this. Mary Landrieu, not Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck.  So, Obama should spend less time complaining about talk show hosts.  This time it is a Democrat that voted for the bill he signed that is calling him into question.

Also Landrieu insisted that the federal funding and insurance money “arbitrarily and artificially increased our per capita income.”

Federal spending doesn’t do that …..wait a minute IT DOES!  She is now saying that public sector spending distorts the income figures, making it look like things are improving when they are not.

Where have we heard that before. Oh yeah. THE RECOVERY ACT.  Mary Landrieu is attacking the entire foundation of the Team Obama approach to this economy!

And throughout the interview, she continued to say “it’s a joke”.  Senator Landrieu informed “The governor (R-Bobby Jindal) and I stood shoulder to shoulder to tell the federal government that it is incorrect.  We have always paid 70 cents on every dollar for Medicaid”.  She says with the upper income adjustment, they will have to pay more. 

So the federal government, led by Obama, Pelosi, Reid and Frank IS WRONG?  And she is standing with Bobby Jindal, a staunch conservative, against them?  Hmmm….

That is much better campaign material than any Republican member of Congress will get from going on a talk show.