Sen. Nelson's "Smart" Politics

I was amused by the comments of Andy Siegel quoted in the AP article that appeared in the Lincoln Journal Star. He dismisses the allegations of several state attorneys general that the private deals written into the Senate health care bill to buy the votes of Democratic Senators, including Nebraska’s Ben Nelson, are merely “smart politics to try to tarnish it and make it look less like an achievement and more like some sort of corrupted bargain”. Siegel’s view clearly betrays his opinion that this health care bill ought to be regarded as a positive achievement and any opposition to it must necessarily be seen as petty, political gamesmanship. The only concession he gives to the opponents of the bill is that their “political maneuverings” are at least “smart”. He derisively characterizes these attorneys general as sore losers complaining about the officiating after the game. If we follow the logic of his analogy, there is no reason to complain even if you discovered that your opponent paid off the refs or some of your teammates to secure the victory. It’s clear that most Nebraskans and many others in the country do indeed see this as a corrupt bargain. Most Nebraskans do not think that Senator Nelson has done us any favors by securing special funding for Nebraska that will not be enjoyed by other states. We don’t want to see it become accepted practice to win games or enact legislation by under-the-table payoffs. If this health care bill is so good, then let it be passed on its own merits. Let its proponents convince us of its worth without special deals and inducements for individual senators. If this is the way business is normally done in Washington, perhaps it’s a good thing it has finally come into the bright light of public scrutiny. I am hopeful that there is enough integrity and honesty left in the country to turn out of office those think this is an acceptable way to do business in Washington. I think the only people practicing politics in this case are Andy Siegel, Ben Nelson, and Harry Reid, and I would not even call it “smart politics”.