McCollum Asks Ethics Commission To Overlook….Ethics In Lobbying Request

 

Bill McCollum: "Champion" of Ethics, Law, and Order

 

Facing the prospect of having to look for a “real” job just a week after losing the Republican gubernatorial primary, Bill McCollum turned to the Florida Commission On Ethics. McCollum wrote to the Commission to make a request that he be allowed to lobby the Governor’s office and the Cabinet, or, to lobby his soon to be ex-coworkers in Tallahassee.

The answer? No.

The Commission and State law won’t allow him to lobby on behalf of private clients before the state government and collect fees for two years. McCollum knew that, but he didn’t let that stop him from asking anyway.

McCollum’s Sept. 3 letter acknowledged the fact that under state law, he can’t lobby his former agency, the attorney general’s office, for two years after leaving. But he asked “what entities” are also included under the post-employment restriction. The advisory opinion, to be acted on at the ethics panel’s Oct. 22 meeting, concludes that the lobbying ban applies to the governor and Cabinet as a group as well as the governor’s office and each Cabinet member individually “for a period of two years after leaving office.”

Put another way, McCollum apparently would prefer that the revolving door in Florida politics just be taken off its hinges entirely, but here’s the kicker:

McCollum asked that his request be kept a secret.

McCollum, who earned $400,000 a year as a lobbyist at Baker & Hostetler between two of his earlier statewide campaigns, asked that his name be withheld from any published opinion. But it wasn’t. His letter appears in the agenda materials along with the opinion.

Psst. Bill, it’s called the “ETHICS COMMISSION.” Oh, and you’re the “ATTORNEY GENERAL.”

No, McCollum certainly won’t endorse Rick Scott, his former rival in the Governor’s race, but he’s not above potentially profiting from a GOP win, should Scott somehow manage to wind up in the Governor’s mansion. (Perish the thought.)

McCollum, the man who balked at being referred to as a “career politician” served 20 years in Congress, collects an $82,000 pension, and had a net worth of $1.3 million as of last year. But not satisfied with that, and the fact that he lost the Governor’s race and may be out of offices to run for, McCollum would now like to profit from the state in other ways immediately, by jumping the two-year ethics law, and he would prefer that no one know that he made the request to do so.

Sure sounds like a career politician to me.

Can you say “hypocrisy?”

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Rick Scott Fundraising With HCA and U.S. Sugar Lobby

Last week there were more negative reports about Rick Scott’s former and present business tactics.

Columbia/HCA:

Scott was warned of potential legal problems for paying incentives to doctors that could influence them to refer patients to the Columbia/HCA chain. Lawyers warned Scott those payments may run afoul of federal anti-kickback statutes. The lawyers’ warnings were contained in the company’s public reports Scott had to sign and submit to the SEC. Scott said he didn’t remember the warnings, and that they sounded like “boilerplate” legal text.

Solantic:

Critics say Solantic is driven by the same lust for profits that contributed to Scott’s downfall as CEO of Columbia/HCA, which was fined a record $1.7 billion in Medicare and Medicaid fraud.

“Solantic really, really pushes it. All they care about is profit margin,” said Dr. Gregory Hayes, a former employee who says he was urged to resign after working two months at a pair of Solantic clinics in the Treasure Coast.

Hayes, a doctor since 1998, said in an interview with The Palm Beach Post that Solantic’s medical director asked him to inflate patients’ costs by ordering potentially unnecessary medical procedures. Hayes said he also was told to sell more of the clinic’s prescription drugs, despite cheaper alternatives at a pharmacy.

“Ethically and morally I just couldn’t do that,” Hayes said. “Just because you walk through the door with a runny nose doesn’t mean an automatic X-ray and breathing treatment and lab work.”

I doubt we’ve heard the last of stories like that one, given Scott’s refusal to release depositions and his habit of dodging questions about either of these companies other than the blanket responses: “I have taken full responsibility” and “I was never charged.”

Today we find that Scott will be hosting a fundraiser at Yankee Stadium on Sunday night in New York. Not so unusual, right? Well, I guess that depends on where the funds come from:

The invitation for the Yankees-Red Sox game asks donors to RSVP Bridget Nocco, a registered lobbyist whose clients in Tallahassee include none other than HCA and U.S. Sugar Corp.

