Within one week of ObamaCare being crammed through the Congress, we had Rep Jesse Jackson Jr. admiting that programs would need to be cut to pay for it and we had Sen. Max Baucus admit that it was really a wealth re-distribution plan.

Now we have Rep. Phil Hare admitting that when it comes to health care “reform,” he doesn’t “worry about the Constitution”:

“Jackpot” is right, brother.  And the greatest shock of all?  He’s an Illinois Democrat. (You can find info on his opponent here.)

Can’t wait to see what next week will bring.

Now Max Baucus tells us: the health care overhaul America was just forced to endure was the government’s attempt to fix the “mal-distribution of income.”  It’s an admission that sadly comes after the bill has passed and been signed by President Obama.  But it’s better late than never.

While the acknowledgment likely wouldn’t have stopped the legislation because chances are it was common knowledge behind closed doors, at least the admission has now become public.  And it proves the point the whole exercise had nothing to do with Americans’ health and more to do with the Marxist concept of “redistributing” wealth.

According to FoxNews.com, Baucus said:

“Too often, much of late, the last couple three years, the mal-distribution of income in American is gone up way too much, the wealthy are getting way, way too wealthy and the middle income class is left behind,” he said. “Wages have not kept up with increased income of the highest income in America. This legislation will have the effect of addressing that mal-distribution of income in America.”

Excuse me Senator, but who the hell are you to decide who is “too wealthy?”  Given this claptrap, you’d be a perfect candidate for a Fidel Castro or Hugo Chavez administration – after all, Castro did just call ObamaCare a “miracle.”  Or would Castro and Chavez fit right into the leadership in Washington, DC these days?

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While everyone has been paying close attention to the sexcapades of Tiger Woods, almost nobody has paid any attention to the revelations surrounding Senator Max Baucus, who is allegedly a man.

You might know that the Senator was having an extra-marital affair with a subordinate on his staff.

You might know that Senator Baucus recommended his girlfriend for a sweet job, and gave her massive pay raises.

Washington (CNN) – Montana Sen. Max Baucus gave an employee with whom he later became romantically involved a raise of nearly $14,000 and recommended her for a U.S. attorney position, his spokesman confirmed Friday.

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Today, the Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to vote on Senator Max Baucus’ health care overhaul.  Like most Americans, I believe that our health care system needs to be reformed.  However, this bill is a tax and spending bill masquerading as a health reform bill.  It gives government bureaucrats far too much power and encroaches on freedom more than any legislation since LBJ’s Great Society experiment.  It is bad for the country and bad for the economy.

 Senate Democrats are pushing a vote on the 1,000-page bill now because the Congressional Budget Office recently estimated that the bill cost “only” $829 billion over the next 10 years. In truth, the bill raises taxes immediately, but the benefits do not kick in for another four years, so the 10-year numbers are distorted. This is an expensive experiment that cuts Medicare, and exacerbates state government budget problems by dramatically expanding Medicaid without providing additional funding.

How do the Democrats propose to pay for the rest of the new spending? There are a massive amount of tax increases in the bill, including over $200 billion in tax increases on insurance premiums, new taxes on individuals and employers, and over $120 billion in new taxes on medical device makers and other health care businesses.  All of these tax increases concern me, but the latter category does so especially: My state is the home of Medtronic, Boston Scientific, 3M, St. Jude Medical and other medical technology makers that employ 60,000 Minnesotans and save and improve countless lives. Increasing taxes on these businesses would not only be an unwise burden on these employers, but would siphon money otherwise spent on research and development.  It would also risk the cost of increased taxes being passed on, directly or indirectly, to those who rely on such devices or who cover their cost.

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The good folks at Let Freedom Ring pass on this news:

Let Freedom Ring today submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request demanding answers after The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services launched a massive investigation into Humana’s role in influencing the healthcare reform fight.  Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) called for the investigation, slamming Humana for inciting fear among its beneficiaries.  

The FOIA letter requests “access to and copies of all correspondence, notes, emails, faxes, telephone logs, office visit logs, records of meetings and related documents exchanged between United States Senator Max Baucus’ office and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (CMS) directly or indirectly related to a letter that Humana, Inc. sent to its Medicare Advantage policyholders suggesting that proposed health-care legislation could lower their benefits.”

 “We filed the FOIA letter today to dig deeper into the possible political pressure that was applied to CMS, and what implications that could have in the middle of a pitched fight over the future of healthcare,” said Let Freedom Ring President Colin Hanna.  “Our letter requires the government to provide timely and complete information that could shine some sunlight on what is driving the investigation.

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Yesterday, Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee torpedoed efforts to require Mediciad applicants to show IDs. We noted that, with fraud running at around $100 billion in Medicaid and Medicare, this might not have been the wisest vote. Well, it turns out Democrats on the Senate Committee are perfectly fine with a 10% fraud rate.

Today, the Committee voted on an amendment from Sen. Cornyn which would have delayed expansions in Medicaid until steps had been taken to get its error/fraud rate down to 3.9%, the average of all government programs. Details below:

Cornyn Amendment #C30 to America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009

Short Title: Reducing waste, fraud, and abuse in the Medicaid program.

Description of Amendment: Prior to implementing the mandatory Medicaid program expansions in the Chairman’s Mark, the Secretary of Health and Human Services must certify that states have implemented program integrity and quality improvement measures specified in the Chairman’s Mark and that the Medicaid program’s average Payment Error Rate Measurement is less than 3.9 percent.

Offset: No offset needed.

 Republicans

CHUCK GRASSLEY -yes, ORRIN G. HATCH -yes, OLYMPIA J. SNOWE -yes, JON KYL -yes, JIM BUNNING -yes, MIKE CRAPO -yes, PAT ROBERTS -yes, JOHN ENSIGN -yes, MIKE ENZI -yes, JOHN CORNYN -yes

Democrats

MAX BAUCUS -no, JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER -no, KENT CONRAD -no, JEFF BINGAMAN -no, JOHN F. KERRY -no, BLANCHE L. LINCOLN -no, RON WYDEN -no, CHARLES E. SCHUMER – no, DEBBIE STABENOW -no, MARIA CANTWELL -no, BILL NELSON -no, ROBERT MENENDEZ – no, THOMAS CARPER -no

Not Agreed to (10-13)