Max Baucus, the Senator from K Street -- A Poster Boy for Campaign Finance Reform

[unhappycamper]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pearl-korn/max-baucus-the-senator-fr_b_3229915.html

Max Baucus, the Senator from K Street -- A Poster Boy for Campaign Finance Reform
Pearl Korn
Posted: 05/08/2013 12:52 pm

Soon-to-be retired Senator Max Baucus from Montana will long be remembered for his numerous sellouts to special interests at the expense of his own constituents and the nation, exemplified most recently by his being one of four "Democratic" Senators to vote against the Manchin-Toomey bill to expand background checks for gun purchases. He has served his paymasters year in and year out in his long Senate career, leaving little doubt in anyone's mind as to whom he really represents -- his nickname is the "Senator from K Street," and he alone carries that distinction.

We often forget the power of those we elect, especially to the Senate. If they hang around long enough -- Baucus has been reelected to six terms -- they often can become Chairs of Senate committees, as Baucus did when he became the Chairman of the powerful Finance Committee, despite representing a state with just over 1 million people -- less than 1/3 of 1 percent of the U.S. population. In Congress, elevation in the party bureaucracy is achieved primarily by tenure, allowing individuals like Max Baucus to rise to positions of incredible influence simply by hanging around long enough. Can you imagine any corporation functioning with a system of promotions from within based on length of tenure and not ability?

Two weeks ago, Baucus voted against those sensible background checks in the Manchin-Toomey bill that would have identified the mentally ill and criminals to prevent them from purchasing guns. Seventy-Nine percent of Baucus' own constituents who vote in Montana -- a gun carrying state -- support background checks. Yet Max and three other "Dems" voted against the legislation, along with Majority Senate Leader Harry Reid, who carries a B rating from the NRA. Reid did not cast a vote due to procedural issues, and said he will bring up the bill again later this year, but the pressure is growing to act sooner. The NRA achieved its victory in defeating this bill mainly through its legal bribery of 45 Senators who failed to do the right thing and vote for expanding background checks. The price tag was at least $8,165,490.00 paid into their campaigns, according to Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Does this gross act alone not scream out as an example of the need for major campaign finance reform?

A few days after the vote, the flak came fast and furious from the public, directed mainly at Baucus and the three other Dems who helped scuttle this legislation. Baucus arrogantly announced he wasn't worried about ads against him, as they would not be aired in Montana. Then, just days later, he suddenly announced his retirement from the Senate at the end of his current term. He knew he was in for the fight of his political career, and so he decided to retire with a generous pension that we pay for. I say good riddance.