Politics over policy: Dems' legislative legerdemain

NY Post ^ | May 1, 2010 | Michael Barone

[Scanian]

Setting legislative priori ties has been one of the chief tasks of American presidents for the past century. Sometimes, they concentrate on changing public policy. At other times, they highlight issues for political reasons, with an eye to the next election.

In his first 14 months in office, Barack Obama worked to change public policy, with partial success. He jammed through the stimulus package in February 2009 and health-care legislation in March 2010 on party-line votes.

But he paid curiously little attention to the substance of the legislation. One-third of the stimulus money went to state and local governments -- i.e., to public-employee unions -- which helped ensure that the bill would not hold down unemployment to the promised 8 percent. And the health-care bill, we have just learned from Health and Human Services actuaries, is going to increase spending rather than hold it down.

[ez]

Politics over policy? Indeed. How is it possible to pass a 2700 page health care bill and not address medical liability and lawsuits? Being in bed with the trial lawyers...that’s how.

[GailA]

Michael is naive if he thinks BO didn’t know that the Unions would end up with a big wad of the stim cash. I only have a HS education and knew that would happen.

[mosesdapoet]

Are they saying watch our politicians hands ?