Max Baucus – the God of Swine?

Posted By Damjan DeNoble

Fred Dintenfass, editor of E-chinacities.com, shot me over a pure gem of a post in which he argues for the injustice of the current healthcare system while simultaneously channeling his emotions through a filter of old school Hip Hop angst.

I love everything about how the piece is written, particularly the following thought;

Democratic Chairman of the Senate Finance Committe Max Baucus receives more money from big healthcare (is there any other kind) than almost any other senator. Two of his former aides are healthcare lobbyists. Meanwhile, single payer advocates aren’t even invited to the hearings — dozens of doctors were arrested for disturbing the hearings. That’s right, doctors willing to go to jail to voice their concern over the piece of **** plan Baucus has proposed via white-paper.

…

A word of warning to Baucus and his ***head friends and supporters in Congress and the White House: while y’all are ballin in your gangstas paradise, they’re going to reminisce over you. Your name will be uttered in the same breath as James Henry Hammond’s…

…

You’ll be remembered as lackeys for powerful men and women who considered disease, death and suffering to be a justifiable and profitable industry.

There’s just something about a Senator from Montana designing a national healthcare plan that irks my chain.  Like Sarah Palin, I am sure he would claim that Montana, 99.9% white, and 2700% armed (average number of guns in Montana households that owns guns is 27) is a microcosm of the United States.   Unfortunately, health disparities are a very real issue that involve input from America’s diverse ethnic and socio-economic groups.

Nevertheless, I reserve any thoughts on the plan itself, though I will point everyone to the blogroll to check out the Free For All blog.  It is a new project started by my old health policy professor at Duke University, Don Taylor.  He is one of America’s leading “go to folks” for the topics of smoking and health insurance, and I pretty much agree with his approach to the topic.

Feel free to write him, as well.  He will answer the questions on the blog.