Filling the Swamp
Well, well, well, Trump’s choice for Director of Health and Human Services seems to be one of the bigger alligators in the swamp. And, damn, that animal is plenty hungry.
Price, as a congressman, purchases shares in a company that makes stuff of hip replacement operations, Zimmer Biomet.
Less than a week after the transaction, the Georgia Republican congressman introduced the HIP Act, legislation that would have delayed until 2018 a Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services regulation that industry analysts warned would significantly hurt Zimmer Biomet financially once fully implemented.
Not only that but …
The Wall Street Journal reported last month that he traded roughly $300,000 in shares over the past four years in health companies while pursuing legislation that could impact them.
And then because alligators have really big appetites, Price needed more money so he sent a letter to CMS asking for a delay for the implementation of the new policy. And then …
Two days after the letter, Zimmer Biomet’s PAC cut Price’s reelection committee a check worth $1,000, according to campaign finance filings.
Three months after he introduced the bill, the company’s PAC cut Price’s campaign committee another $1,000 check, according to records.
Bless Trump’s heart, he had to look really hard to find a Republican congressvarmint with that big an appetite for self-enrichment.
His hearing starts Wednesday and if the Democrats don’t walk out of there with a new pair of alligator boots, I’ll be very disappointed.
Price wants to reform Medicare, y’all. Under his plan, from now on, you don’t get health care until you send Price $1,000. In return, he’ll send you a gift card for $100 to pay for your medical expenses.
Thanks to everybody for the heads up.
We can all see the pattern here. Trump nominates people who will destroy the agency they should head, while enriching themselves in the pattern. But The Rethugs are myopic when it comes to vetting. If the Dem Reps & Senators don’t start excoriating these grifters, we need to start excoriating them.
1It really is bizarro world.
This is how McConnell amassed a few million on his 200K annual salary. Congresscritters have exempted themselves from insider trading rules.
2Lots and lots of excoriating is happening all over twitter repeatedly. They’re excoriating his hairy a$$ off. Bwahahahahahaha!
3Just read that Andy Puzder, fast food CEO, is considering bailing on the labor secretary position. He hasn’t filed the necessary ethic paperwork and the senate confirmation has been postponed until February. More swamp filling avoided?
4And this just in: Mnuchin, Trump’s nominee for Sec. of the Treasury, owned a bank that discriminated against minorities! But, as you all know, things would be soooooooo much worse if Crooked Hillary had been elected. /s
Y’know what we need? A billboard like someone put up for Dubya. A big picture of a smiling Hillz with the words “How’s Do I Look Now?” THAT would be sweet.
5Does anybody still think or say that electing Clinton would have been just the same as electing Trump?
And will liberals learn from this election that yes, winning is extremely important and we really should try harder to do it.
We have another important election in two years and an extremely important one in 2020 since that determines state redistricting. We are likely to have a Supreme Court that will support voter suppression laws, so we really need to up our game.
6After these corrupt SOBs have had some time to destroy people’s lives and America’s reputation among other things, the Dems NEED to start a campaign of “See why it’s important to vote?” And for themselves, “See why it’s important to persuade people to vote… for Dems?”
7When did lying, cheating, stealing from the public, and trying to destroy the agency you agreed to run become a requirement for selection as Trump’s choice to head a government agency? I don’t remember those being part of the rules when Democrats run the country.
8That Other Jean, et al.,
FYI y’all, as of this coming Friday we won’t be living in a place ‘where Democrats run the country’. Period. Those days are over.
We will be living in a developing proto-fascist, psuedo-monarchist, theocratic, militarized, surveillance ‘society’. Totally and absolutely run by the vilest, most Machiavellian and deranged cabal of villains, varlets, and sycophants in all history.
Brought to us by the abject failures of the Democratic Party and it’s alleged “leaders”.
Willkommen im Vierten Reich!
9That Other Jean: Because Rs can’t govern. They just don’t know how. They say government is broken and can’t do anything. The way they do government that’s true. School vouchers? Why not just take that money and fix the public schools? They don’t know how. But, they have convinced themselves that “free enterprise” has all the answers. So they want to privatize everything. Usually in a way they can make money off of it. Why is it that people can’t see what they’re up to?
10Wait till pensioners go after this piece of merde with their canes, walkers, and wheelchairs. I vote in every election. Why don’t folks get the importance of voting? Rethuglicans can’t govern because they are greedy and greed only looks after itself. Greed and hubris will destroy democracy if not stopped. I don’t ever want another civil war.
11Y’all, we have to stop beating up on ourselves with this jazz about Democrats don’t vote. We do and we did. Hill got way more popular votes than Herr Hairplug. As for rigging, it was Hairplug and his Russian bro who screwed things up along with all the R election officials of the same bent. I give you the example of Michigan where 75,000 votes disappeared from the Detroit and Flint vote counts. OH, yeah. When the R election official in charge was asked what happened, he claimed the votes couldn’t be counted as they were in some way damaged. Riiiiiiiiight! Yeah. The corners were bent!
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