Ben Nelson – I was confused, I thought all states were getting a free ride
Ben Nelson
Ok, let’s see if we can get this straight, Senator Nelson, you thought that every state would get a free ride on the costs of Medicaid expansion? I guess you thought the Chinese were going to pay for Nebraska’s Medicaid bill, not the other 49 states? Have I mentioned that ocean front property I have for sale in Nebraska? Can I interest you in a great deal on Nebraska, ocean front property, Senator?
Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) is now saying that he never asked for a ‘special deal’ for Nebraska, only a ‘fair deal’. That it’s all Harry Reid’s fault, since all that Nelson said was that the Governor of Nebraska was concerned about the increased Medicaid costs. Then, when Reid gave Nebraska the sweetheart deal, Senator Nelson claims that he just ‘assumed’ that every state was getting the same deal.
One question: Didn’t you read the bill you voted on two days ago, Senator? Surely you read the bill before you voted and knew what every news station and every American citizen knew, which is that Nebraska received a massive payoff for your vote…
ALLAHPUNDIT of Hot Air sums it up nicely:
See what happened here? This guy thought this was politics as usual, that the Medicaid stocking stuffer for Nebraska would cushion the blow of a yes on cloture. Instead it made him look like a bribe-peddler who’d vote for an awful bill and sell out on something as morally grave as abortion in return for a cheap earmark. (As Ed noted, even DNC TV feels clammy about it.) Worse, it gave all the other pigs the idea to come running to the trough, with Politico now hailing Nelson’s deal as something that will almost singlehandedly raise the bar for legislative buyoffs going forward.
As Senator Lindsey Graham said this morning, if you are going to take the payoffs, then have the guts to get on TV and be honest about it.