[click to enlarge and read, green highlighting added]. That story has two links in red in the image but not active there, respectively here and here, for interested readers.
The GOP-McCain robo calls underpinning the complaint flog healthcare related smokescreen "amendment" language which is targeted at generating hysteria and discord among senior voters, to apparently seek to scuttle or delay healthcare reform; a sample Arkansas robo call script being quoted in the CREW item, as:
On Monday I introduced the first Republican amendment to the massive health care bill, which would send the bill back to the Senate Finance Committee and stop the Democrats from cutting vital Medicare coverage for our seniors. I need Sen. Blanche Lincoln to join me in this effort. If you agree with me, please go to our website [...] and sign a petition to Sen. Lincoln urging her to join my effort to fight a Washington DC government takeover of your health care.
[italics added] Note, North Dakota, with perhaps one percent or less of the nation's population has two targeted Senators, Dorgan and Conrad [see screenshot highlighting]. A disproportionate voice, certainly, in the decision making about healthcare for 100% of the nation's population, you and me, our families and friends.
So, have we knowledge of Conrad and Dorgan?
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Interesting info about Kent Conrad: Wikipedia reports he is married to "Lucy Calautti, a lobbyist for Major League Baseball," and:
In the 2009 negotiations over reforming America's healthcare system, Conrad strongly opposed any "public option". The AFL-CIO announced they will fund a primary challenge against Conrad in 2012 if he continues to oppose a "public option".
Well, that's interesting, and Lucy, she's a big-shot DC lawyer with a big-shot DC law firm, Baker Hostetler LLP, founded in 1916, 600 lawyers, branches everywhere, this bio page, for Lucy. Interesting person, eh? These pages, here and here, for what the firm does.
Here is a screenshot from a website showing a social networking map, linking Lucy, the uber-DC-lawfirm (with those practice areas noted above), and one of its clients: America's Health Insurance Plans, abbreviated "AHIP," (this sitemap, this "about AHIP")
[as always, click to enlarge and read. The original page will allow exploration, explain map coding, etc.] That "Muckety" website looks like a quite interesting resource, and I urge every reader to explore it, and send an email to me at the address on the sidebar, if you find any other information relevant to shepherding informed voter behavior.]
Now, for slow learners who might not already have caught the drift, the AHIP online membership roster (printer friendly version) identifies health plan provider-members including all the heavy hitters, UnitedHealth Group included, indeed, even Aflac, the quacking duck folks in the TV ads. Moreover, TPM notes,
Influential Players: How Six Big Stakeholders Shaped Health Care
Brian Beutler | November 11, 2009, 8:39AM
[...] AHIP, better known to most as the health insurance lobby, probably had more to do with the failure of President Clinton's health care reform effort than did any other industry association. Relative to that turbulent era, this year, the organization has been fairly quiet, but it's also become the redheaded stepchild of the stakeholder associations. Its goal has been fairly simple: support strong mandates, weak regulations, and demonize public competition--and if that doesn't succeed, to tank the project. For months, AHIP played this game masterfully--nominally supporting reform, declining to run Harry & Louise-type ads that proved so effective in the early '90s, while also enlisting citizens to "raise concerns" at health care protests, and wage war against the public option. That slippery strategy worked pretty well until last month, when the group commissioned a deceitful study to scare voters into believing that health care reform would break their banks.
That AHIP lobbies is no secret, Openseret.org having detail, including bills for which it's minions lobbied, year-by-year, hired gun identities, etc., with this screenshot showing summary data to give a feel of scale of effort (2009 data being Jan. 1, to last quarterly report, 3/4 of the year, and not including last quarter, Oct. to Dec.):
More on Kent Conrad, himself and his illiberal policies, Wikipedia states:
Conrad is more politically conservative than most Democrats on the issues of abortion and gun control/gun politics. He is one of the few members of the Democratic Party to have voted consistently in favor of banning the so-called "partial-birth" abortion medical procedure. He also opposes public funding of abortion. However, Conrad voted in favor of lifting the ban on military base abortions. [...] He considers himself a "deficit hawk" because of his calls for a balanced federal budget, in spite of his support for farm subsidies. [...] Conrad is also a leading member of the "Gang of 10", a conservative group which pushed for much greater offshore drilling in sensitive environmental areas. North Dakota is geographically the most inland state of the continental United States.
Go back now, and look at that Lucy Calautti - "she does baseball" page for that mega-lawfirm she's with (and this segues to our other North Dakota luminary). The Senator's spouse's lawfirm bio page while not noting a thing about the Konrad marriage, does tout,
Ms. Calautti brings to the firm nearly 30 years of legislative and political experience in state government, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the U.S. Senate. During most of that time, she served as Chief of Staff to Senator Byron Dorgan, a member of the Ways and Means Committee in the House, and then a member of the Appropriations, Commerce, Energy and Indian Affairs Committees in the Senate.
Prior to her Capitol Hill experience, Ms. Calautti worked with then North Dakota Tax Commissioner Byron Dorgan, where she developed strategies for state tax policy. She also became an experienced campaign manager, shepherding several successful congressional races, including the come-from-behind U.S. Senate campaign of Senator Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) in 1986.
