Baucus hit by criticism of Medicare bill

[Feanorcurufinwe]

Max Baucus said he is surprised by the criticism he is receiving for his work with Republicans on legislation to overhaul the Medicare program.

The Democratic senator from Montana was harshly criticized in a column that Albert Hunt wrote in Thursday's Wall Street Journal. The column followed the Lewis and Clark Democratic Central Committee's Tuesday night passage of a resolution denouncing Baucus for supporting the effort to overhaul Medicare.

<snip>

Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., who is the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, had little use for the praise of the bill or Baucus. Rangel, like all of his fellow House Democrats, was not allowed to participate in the negotiations.

"Now, Sen. Baucus, if this bill is as good as you say it is, if you are so proud of this document, then maybe you could have let us come and get a look at it," Rangel said.

Democratic senators dismissed the rumor that Baucus would be stripped of his top position on the committee.

"Until you said that, I had never heard of it," Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., said.
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2003/11/21/news/mtregional/news07.txt

What I really want to know is, who can we find to challenge Baucus in the primaries when he comes up for reelection?

[asjr]

1. medicare

Someone tell me if I am mistaken. Were no Democrats allowed to see the bill before it went to the floor? Same on energy? What the hell are we there for then?

[Feanorcurufinwe]

2. Just Baucus and Breaux, according to the article...

[Upfront]

4. Your Not Wrong

No Democrats saw the bill.

[montanacowboy]

3. Years ago

Max used to be a real stand up Democratic, environmentally friendly Senator - lately he has turned into Repuke light - I think he is afraid he might lose his job in such a red state - he has really become worthless, another Zell like creature anymore. It would be impossible I think to find someone to run against him. Remember this is Marc Racicot territory.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

5. No, it's Brian Schweitzer territory.

Or will be soon.

[ibegurpard]

11. He's no Zell

I'm not impressed with him...he's been on the wrong side of a lot of issues recently but he ain't anywhere close to Zell. He deserves the hits on these issues, though. He was talking up his support for Medicare during his campaign...I know because I called a ton of seniors for him.

[0007]

6. Worse speech ever by a democrat on medicare

I had to mute it.

R-Grassley was just as bad. But at least you'd expect that coming from Chuck baby.

[NewJerseyDem]

7. We don't want a primary

Baucus is one of a few democrats who can win in Montana. We don't need Senator Denny Rehberg because that is what we would probably get if Baucus was defeated in a primary.

The problem is he has been around long enough to be the senior democrat on the Finance Committee. There is nothing we can do about it. He has gained this seniority and therefor the power that comes with it. He really isn't that bad of a senator. He is fairly liberal on social issues for instance. However, on fiscal issues he is a centrist. He supported the first Bush tax cuts and for a period of time supported the 2003 tax cuts but ultimately voted against them. He isn't my favorite senator but he is probably the most liberal senator we can expect from Montana.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

9. Why do you say Baucus is one of a few democrats who can win in Montana?

I mean, that is your premise, what are you basing it on?

[NewJerseyDem]

10. Well

Bush got 58% of the vote in 2000. I think Gore won like 5 counties to Bush's 51. This state has become pretty republican. It has Senator Conrad Burns who is an ineffective racist right wing nut. I know that he almost lost but he would have actually lost in most states. Denny Rehberg was elected to an open seat in 2000 and won easily in 2002. This state is 100% republican but Baucus is basically as liberal as we are going to get. If people here think that we can get a Jon Corzine or Barbara Boxer from Montana then they are just kidding themselves.

[sandnsea]

13. Yes you can

You get someone who will preach on environmentally sound loggig practices. You get wind farms to the wheat ranchers and reservations. You remind people Montana's citizens were the most highly educated in the country when Ted Schwinden was Governor. And you do a neighbor to neighbor gossip campaign to let people know those Californians are not San Francisco liberals, they're Orange County Republicans. Montanans think all Californians are liberals so they keep going right to reject the California take-over and you're ending up with an abundance of Republican policies that nobody ever intended. There isn't anybody more into everybody's business than Republicans. We know that, but alot of Montanans believe it's only liberals that are that way.

And you figure out a way to factor in those Butte Democrats and swing those Missoula Greens. You can get your state back, I really think you can!

[xchrom]

8. surprised

yeah right.

[ibegurpard]

12. You know what really sucks about this?

It's going to be pretty hard to pin this one on Republicans when Breaux and Baucus were instrumental in its passage.

[sandnsea]

14. Republicans were against it too

So that's not much of an argument for them I don't think.

[stewert]

15. Wrong ibegurpard.........

They approved 7 democrats to work on the bill, yet the republicans only let
2 in on it. And those two were just on there so they could say it was a bi-partisan effort.

They had no say in the bill, they were just token democrats. And Breaux is a DINO anyway. he
votes with the republicans almost every time.

The republicans wrote this bill behind closed doors and then they tried to pass it in a very
short time. The thing has not even been printed yet, and it's 1,100 pages long. None of the
democrats have seen any of it. They want to get a vote on it before anyone can read the damn
thing. They are afraid that if people read it they will see what's in it and vote against it.

Not to mention every consumer group, union, etc. oppose the bill.