ObamaCare: Landrieu and Endangered Senate Democrats “Feel the Heat”

Democracy and Power 112: Fidelity to Leadership

To be elected, a politician must please his or her constituents.  However, to be a powerful legislative force, a politician must be an obedient member of a party – Democrat or Republican. Since most constituents are busy making a living, raising families and focused on immediate community concerns, loyalty to the party most often prevails.

ObamaCare:  Landrieu and Endangered Senate Democrats “Feel the Heat”

To assure the passage of ObamaCare, every Senate Democrat had to vote for the law.   The Democrat Leadership – President Obama, Majority Leader Reid and Speaker Pelosi – demanded total fidelity to their dictates.  Senator Landrieu (D, LA) dutifully complied.  Recently many of the Senator’s constituents have lost their health insurance because of ObamaCare’s mandates, which is contrary to President Obama’s pledge, “If you like your insurance you can keep it.  Period.”    

Now seeking re-election, Senator Landrieu repudiates a major part of the ObamaCare law, and authored legislation mandating insurers reinstate previous insurance policies.   Landrieu said:

“We said to people that if they have insurance they like, they can keep it.  We didn’t say that if they have insurance they like that doesn’t meet the standards or that meets the minimum standards, they can keep it….

“We said, and the president said over and over, that if people have insurance, and they like the insurance they have, they can keep it. That is my bill. That is the single focus of my bill.” 

As Everett Dirksen (R-IL) a wily politician said long ago, “When I feel the heat, I see the light.”  As an example of “heat” Senator Freinstein (D-CA) received over 30 thousand phone calls complaining about lost insurance coverage.

Presently, there are five co-sponsors to Landrieu”s bill:  Manchin (D-WV), Hagan (D-NC), Pryor, (D-AK), Feinstein (D-CA), and Merkley (D-OR).  All voted for ObamaCare.  All pledged fidelity to the dictates of Obama, Reid and Pelosi.  Because of this blind fidelity to party politics these Democrats have inflicted tremendous harm on America. They did not consider the best interest of their constituents, which should have focused on a stable legal order promoting economic growth and personal freedom.   No, these and every other Democrat voted for their utopian dream – government controlled and mandated healthcare. 

America has suffered greatly.  Our economic recovery is pathetic.  Employment has become part-time and stagnate.  Billion of dollars have been spent and enormous debt has accrued.
 
Sadly, this is politics as usual.  Harmfully, politicians – Democrats and Republicans – invariably are loyal to the demands of their party leaders over the interests of their constituents.  Most often, constituents are unaware of a politician’s vote.  ObamaCare, however, is different.  ObamaCare is impacting every American and many Democrats, who voted in favor of ObamaCare, now fear their constituents.

Many years ago, long before Obama, Reid and Pelosi became political elites, Walter Lippmann recognized the corruption of politicians because of their lust for power.    

Successful … politicians are insecure and intimidated men. They advance politically only as they placate, appease, bribe, seduce, bamboozle or otherwise manage to manipulate the demanding and threatening elements in their constituencies.
—Walter Lippmann (1889-1974), American Journalist and Author

Alas, the latest legislative ploy and mea culpa statements by Senator Landrieu and others are a continuing attempt to bamboozle their constituencies.

Read more:  Democrats Voted for ObamaCare Now Face Their Consituents