And before moving to Dorgan, one further Konrad-related nugget from Wikipedia on Conrad:
After graduating from college, he became a civil servant, working as an assistant to the North Dakota tax commissioner, Byron Dorgan, who later became his colleague in the Senate. Conrad made his first entry into politics when he ran unsuccessfully for the North Dakota Auditor's office in 1976. In 1980, Conrad succeeded Dorgan as tax commissioner. Conrad was state tax commissioner until 1986, when he ran for the Senate.
Everyone knows and works with everyone else of substance, in such a barely populated state as North Dakota, I guess. A lot of backscratching going on.
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Wikipedia on Dorgan, reports musical chairs, miscellany, and insurance lobbying spousal ties:
Dorgan served as tax commissioner of North Dakota from 1969 until 1980. His future Senate colleague Kent Conrad worked in the same office before succeeding Dorgan at this post. Dorgan ran unsuccessfully for a seat in Congress in 1974. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in his second bid in 1980. He was a member from 1981 until 1992 (being re-elected every two years).
In 1992, the Democratic incumbent, Kent Conrad opted not to run for re-election because of a campaign promise. Dorgan won the election for the seat. However, that September the state's other senator, Quentin Burdick, died and Conrad ran for the seat in the special election. Conrad took the new seat in 1992 and Dorgan assumed Conrad's old seat a few weeks early.
In 2009, he voted against the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009. He joined all 39 voting Republican senators and 11 Senate Democrats.
Dorgan is married to the former Kimberly Olson, an Executive Vice President and lobbyist for The American Council of Life Insurers.
On December 13, 2005 Dorgan announced that he was returning all donations from Abramoff's clients as a precaution that the contributions may have been directed or requested by Abramoff.
[italics added, Wikipedia entry excerpted] This screenshot, from this link.
FDL - firedoglake reported on Ms. Olson-Dorgan [links in original]:
Byron Dorgan’s Wife Lobbied Against Cramdown
By: Jane Hamsher Tuesday May 5, 2009 9:46 am
One of the key votes against "cramdown" in the Senate came, surprisingly, from Byron Dorgan of North Dakota. According to an FEC lobbying report filed by the American Council of Life Insurers, Dorgan’s wife Kimberly worked for them as a lobbyist to defeat the measure during the first quarter of 2009 (PDF).
The Amercan Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) represents 373 insurance companies. Headed by former Oklahoma governor Frank Keating, they account for 93 percent of the U.S. life insurance industry’s total assets.
In testimony before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs on March 17, 2009, Keating expressed opposition to letting bankruptcy judges write-down the principle of first mortgages to current values because it "could potentially trigger significant downgrades to life insurers’ Triple-A rated residential mortgage-backed investments." (PDF)
It is estimated that 8 million homeowners will be foreclosed upon in the next four years. According to a study by Credit Suisse, the bill would have reduced foreclosures by 20% with no cost to taxpayers. The Center for Responsible Lending (PDF) says that foreclosures on subprime loans through the end fo 2009 will result in a decline in property value for homes in the surrounding areas of $352 billion, or an average of $8,667 per home.
It is interesting how the Dorgan vote fell in line with desires of an insurance operation putting food on their table, money in their bank accounts, wealth into their lives.
And with all that insurance overlap, lobbying for the industry and all, spousal direct and indirect job-and-income ties linking the politicians to big, big insurance interests and their policy desires and influence efforts - what do you suppose these four luminaries, two sitting in the Senate representing a neighboring state, would want for Minnesotans?
Well, shaking the money trees. For what? This [click to enlarge and read]:
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Perhaps I had reason to begin with a "raw story" item. So "raw story" at the start, and aphorisms for a wrap-up, relating to Minnesotans looking for an attractive "progresssive" candidate for Governor. Someone for us folks and who we trust is not in any way, to any degree whatsoever, arguably in anyone's special interest pocket. These aphorisms:
You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours.
Birds of a feather flock together.
You can't tell a book by looking at its cover.
Wolf in sheep's clothing.
Anywhere there's a camp there will be camp followers.
A vote is too precious a thing to waste.
_________UPDATE___________
Something about which I am disappointed. Not terribly surprised, but truly disappointed:
A vote is too precious a thing to waste. Maybe I wasted one.
The people are being screwed if this obscene sort of garbage is foisted off on them via what ultimately comes out of conference committee.
Kucinich has courage and integrity. He has balls. He has a conscience. He has steadfast judgment. We need more like that.
A thing worth doing is worth doing correctly.
Conversely, a thing done incorrectly is not worth doing.
Kucinich understood that.
The bastards. Most offensive, use of the euphemism "moderates" in the Franken email. It is a galling abuse of the English language. Franken knows that. These are not moderates, they are inhumane and ruthless and in some instances compromised.
________FURTHER UPDATE_________
Having slept on it and considered that further posting and further legislative debate will ensue, and there will be court challenges for interpretation, etc., this link.
________FURTHER UPDATE__________
"Democrats Have Yet to 'Drain the Swamp'" at this link. As long as ethics laws do not curb spousal lattitude at least as far as Dorgan and Conrad have shown, the ethcical standards are a mockery and a sad joke.