David Sirota: Good riddance, Senator Baucus

[marmar]

Good riddance, Senator Baucus
Retirement for one of the Democrats most responsible for the party's destructive shift to the economic right

By David Sirota


(Salon) The easiest way to interpret the news this morning of the retirement of six-term Montana Sen. Max Baucus (D) is through the prism of the 2014 battle for control of the U.S. Senate and how it supposedly hurts Democrats’ prospects for holding the chamber. But for those of us who have lived in Montana and worked in Montana politics, that cheap horse-race analysis is short-sighted for two reasons.

First and foremost, if my old boss and friend, the wildly popular former Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D), mounts a Democratic candidacy it means the seat would likely remain in the party’s hands. Additionally, and more important for the long-term topography of American politics, Baucus is not just a single Democrat holding a Senate seat in a Republican-leaning state. He is one of the politicians most responsible for the Democratic Party’s destructive long-term shift to the right on economic issues. That means his retirement isn’t just a 2014 story or a Montana story; it is significant to the whole country.

Remember, Baucus is not any old senator holding an office and casting terrible votes on social issues like guns. He is, more important, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. As the panel that oversees every major economic issue from healthcare to Social Security to taxes to trade, the committee is the most powerful body in the United States Congress. That means despite being relatively unknown outside of the Beltway and Montana, Baucus is one of the most powerful politicians in the world. ...................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.salon.com/2013/04/23/good_riddance_senator_baucus/

[montanacowboy]

1. SPOT ON!

GLAD TO SEE HIS SORRY FRIGGIN ASS GO, WONDER WHAT K STREET OFFICE WE WILL SEE HIM AT?

[Recursion]

2. Not sad to see him go at all. I will be sad if we can't keep that seat, though. (nt)

[DCKit]

10. I don't see that there would be any difference.

He was more dangerous as a (D) - total wolf in sheep's clothing.

[Recursion]

11. Then you need to pay attention to how majorities are formed

That's far and away the most important vote any Senator makes.

[geek tragedy]

3. Co-author of the Bush tax cut bill, voted for IWR, against background checks, etc.

Good riddance indeed.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

4. Yes, but at least we were able to blame this travesty on a white guy.

[marmar]

5. Que?

[Nuclear Unicorn]

7. While the Boston Bombers were still at large Sirota opined at length that

he hoped the bombers were white guys because he feared a backlash against Muslims.

While I understand and actually agree with his larger point the overall execution of his column was ham-handed and earned him well-earned criticism to which I am piling-on.

[Dragonfli]

6. 've always seen him and other "moderates" as $$$$the green guy$$$$

I am fairly certain he will go to work now lobbying for the health insurance vultures, they always did write his bill language FOR him anyway (seriously, literally).

[octoberlib]

8. Glad to see him go,go,go

No other lawmaker on Capitol Hill has such a sizable constellation of former aides working as tax lobbyists, representing blue-chip clients that include telecommunications businesses, oil companies, retailers and financial firms, according to an analysis by LegiStorm, an online database that tracks Congressional staff members and lobbying. At least 28 aides who have worked for Mr. Baucus, Democrat of Montana, since he became the committee chairman in 2001 have lobbied on tax issues during the Obama administration — more than any other current member of Congress, according to the analysis of lobbying filings performed for The New York Times.

Like Ms. Baker, many of those lobbyists have already saved their clients millions — in some cases, billions — of dollars after Mr. Baucus backed their requests to extend certain corporate tax perks, provisions that were adopted as part of the so-called fiscal cliff legislation in January. Baucus aides who later became lobbyists helped financial firms save $11.2 billion in tax deferments and helped secure a $222 million tax benefit that is shared with the liquor industry.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/07/us/politics/tax-lobby-builds-ties-to-max-baucus.html?pagewanted=all

[Brimley]

9. A-freakin' men!

Now the dino can retire amid the dinosaur fossils of Montana. Or is he going immediately to work as a health-insurance lobbyist?