Yes, the same HCA that was fined $1.7 billion for Medicare fraud under Scott’s watch. And yes, the same U.S. Sugar Corp., that poured millions of dollars into a negative ad campaign trashing Scott in his primary against Bill McCollum.

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Tax Cuts: A Bad Boehner Bluff

Over the weekend, House Republican leader John Boehner hinted that he would be open to a compromise on the Bush-Cheney tax cuts to maintain lower rates for families earning less than $250,000 even if President Obama and Democrats “insisted” on ending the tax cuts for the rich.

“If the only option I have is to vote for some of those tax reductions, I’ll vote for them,” Mr. Boehner said in an interview on “Face the Nation” on CBS, during which the host, Bob Schieffer, pointedly asked whether Republicans would hold the tax breaks for most Americans “hostage” to keep the lower rates for the wealthy.

What a guy! Maybe Boehner was making such a bold statement because he feels the need to stand up for the middle class and he thinks that the wealthiest Americans, himself among them, should finally pay their fair share. Right? Right. And maybe Boehner’s glowing tan comes naturally without visits to the tanning salon between votes on the House floor! In other words, if John Boehner’s lips are moving, he’s asking for a tax break.

Those “fiscally conservative” Republicans made a move this afternoon that all but proves that “Boehner Lip Theory,” by introducing legislation to freeze the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% of Americans. Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell introduced the legislation, saying that it ensures that no one will pay higher income taxes next year than they pay now.

From TPM:

Of course, to truly put Democrats on the spot, they’ll need a vote on McConnell’s legislation. While they’re not guaranteed a vote, Democrats might push for one. Several of them have advocated extending all Bush tax cuts temporarily, and McConnell happily cited Connecticut Independent Joe Lieberman’s statement from earlier today in which he said he’d do “everything I can to make sure Congress extends the so-called Bush tax cuts for another year and takes action to prevent the estate tax from rising back to where it was.”

More game playing from the Republicans. Some Democrats are nervous about going anywhere near the issue of extending the Bush tax cuts. Naturally Joe Lieberman is all too happy to step in. Poor Joe hasn’t gotten much attention since he tried to destroy the health care bill, so he’s probably thrilled at the prospect of mucking things up for the Democrats in a fresh new fight. Lieberman has no shame. He’s loaded, has health care courtesy of you and me, and he sees the lives and livelihood of Americans as a game. Just throw in another tax break for the Lieberman heirs, give Joe some dice and he’s good to go!

The High Price Of The Bush Tax Cuts

Recent opinion polls show that a majority of Americans would like to see the Bush tax cuts expire. The GOP myth has been debunked over and over on claims that those tax cuts are “paid for,” or that they don’t add to the deficit. Dick Cheney may have persuaded a few to believe that “deficits don’t matter,” but when your “deficit” comes in the form of a lost job and disappearing unemployment benefits, even a loyal “Bushie” smartens up. Those key words from the McConnell statement “no one” are aimed right at those who still believe:

The legislation, McConnell said, “ensures that no one in this country will pay higher income taxes next year than they are right now.”

“No one.” High income, low-income, no income.

President Obama isn’t kidding when he says the GOP are holding the middle class tax cuts hostage in order to keep the Bush tax cuts. He’s right on the money, and the GOP knows it. There’s a notable uptick in the GOP’s use of Twitter over the last few days as a media tool to lie and twist his words and say Obama is the one holding middle class tax cuts hostage. Why? Because they’re desperate and running out of ways to trick the voters in between distractions like Quran burnings and scaring people by exploiting 9-11. (They’re experts on that last one and they’ve taken it to a brand new low. Low EVEN for the GOP.)

So was John Boehner declaring a “BREAKING NEWS” calibre change in Republican policy by “standing up for the middle class” with his announcement? Is John Boehner’s skin color natural and found anywhere else in nature?

