Longing for LBJ - wtf?

What Washington, DC, is lacking is not civility; it’s courage. The cowardice among some Senate Democrats, in particular Max Baucus, is overwhelming. It’s not Emily Post who needs to visit the capital.

It’s LBJ.

I am too young (and how rarely do I get to say that?) to remember how Lyndon Johnson ran the Senate in the 50s, but his legend remains to this day. Can anyone imagine him allowing an issue of such massive importance being fucked-over in the way Baucus, Nelson, Lincoln and the others in the Dem caucus have done to health care? LBJ may have been a son-of-a-bitch, but he got things done. People still debate his motives, but the fact is, as President, he got the Civil Rights Act into law.

Harry Reid, half-a-century later, stands and wrings his hands. Here’s Marc Cooper’s take on what could be done to get a package thru (h/t Matt Yglesias via Twitter):

Leader Harry could paint President Max and the rest of his blue doggies into a nice little corner if he wishes. If an amended Senate bill with a public option in it can make it to the floor, and if the Republicans filibuster it, Reid can then publicly demand party unity in voting for cloture. There are 60 Democratic votes.  All these bums have to do is vote down the GOP blockage and once that is done you only need 51 votes to pass the bill. That would allow President Max and his fly-over cabinet to return to their preference of voting with the Repubs.  That's all provided that Reid, and ostensibly Obama, or God Forbid — the voters — can crack the whip hard enough.

Watching Baucus speak was infuriating. “I have to craft a bill that can get 60 votes.” Bullshit. Liar. Lying bullshitting coward. What he has to do is craft a bill that serves the American people, not the insurance industry that has bought both his soul and his balls. (I’m pretty sure his corporate masters set them in a lovely acrylic paperweight and gave them to Olympia Snowe for her office desk.) 60 votes is a deceit. Neither the Constitution nor Senate rules require a supermajority to pass a law, only to end a filibuster. And, as Cooper points out, Democrats who are willing to follow the President the voters overwhelmingly elected last year will both end a Republican filibuster and pass a reform package that includes a public option.

Unless, of course, those Dems do not care about serving the people who elected them and the president. If their goal is merely staying in office, then they need to … end a Republican filibuster and pass a reform package that includes a public option. This is what the American people want, as Baucus noted before adding, “Fuck you, America, unless you are willing to give me hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions.” His corporate masters have done so, for which he has given them his soul, his conscience, his gonads and his vote.

Senate Majority Leader LBJ would never have let this happen. For starters, he would already have had Baucus’ balls in his own possession. Back in the day, the Majority Leader was God in the Senate. Granted, the interests of the Leader and corporate America were generally as intertwined as they are now. But back then, massive amounts of money were not needed to become or remain a U.S. Senator. All that was generally needed back then was party approval. Hence the Majority Leader’s power. Those he wanted in the Senate, got in the Senate (a tradition Chuck Schumer is trying to emulate). Today, with a typical Senate race costing millions of dollars, it’s not the Majority Leader to whom Senators and candidates come crawling; it’s whoever will give them big bucks. Big, big bucks.

Max Baucus has whored himself to the health insurance industry, and yesterday was his big pole dance day. They might as well have been sticking thousand-dollar bills into his g-string (gack, what an image), rubbing themselves as he contorted himself for their pleasure. How excited they must have been as he lied and obfuscated his way through two votes on the parts of a reform package the public has stated overwhelmingly that they want. Until those Americans can shell out the money the corporations can — and with bankruptcy and huge medical premiums robbing them blind, that’s not likely — Max will continue to the industry’s pretty little slut, ball-less though he be.

To this day, there are many who hate LBJ for allowing the Vietnam War to escalate; in particular, for the Tonkin Gulf deception that led to the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans and millions of Southeast Asians. Yet that same person took one of the bravest steps in American political history by signing the Civil Rights Act. He also had both the guts and good sense to know when he was licked as President, and so did not run for a second term in 1968. The party and country needed a new leader, and he knew it. So he had the courage and wisdom to step aside. Johnson knew about power, but he also knew about service to the country. He did not always get it right, but he proved one thing:

He owned his own balls.

I grew up in Montana, but I was born in Oregon (thank the universe). I cast my first votes, in 1976, as a Montanan. Today, I would move to Wyoming to avoid being known as someone from Baucus’ state. Hell, I’d tell people I was from North Dakota; being associated with Conrad would be a million times better than having the taint of Baucus on my state identity. Sadly, he has another 4 years in office, but hopefully he’ll have much less time as Chair of the Finance Committee. Unfortunately, with the Senate running itself (stupidly) based on seniority, having him replaced with a competent, representative person like Rockefeller or Wyden is unlikely. But maybe Reid and the caucus could break the seniority system and assign leaders based on competence and their willingness to serve the people, not their money teats.

Hah. Reid does not own his testicles, either; he is not as stunningly gutless as Baucus, but he’s given zero indication he has one-percent of LBJ’s courage or leadership ability. As vital as health care reform is to Obama’s presidency, and the ability of the Democrats to hold on to their majorities in Congress, he is doing frightfully little to make that happen. It is going to take strong leadership from the House to get this done right, which we have some reason to believe may actually happen. Pelosi and Hoyer have both made strong affirmations of the public option, and we always knew it was going to come down to the conference committee in the end. At which point, Baucus will no longer have a say.

That’s when we’ll be looking for Harry Reid to channel the spirit of LBJ. Voters will not tolerate Congress wussing out on health care reform. They will replace spineless Dems with Republicans (or, if we are very lucky, Democratic primary challengers who attack incumbents who denied their constituents reform — a very silver lining, if that is possible). Reid may well find himself back as Minority Leader if he doesn’t figure out, and figure out soon, that serving the American people is just a bit more important than bending over and taking it up the ass for corporate dollars.

LBJ was a bully, he was frequently self-serving and he made some huge, horrible mistakes. He also knew, as did his predecessors (for example, those who helped FDR pass New Deal legislation), how to run his Senate and get the right results. What the nation needs most of all, of course, is campaign finance reform. Take away the need for millions of dollars and Baucus might be able to reclaim his manhood (hm; doubtful under any circumstances). Public financing would make members of Congress beholden to the right people: the voters. Max Baucus told the voters of Montana, and the people of America: Piss off; you’re not the boss of me. My corporate masters own me, and I cast my vote as they instructed. (Here’s your receipt, Master.)

Well done, Senator Baucus. You’ve made me nostalgic for LBJ.