Lest my readers think that I bash loony Republicans, I present to you a ridiculous rant by Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner of Queens, who had his own rant yesterday - this one on the floor of the House of Representatives:
Striding angrily to the mike, Weiner shouted: "You guys have chutzpah. The Republican party is a wholly owned subsidiary of an insurance industry. That's the fact." Not ten seconds into his rant, he was interrupted by (what sounds like) Rep. Dan Lungren, who objected and asked the Speaker to "take down" Weiner's words. Weiner strode away angrily, then, after agreeing to retract his offending words, took the mike again. "How much time do I have remaining?" he began, enunciating clearly. "Make no mistake about it: Every. Single. Republican. I. Have. Ever. Met. In my entire life is a wholly owned subsidiary of the insurance industry."
This kind of thing is wildly unhelpful. Sure, there are a number of Republicans who basically do the bidding of the insurance companies... but so did Chris Dodd for a long time. Weiner's accusations are ridiculous - they make it sound like every Republican is taking bribes from the insurance industry. At most, they're taking campaign contributions (like the $65,000 that Weiner's taken from the insurance industry in the last 10 years), but for the most part they're motivated primarily by being re-elected, which means catering to the desires of their constituents. To the extent that Republicans shill for the insurance industry, it's often because insurance companies employ thousands of people in their districts.
Are there some Congressmen and women who cynically back the insurance industry because of campaign contributions, but I'd bet that the number is pretty small. Most Republicans honestly believe in their positions. That makes them (usually) wrong, but not in somebody's pocket.
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