No, it’s more likely that Boehner threw the TV news media a bone he knew they would happily chase, and then say “we’re going to have to leave it there.” No more time for questions. After all, a lazy and easily distracted media will stick with the “shiny object” almost all the time. That way they might overlook another bigger story about John Boehner like this one from The New York Times:

“G.O.P. Leader Tightly Bound To Lobbyists”

….They have contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to his campaigns, provided him with rides on their corporate jets, socialized with him at luxury golf resorts and waterfront bashes and are now leading fund-raising efforts for his Boehner for Speaker campaign, which is soliciting checks of up to $37,800 each, the maximum allowed.

….“I get lobbied every day by somebody,” he said last month after a speech in Cleveland. “It could be by my wife. It could be the bellman. It goes on all day, every day, every place.”

Well, almost overlooked.

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Liz Cheney Wants An Investigation? Let’s Give Her One!

After all, why not? It’s Memorial Day!

We’ve passed 40 days and counting of black oil gushing from a blown out well in the Gulf  of Mexico polluting and killing everything in its path, including the Louisiana marshland which contributes to shielding the state from deadly hurricanes, leaving an already vulnerable Katrina battered city of New Orleans with nightmares of what may come this year when the hurricane season starts June 1.

It’s also Memorial Day weekend. One might wonder what these two events happening at the same time might have in common. I’ll tell you.

During Memorial Day weekend, who breaks an unusual silence of almost a month, but a member of the Cheney family. Yes, Liz “Mini-Dick” Cheney appeared this morning on FOX (where else?). Now I know you’re probably saying to yourself “wow, she appeared on Memorial Day weekend to honor the troops? Who’d a thunk it?” Yes THAT would have been something.

But she’s a Cheney, and we all know they avoid (defer) things like serving their country or honoring our servicemen unless they’re using them as a shield or some sick form of guilt-ridden blackmail for squeezing more war $$ from Congress. That’s about the only time you ever hear a member of that family uttering the word “troops.”

No, in this case Mini Dick is making her father quite proud no doubt, because she chose of all weekends, Memorial Day weekend to come out swinging at the White House over a scandal that only the looniest wing of the GOP are still crowing about: the job offer to coincidentally, another veteran Joe Sestak, by way of Bill Clinton. (And what’s not to love that it involves Clinton no less? It’s a two-fer!)

She’s joining the other “right-off-the-cliff” wing of the GOP who have displayed great manufactured outrage over this. Everyone from Joe “The FOX Wannabe” Scarborough and his shoe model sidekick Morning Mimic Mika “Lies Are OK When My Friends (Richard Blumenthal) Tell Them” Brzezinski, to, well, everyone on FOX. Nothing about honoring the military over their sacrifice in her father’s manufactured war. Nope. You’ll hear nothing but crickets in THAT department from the Cheney family.

From Media Matters:

After saying Clinton doesn’t have “an impeccable record of integrity,” Cheney argued: “You know, there’s a lot here that just smells funny. If the White House in fact thought that what they were doing was above board, why did they go to Bill Clinton? Why did they need a cut out for whatever they were doing?”

Yes, Mini Dick is SO outraged that she wants an investigation into the Sestak-Clinton “S-c-a-n-d-a-l.” Investigation? Fine! I say let’s give her one!

But rather than wasting time on the one she’s ringing her hands over, let’s investigate the thing that she’s using Sestak and Clinton to distract us all from: the BP by way of Haliburton oil gusher in the Gulf of Mexico, and the involvement of the Cheney family in it, shall we? If you’re looking for something that “smells funny” this is it. It smells like a toxic mixture of oil, gas and dispersant, for starters.

I would like for the media, just for once to ignore this women every time she pops up and points her finger at others, and instead focus on the cause and effect of Big Dick and his former “VP” George “W-hat Me Worry” Bush’s involvement in that “minimal damage” BP oil gusher in the Gulf.

For starters, let’s back up a few days, and then we’ll back up a few years.

Here’s my wish list:

The other day I came across an interesting connection. It came in the form of a Florida company hired for the oil spill clean-up here by none other than Gov. Charlie Crist, WRS Compass. This company boasts this on its website:

Now more than ever, business and government entities see a need to “go green.”A new wave of environmental stewardship is sweeping across the nation with an emphasis on resource efficiency, clean land, and a higher quality of life. With nearly 25 years of experience, WRScompass is uniquely positioned to “re-green” the lands of our private and public sector customers and to improve their aging infrastructures.

