Mary Landrieu’s Doing Something Weird: Running On Her Record [View all]
WASHINGTON — When Sen. Mary Landrieu took to the floor Nov. 21, 2009, she was determined to set the record straight. With Senate leaders still struggling to find the votes for the law that would become known as Obamacare, rumors began leaking to the press that Majority Leader Harry Reid had secured the Louisiana Democrat’s vote with a promise of $100 million in Medicare payments to the state.
It wasn’t true, and Landrieu was none too pleased. “I am not going to be defensive about asking fro help in this situation, and it is not a $100 million fix. It is a $300 million fix. … I’m proud to have asked for it. I’m proud to have fought for it,” Landrieu declared matter-of-factly.
Landrieu’s floor speech was all the more remarkable given the intense pressure Democrats were under from Republicans over Obamacare. Within weeks, fellow centrist Sen. Ben Nelson found himself embroiled in controversy over the “Cornhusker Kickback” — a $45 million provision inserted into the health care measure for Nebraska that Reid had included as a sweetener for Nelson’s vote.
Nelson then followed the conventional wisdom — if you’re a red state, moderate Democrat, you need to run from your party, its signature legislation, and any hint that you break conservative fiscal orthodoxy. But that strategy didn’t help Nelson, who watched as conservatives mounted an aggressive campaign around the earmark, ultimately forcing him into early retirement.
Meanwhile, Landrieu has embraced her record for bringing home the bacon, hasn’t shied away from her Obamacare votes and finds herself in a good position to win reelection in one of the most conservative, anti-Obama states in the nation.
“It was just the way I was to taught to be, or encouraged to be, by my father and my parents,” Landrieu told BuzzFeed.
More here: http://www.buzzfeed.com/johnstanton/mary-landrieus-doing-something-weird-running-on-her-record
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