In California, 60 percent of the legislation that was passes into law is sponsored and written by lobbyists

After massive budget cuts, California's state deficit is still almost $20 billion. The situation is so bad, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has ordered State Controller John Chiang to reduce state worker pay to minimum wage. How did California get in this horrible condition? It appears legislators aren't working for the people of California. They are working for private lobbyists. A Mercury News analysis found that in 2007-08, the most recent data available, 60 percent of the legislation that was passed into law was sponsored and mostly written by lobbyists for special interest groups and private interests.

Mercury News has the story:

Nancy Pelosi: Lying , Cheating and Backroom Dealing is the Model for Democrats Future Legislation

Unbelievable! House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the lying, cheating and backroom dealing method used to pass Obamacare is the "Model for future legislation."

Whodathunkit

Whodathunkit. The people who wrote the Obamacare legislation wrote an exemption for themselves. Geez.

One such surprise is found on page 158 of the legislation, which appears to create a carveout for senior staff members in the leadership offices and on congressional committees, essentially exempting those senior Democrat staffers who wrote the bill from being forced to purchase health care plans in the same way as other Americans.

Another $100 million Goes Into the Legislative Sausage Grinder

People have been admonished to not watch sausage or legislation being made because it is an unappetizing process. While this may be true, Americans have a responsibility to swallow hard and take a close look at what Congress is doing. They are using hundreds of millions of our tax dollars to buy legislator's votes. This blog previously reported the $200 million in loan forgiveness for veterinarians that was included in the House health care reform bill to secure the vote of Representative Louise Slaughter (D-NY). Now, Harry Reid is spending $100 million to buy secure the vote of Senator Mary Landrieu (D Louisiana.) They have inserted two pages of text into the bill to describe states eligible for a $100 million extra Medicaid subsidy. The language excludes all states except Louisiana. Democrat Mary Landrieu has been wavering in her support for Obamacare. Undoubtedly, Reid can now count on her vote of support Saturday night.

What does it take to get a wavering senator to vote for health care reform?

Here’s a case study....


Read more here.

Rep. Blunt to introduce bill requiring congress and Obama to enroll in Obamacare

Congress normally likes to exempt themselves from the effects of their legislation. Congressman Roy Blunt wants to make sure that doesn't happen if Obamacare is passed.

Congressman Blunt Delivers One-Minute on Health Care from House Floor (video)

From the video:

"But Mr. Speaker, if the Energy & Commerce Committee had continued to work today, I would have introduced an amendment to require all federal elected officials, including the president and vice-president, to set aside our health care benefits and enroll in their new idea of a government-run health care system."

Democrats called Bush shameful for having lobbyist help write environmental legislation. Now, they are having lobbyist help draft theirs.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. During the Bush administration, Democrats said it was shameful that business lobbyists helped write environmental legislation. Now, they are having lobbyist help draft their own sweeping climate bill. The Washington Times reported:

Democratic lawmakers who spent much of the Bush administration blasting officials for letting energy lobbyists write national policy have turned to a coalition of business and environmental groups to help draft their own sweeping climate bill.

And one little-noticed provision of the draft bill would give one of the coalition's co-founders a lucrative exemption on a coal-fired project it is building.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman, both of California, were among the Democrats -- then in the minority -- who slammed Vice President Dick Cheney for holding closed-door meetings to draft energy policy early in the Bush administration.