More than 350,000 contaminated sites have been identified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Throughout the U.S., massive water resource projects like the Everglades restoration have been put on the fast track.

WRScompass, with an experienced, highly skilled technical and professional workforce of more than 600, offers the manpower to tackle such environmental challenges. During our quarter century in the environmental and construction industry, WRScompass has become known for our ability to provide efficient solutions to a wide-ranging number of environmental challenges of our customers. This has led to our reputation for providing outstanding customer service, while also being recognized nationally for maintaining high safety and accident prevention standards.

Backed by a $30 million fleet of company-owned equipment and service centers across the nation, WRScompass is able to quickly respond to customer needs.

WRS Compass has “responded quickly” all right. They’ve literally jumped on the bandwagon to get busy cleaning up the oil that is bound to land on Florida shores in the near future. They are ready and waiting, all they need is oil! And who is leading the charge? That would be WRS Compass CEO Kathleen Shanahan, who has ties not only to, surprise, surprise, Dick Cheney, but former Florida Gov. and Little Brother of Dubya, Jeb Bush as well! Who knew? For the backstory on that you can click here.

Now let’s step back a little further. As I mentioned, and as you’ve probably noticed, the very vocal Dick Cheney has been curiously quiet and MIA from the airwaves since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig blew up and began filling the entire Gulf with oil and gas, turning it into what is fast becoming the “Gulf Of Cheney.” So you might, as I have, be thinking “hey, I wonder what Big Dick has been up to lately?” Then I saw this:

Foreign Policy‘s David Kenner pointed out Monday that former vice president and ex-Halliburton CEO Dick Cheney just went on a junket to meet with Saudi Arabian leaders, a quiet pow-wow that’s been discussed in the Saudi media but not so much over here. Cheney—who’s been busy defending torture and complaining that Barack Obama lets world leaders “think they’re dealing with a weak president“—weakened the president by visiting a leading torture regime and its caliph, King Abdullah.

So, what was the ex-veep doing in Riyadh?

What indeed? This was in early May. Of this year. A couple of weeks ago. Could be lot’s of reasons I suppose. The article goes on to point out a few:

The obvious answer would be: something financially advantageous. Cheney, who oversaw the Saudi staging of Gulf War I, has always maintained good relations with the kingdom and its elites—relations that certainly came in handy after the war, when his oil-services and all-around shady operation, Halliburton, won lots of US and Saudi contracts to help extract the kingdom’s petroleum wealth—and buttress its national defenses.

But those sorts of financial entanglements—and high-level contacts—can quickly deteriorate into policy interference. Which wouldn’t be new territory for Cheney, who as CEO helped Halliburton skirt international and US terror sanctions on trade with Iran in order to make a quick buck.

Yup, that’s the Dick all right. It’s when he’s quiet that you start to worry what he’s doing, and there you go. But back to those contracts and things. Let’s look into more of those here while we’re investigating, going all the way back to 2000 before the election, like cashing in on contracts that he helped initiate:

In 1992, the Pentagon, then under Cheney’s direction, paid Texas-based Brown & Root Services$3.9 million to produce a classified report detailing how private companies — like itself — could help provide logistics for American troops in potential war zones around the world. BRS specializes in such work; from 1962 to 1972, for instance, the company worked in the former South Vietnam building roads, landing strips, harbors, and military bases. Later in 1992, the Pentagon gave the company an additional $5 million to update its report. That same year, BRS won a massive, five-year logistics contract from the US Army Corps of Engineers to work alongside American GIs in places like Zaire, Haiti, Somalia, Kosovo, the Balkans, and Saudi Arabia.

Sure, old news. But you throw in Haliburton, and the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, and so on. (Speaking of the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, who do you suppose lists an award of a $30 million contract for levee construction and additional work in New Orleans for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and other work in Louisiana for Hurricane Storm Damage Risk Reduction Systems? Why that would be WRS Compass. They were also worked in New Orleans on emergency response to Hurricane Katrina.)

Now, how about this old story from back in 2003. In fact, just for fun, let’s see if you can answer this: What do you get when you add:

Dick Cheney+Antonin Scalia+ducks+Louisiana+Kenneth Lay+The Sierra Club+Judicial Watch+oil+gas+coal+nuclear industry+lobbyists= ____?

