Today’s explanation for the failure of our democracy is an easy one that any student of history could rattle off the top of his or her head. Democracies fail when their political leaders become dominated by the influence of large business and financial interests, and vote not in the public interest but in the interest of their wealthy “friends.” And sometimes it doesn’t take many politicians to bring about a massive failure to promote the general welfare.
Exhibit A: Senator Joseph Lieberman.
Please consider the following facts. Here are the career political contributions to Senator Lieberman from the following industries/business interests:
Health Professionals $1,041,362
Insurance $1,040,320
Pharmaceuticals/Health Products $617,540
And when you look at the Health Sector (which combines contributions by individuals and political action committees) you discover that Senator Lieberman has received a whopping $2,399,701. This does not include money from lawyers and lobbyists (another $4,045,367) who may represent health care providers and insurance companies among their clientele.
Indeed, Senator Lieberman, long known for his adamant defense of the most egregious policies of the Israeli government, actually received less money from Pro-Israeli interests ($2,008,278) over the course of his career. So it should come as no surprise that Senator Lieberman opposed any and all provisions of the health care reform bill that would negatively impact his true constituency: insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies.
And he got his way! Faced with the opposition of one corrupt member of the Senate, the Democratic leadership surrendered to his every demand.
For a while this week, it looked like the opposition of Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Connecticut independent, could doom the Democrats’ attempt at passing health care. That changed when Majority Leader Harry Reid gave in to Lieberman’s demands on the Medicare buy-in program and the public option.
But then again, Senator Reid got money from health care industry interests also. Just not as much as Joe. Indeed, I’ll bet you would be hard pressed to find any senator outside of a few (e.g., Bernie Sanders) who didn’t take money from health insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies, and their respective lobbyists, to finance their political campaigns.
It’s just that Senator Lieberman was the most effective in delivering the goods to his patrons. Well that’s the case with all investments: some are just more rewarding than others.
And that is one reason why democracies fail, my friends. Maybe tomorrow we will discuss unneccesary foreign wars of occupation and conquest.
