“One year from now, we have the chance to tell all those corporate lobbyists that the days of them setting the agenda in Washington are over. I have done more to take on lobbyists than any other candidate in this race – and I’ve won. I don’t take a dime of their money, and when I am President, they won’t find a job in my White House.”
Those were the days. The days of telling the American public whatever you wanted to ensure you got elected. But now are the days to prove that you are actually different.
Barack Obama has now picked former majority leader Tom Daschle to be his Health and Human Services Secretary. During his time in Congress Mr. Daschle had no real experience on any committees related to health care. He spent time on committees for veteran affairs, finance, and ethics for the most part.
His experience on health care issues comes from his work with federal health care lobbyist Alston and Bird. Obama has found a loophole in his own policy because technically Daschle is a consultant and not a registered lobbyist, even though his job is to help Alston and Bird lobby Washington for health care companies. Daschle refuses to disclose how much he makes from this company, but Bob Dole, who works in a similar role at the company, pulls in slightly less than a million a year.
You can call this point nit-picking, but this was a main point in the Obama campaign. He emphasized it time and time again. Bottom line, it is another campaign promise broken. And one that could have easily been kept.
For those interested, Daschle is also a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. I wrote about this organization in my post about John Podesta. I do not believe that it is a coincidence that another person involved with this organization is now in the administration. It goes to show you that Obama is not about real change, but instead instituting the same ultra liberal policies that have always been pushed by Democrats…with the same people I might add. This was another falsehood that Obama pushed…his moderate views on issues…when he is actually much more aligned with those of the CAP.
I will admit that I doubt I would have liked anyone that Obama picked for Health secretary mainly because anyone he picked would have been a supporter of a government healthcare system, which Daschle is. I just cannot follow the logic of putting the government in charge of something like healthcare when they have proven time and time again that they cannot manage the things they are in charge of now.
It makes absolutely no sense, and it will cost the taxpayer billions.
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