Answer? = Secret energy task force! Oh, and I left out part of the equation. This guy: Wallace Carline. From the same CBS News item above:

….the pair arrived Jan. 5 on Gulfstream jets and were guests of Wallace Carline, the owner of Diamond Services Corp., an oil services company in Amelia, La. The Associated Press in Morgan City, La., reported the trip on the day the vice president and his entourage departed.

“They asked us not to bring cameras out there,” said Sheriff David Naquin, who serves St. Mary Parish, about 90 miles southwest of New Orleans, referring to the group’s request for privacy. “The vice president and the justice were there for a relaxing trip, so we backed off.”

While the local police were told about Cheney’s trip shortly before his arrival, they were told to keep it a secret, Naquin said to the Times.

“The justice had been here several times before. I’m kind of sorry Cheney picked that week because it was a poor shooting week,” Naquin said. “There weren’t many ducks here, which is unusual for this time of the year.”

“There weren’t many ducks here, which is kind of unusual for this time of year.” Perhaps the ducks heard that Cheney was coming? OR perhaps there was no duck hunting involved in the first place? After all, Scalia certainly didn’t report getting shot in the face now, did he?

Who is Wallace Carline? He was the owner of Diamond Services Corp., a private company categorized under Oil and Gas Pipeline Construction and located in Morgan City, LA. Wallace Carline also gives campaign contributions to people like David “Diapers” Vitter (R-LA), among others. But that’s beside the point.

Again, this is old news, but it still brings us back to Cheney’s secret energy policy meetings, and involvement with the oil companies, Haliburton, and who knows how many other connections there might be. Like MMS and the Department of Interior. Like the Haliburton role in the oil spill. Like this one. Or this one. How about this one? And this one? Put them together and you may just conclude this one. Click on the interactive “blame game” section on this one and there’s plenty of blame to go around. However you connect the dots, Cheney pops up somewhere. President Obama had nothing to do with the last eight years before he won the White House, nor all the years before that brought us to this “Gulf Of Cheney.”

On this Memorial Day, I can think of no better way to honor the troops than investigating what really led to the war in Iraq and beyond, but we all know by now that’s not going to happen. But still, it was a war over oil.

So let’s DO give Mini Dick her investigation. Let’s investigate the oil spill and who’s really at fault. Because it’s unfolding right now before our eyes. The evidence is right there in plain sight, and it’s adding up every day.

And if you’re one of the “lucky” ones, while you’re watching the oil lap at the shore in Louisiana, or Mississippi, Alabama, or Florida, reach down and collect a little mason jar of oil and raise a toast to the Cheney family.

Cheers.

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“How Do I Loathe Thee (Stupid)? Let Me Count The Ways”

This week the Grand Obstructionist Party is holding their Southern Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans. Although this could be an extremely long exercise, let’s try to answer the question above. Let’s attempt to count the ways/reasons, shall we?

1. The Grand Obstructionist Party is holding their Southern Republican Leadership Conference on New Orleans. Yes. That’s New Orleans.

2. The Southern Republican Leadership Conference logo:

I think that umbrella there in the elephant’s trunk would be just about as effective in a hurricane as the GOP’s “leadership” was during Katrina. That brings us to #3:

3. Perhaps the GOP are a little confused. If they’re gong to name their conference based on a concept, they should probably know what the key word means:

Some key points here: about being able to “function?” One word: “Katrina.”

About “ability to lead,” “act of leading,” and “leaders of a group?” When it comes to the GOP, I think you need to add one more example to that definition list:

“In order to lead, one must first show up.”

Of the 14 “leaders” with their pictures on the front page of the conference website, after clicking on “speakers” at the top of the page, you’ll find that only seven of them are actual confirmed speakers: 4. Haley Barbour 5. Newt Gingrich 6. Bobby Jindal 7. Sarah Palin 8. Tim Pawlenty 9. Mike Pence, and 10. Rick Santorum.

There are a couple new added names here, the runner-up fill in speakers I guess. For them, that umbrella will come in handy, although you may need a raincoat and some boots as well to wade through all the deep —- that 11. Liz Cheney and 12. Mary Matalin will be slinging around.

13. Now, if you’re concerned that this may indicate you won’t get your money’s worth, fear not! On that same page there’s a festive video re-run from the 2006 SRLC of Mike Huckabee’s Cover Band! And that’s not all! No sir, below that is a nice picture of (who else?) Ronald Reagan with two options for the re-run of his address to the conference from 1984. You can either read an “Error 404 – Not Found” page, or read the text of his speech. Your choice!

14. Speaking of getting your money’s worth, let’s click on “Agenda” shall we? Oops. It seems there’s not much of an agenda, other than schedules for the opening and closing of Exhibit Halls and Registration, what time the shuttles run….let’s see…..a straw poll…..oh! And a Sean Hannity book signing, and “Sean Hannity Live,” hmm, guess he does stand up now?

15. So what will seven (give or take) speakers and no agenda to speak of cost you? $699.00. (I guess the lesbians and bondage fees are extra.)

“Children, one year old or under, will be allowed into the same events as the credentialed registrant. Children over the age of one year old must be credentialed to enter events.”

16. – 47. Lobbyists Sponsors and PACs: I counted at least 32 of them. Of course, there’s SarahPAC, CPAC and HuckPAC. Then there’s Chevron and Pfizer, and Americans For Prosperity (you remember them, the lobbyists disguised as “grassroots” groups bussed all over the country to fight against the health care bill?)

Last but not least, let’s not leave out Keep America Terrified Safe. That’s that darling little group that Liz Cheney uses for purposes of fear-mongering and spreading anti Obama, anti Democratic Party hate-speech. And many, many more sponsors, but that gives you the general idea.

There are still two more days of this loathesome conference left to go. The website boasts of plenty of media coverage, and there’s no doubt in my mind it will get endless coverage much like the Tea Bagger convention did earlier this year, meaning wall to wall commentary.

Probably the only thing that won’t be mentioned in all of this:

Katrina.

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Bill McCollum Wants To Take Away Your Health Insurance AND Wants To Be Your Governor!

Now that the Health Care Reform bill has passed and been signed into law, those who have been working so hard towards this and waiting so long for reform to happen were allowed only a brief reprieve in the struggle to celebrate by watching the signing ceremony this morning. It was brief because, as we all know, the Republicans who all voted against it are determined to destroy themselves with their opposition, and in doing so they seek to drag all the people in this country who would benefit down with them. These men and women would just as soon continue to let thousands die than lose an election. This reform will help so many people, and they know that, but they simply don’t care. They are so shameless in their efforts that they have continued an all out campaign of misinformation in order to scare people into supporting them against their own interests. They have targeted and enlisted unsuspecting, angry people, like those calling themselves the “Tea Party” and “Tea Baggers” and exploited them, and tried to swallow them into the GOP void as their own. They are so audacious in fact, that they are now trying to raise money and seek donations based on these falsehoods from these very people. In short, they are “double-dipping” the disadvantaged. Nice group.

Here in Florida, the GOP is wasting no time trying to get a constitutional amendment on the ballot to exempt the state from the federal law requirements. Good luck with that! They will need at least 60 percent of Florida’s voters to say “Medical attention? Health insurance? Why we’ll have none of THAT! Sign me up!”

But wait, there’s more! Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, a Republican running for governor, is now leading the charge along with 13 others by filing a lawsuit hoping to block it, and claim the new law is unconstitutional. The lawsuit was filed just after President Obama signed the law this morning. Nearly four million people in Florida lacked health insurance coverage last year, and now he wants to make sure they stay uncovered, along with many more. In doing so, he also seems to think these very people will reward him for this by electing him to be their governor! McCollum assumes a lot.

Does he also assume that no one will pay attention to what information he’s using to create his lawsuit? Some of the Medicaid figures McCollum used in the lawsuit have already been challenged.

Then there are those who disagree with the lawsuit itself:

Lawrence Friedman, a professor who teaches constitutional law at the New England School of Law in Boston, said before the suit was filed that it has little chance of success. He said he can’t imagine a scenario where a judge would stop implementation of the health care bill.

Sen. Dave Aronberg, a Florida democrat running to replace McCollum for attorney general calls it a frivolous lawsuit at a time when the state has numerous real problems that need to be addressed.

Florida Democrat Dan Gelber, another candidate for attorney general promises to end the lawsuit if he’s elected, and added some about additional problems:

1. Florida has nearly 4 million residents who are uninsured including 800,000 children (the second highest percentage in the nation). As you are running for Governor, what do you propose to do to address this crisis since you believe the reform passed by the Congress is unconstitutional?

2. If you believe it is unconstitutional to require buy-in for health insurance, do you likewise believe that the payroll tax that Americans are required to pay for Medicare so that they have insurance when they are older is also unconstitutional?

3. Florida has pill mills run amok, ponzi schemes preying on our most vulnerable seniors, child predators, and one of the nation’s worst violent crime rates. Do you really have so many extra resources and so little to do that you can afford to dedicate personnel to what some have called a rank political stunt?

4. When this bill is signed into law, insurance companies will no longer be able to deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. Are you really willing to go to court to uphold insurance companies’ right to deny care and drop coverage?’”

5. You have had half a dozen press conferences and announcements that announced you were thinking about challenging health care reform and then announcing that you were serious about challenging health care reform. Why isn’t it fair for your detractors to say you are politicizing the issue?

Of course, the Republican candidates hoping to replace McCollum, Holly Benson and Jeff Kottkamp both think the lawsuit is a fantastic idea! Only 4 million Floridians without health insurance? Pshaw! Let’s see if we can’t break a record and get those numbers even higher! Elect us! What’s not to love?

And finally there’s the little matter of the D.C. lawyer who McCollum hired to challenge the new health reform law whose name is David Rivkin, who had this to say about the new law:

“This bill fundamentally changes the constitutional architecture under which we’ve been operating.”

If you’re the least bit curious about how Rivkin has been operating, (I know I was) well, surprise! From 2006-2008 he was a lobbyist focused on, among other things, “banking issues.” Yet another surprise, he worked on those “banking issues” with another former lobbyist. You may have heard of him: Bill McCollum. What a coincidence!

Rivkin and McCollum have ties that date back to the early part of the past decade. Both Rivkin and McCollum worked together for the law firm of Baker & Hostetler. Before McCollum became attorney general, he received $540,000 in compensation from Baker & Hostetler from 2005 – 2006, according to financial disclosure forms.

According to lobbying disclosure statements filed with the Clerk of the U.S. House and the Secretary of the U.S. Senate, McCollum and Rivkin lobbied Congress, the FCC, and the Department of Justice for Federated Investors. The lobbying work focused on banking issues in the first half of 2006.

Bill McCollum is happily joining in with his GOP colleagues in dedicating themselves to make sure that Floridians will never benefit from the brand new shiny health reform law President Obama just signed today. In trying to become perhaps even more powerful with these underhanded GOP “double-dippers” he’s filed a lawsuit to block people in the state of Florida (and many others) just to make sure, and he’s doing so with a man who, along with him has also lobbied on the behalf of big banks, which you may have heard will be one of the next hurdles the country faces. Big banks, you may have heard, thanks in large part again to the GOP nearly led the country into another great depression, an economic meltdown, and turned around and said “We’ll bail you out, no problem! Here’s bundles and bundles of cash! I mean, it’s only the taxpayers picking up the tab, so fuhgeddaboudit!”

On top of all this, over four million people in Florida without insurance isn’t nearly enough for him. Nope.

Republican Bill McCollum is a man who apparently would rather see people die than lose an election.

What more could you possibly want in a governor?

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GOP Wants NO Health Care Reform, And Here’s Proof

They offer it in plain view, in black and white, on their very own website.

If you watched any of the health care summit last week and heard the Grand Obstructionist Party objecting to the current plan, or heard them say they wanted to have health care reform, just not THIS health care reform, what you actually heard them say is NO HEALTH CARE REFORM PERIOD. If you doubt what I’m saying, then I have something below I would like you to take a look at. Then decide for yourself if you think the GOP have any interest in anything other than the status quo when it comes to health care reform.

The GOP has put up a list on their website that contains no less than 159 reasons why the Health Care Reform bill is a “Government takeover of health care.” In other words, they call it “a list of 159 new boards, bureaucracies and programs” that they have a problem with. As far as the GOP is concerned, these are absolutely not necessary.

Which people do the GOP say would benefit from these boards, bureaucracies and programs that they are against creating? Which people would suffer, and aren’t entitled to health care, assistance, or help from these government programs and benefits?  Well, those individuals would be:

• Senior Citizens, for medicare, nursing facilities, geriatric education and abuse issues
• Women, for postpartum depression, breast health education and assistance for breast cancer information for young women with breast cancer
• Children, for school health centers and grants for child immunization
• Doctors, nurses, dental and health care workers, for education
• Individuals, for care of anyone in areas where an environmental emergency has been declared
• Minorities, for health resources, disease, substance abuse, mental health, research,
• Indians for treatment of child sexual abuse, domestic violence and sexual abuse, HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment
• Personal responsibility education programs
• Small business for wellness program grants
• Programs to explore alternatives to tort litigation (one thing they adamantly were suggesting that should be taken into consideration during last weeks health care summit.)
• Interagency Access to Health Care in Alaska Task Force

In other words, they see no need to fund programs for seniors, women, children, doctors, nurses, health care providers in general, dentists, minorities, Indians and some Alaskans in particular, small businesses, and on and on.

They also don’t like any provisions that would address health insurance itself, when it comes to:

• premium increases,
• benefits and exchanges,
• cooperatives,
• health plan programs,
• reinsurance,
• Medicaid, and
• Medicare

Also on their “list of no:”

• They don’t like programs for home medical practices,
• patient safety,
• payment of complex lab tests,
• assistance for health quality practices,
• emergency care pilot programs,
• universal access to trauma services,
• school-based health centers,
• research-based dental caries disease management,
• chronic disease prevention,
• pain research,
• Health Workforce Loan Repayment Programs,
• Health Loan Forgiveness Programs,
• mid-career training for health professionals,
• nurse-managed health clinics,
• primary care training programs,
• training for direct care workers,
• promote positive health behaviors and outcomes,
• projects to address health workforce shortage needs,
• projects to develop training programs for home health aides,
• Elder Justice Coordinating,
• Elder Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation,
• elder abuse forensic centers,
• program to subsidize costs of electronic health records,
• program to support long-term care ombudsmen,
• training for long-term care surveyors, and many, many more.

And the above items I have listed actually only brings us to a little over half the list. There are plenty more.

In other words, if it covers health care in any way, they DO NOT WANT IT.

If you have any doubts that the GOP is interested in taking on health care reform in any way, read their “objection to” list.

When you hear the GOP say they want to “start over” read their list and try to think what they WOULD include if they were to “start over.”

When you hear the GOP say “let’s start with a blank sheet of paper” read their list. That “blank sheet of paper” would REMAIN a blank sheet of paper if it were up to them.

You can see the entire list of the 159 programs they object to here. Please read the entire list.

Democrats:

PASS. THE. BILL.

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Charlie Crist Responds To Marco Rubio’s Credit Card Spending

Charlie Crist has responded to reports that Marco Rubio charged $13,900 in personal expenses on his Republican Party American Express card:

“It seems that when you’re a member of the Florida House and still working as a lobbyist for special interests, every expense is political, even the trip to the local liquor store paid for by Republican donors,” said Andrea Saul, communications director.

“A clear pattern is emerging in Speaker Rubio’s unfortunate behavior. The lobbyist-politician whines and plays the victim while continuing to make every effort to hide the facts surrounding his personal financial gain while in office.

“Fact: In four years, Speaker Rubio made $1.2 million dollars from his law/lobbying firm.  When will he come clean about how he profited from his clients’ business before state government?

“Fact: It has been 3 days and counting since Speaker Rubio refused to release records that would help explain his relationship with his handpicked budget chief, Ray Sansom.

“Our next Senator must serve Florida as a strong and effective voice for six long years,” Saul concluded.  “It would be devastating for Florida’s next Senator to be facing unanswered questions as to his financial dealings while a lobbyist and lawmaker. Speaker Rubio must stop stonewalling and come clean with the specific details of his various financial arrangements that resulted in over a million dollars of personal income while in office.”

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