TIME: The Secret Life of Tom Daschle, Moonlighting For The Insurance Industry

The Secret Life of Tom Daschle, Moonlighting For The Insurance Industry
Posted by MICHAEL SCHERER Monday, August 17, 2009 at 12:51 pm

This is how Washington really works: Even a top liberal advocate for taking a strong stand against the insurance industry takes money behind the scenes from the insurance industry.

On Sunday, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, who was once a nominee to be President Obama's Secretary of Health And Human Services, appeared on NBC's Meet The Press, playing the role of the liberal standard bearer, opposite Oklahoma conservative Sen. Tom Coburn. Daschle spoke out against insurers, praised the so-called "public option," and at one point framed the debate over health reform to host David Gregory this way:

Well, David, I guess the, the basic question is, are we building this new system for the American people or for the insurance companies? I mean, that's really the key question. How will they be better served?

Sounds like tough-talk from a man who was introduced on the show as "former Senate majority leader Democrat Tom Daschle, an informal adviser to the White House and author of 'Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis.' " Left unmentioned was the fact that Daschle, in his capacity as a high-paid consultant at the law firm Alston and Bird, is once again working closely with lobbyists for UnitedHealth, the largest U.S. industry player, aiding the company's effort to convince moderate Senate and House Democrats to, among other things, kill the public option and keep company profits high.

A couple week back, BusinessWeek reporters Chad Terhune and Keith Epstein confronted Daschle about his role playing both sides of the health care reform debate. (The entire piece, about how UnitedHealth have already won the health care reform war, is a must read.) Terhune and Epstein write:

Sommer has retained such influential outsiders as Tom Daschle, the former Democratic Senate Leader who now works for the large law and lobbying firm Alston & Bird. Daschle, a liberal from South Dakota, dropped out of the running to be Obama's Secretary of Health & Human Services after disclosures that he failed to pay taxes on perks given to him by a private client. He advised UnitedHealth in 2007 and 2008 and resumed that role this year. Daschle personally advocates a government-run competitor to private insurers. But he sells his expertise to UnitedHealth, which opposes any such public insurance plan. Among the services Daschle offers are tips on the personalities and policy proclivities of members of Congress he has known for decades.

Conceding that he doesn't always agree with his client, Daschle says: "They just want a description of the lay of the land, an assessment of circumstances as they appear to be as health reform unfolds." He says he leaves direct contacts with members of Congress to others at his firm.

-snip
http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2009/08/17/the-secret-life-of-tom-daschle-moonlighting-for-the-inurance-indutry/

DISGUSTING. WHY WAS THIS MAN SUGGESTED FOR A CABINET ROLE OVER HOWARD DEAN?

Wanting Daschle to head HHS is the same triangulation he actually did when he nominated Geithner at Treasury and Summers to be his economic advisor.

I think Obama is being played by his advisor's as a fool, I dont think he had as much input in some of these choices as we think.

But why wouldn't the prez have the say about who he's going with?

Its the same (in my mind) character flaw that prevents him from giving up on his quixotic belief that compromise with the party of 'no' is important.

I could see him sitting there with his campaign advisor's going though the various names for each position, and settling on the person the majority thought should get that position.

And since Obama surrounded himself with right leaning moderates for his closest campaign advisor's thats what he chose to fill various positions in his Cabinet.

I've said that his bipartisan stuff is Obama's achilles heel ~ guess this is another aspect of it.

I can't believe there are still people who don't know this.

AHIP (The Association of Health Insurance Plans) are completely on board with Obama's plans to give the insurance industry a trillion dollars a decade in subsidies for lower income people in return for ending pre-existing conditions, rescission, ending annual and life time caps and some modified community rating.

It's bribery basically. We bribe them to do what they should be doing anyway.

There are still lots of people who don't get the plan. I'm not sure why they don't get it.

and we have an attack ad to 'prove' it" "because universal health is bad and foreign" "because he got elected" "because he's a Dem" "because we don't have the votes" "because..." --hold on, my "centrist excuse" spigot got clogged

cheer about much of ANYTHING because of the "BECAUSES!"

Daschele stepped into it a long time ago, didn't get re-elected and is now a lobbyist AND connected with United Health Care Insurance!! I guess I'll never learn! Give the Dems everything on a platter and STILL, they can't find a SPINE!!!

Obama's numbers are going down and STILL he walks among the Blue Dogs it seems. I have too many questions and NO ANSWERS at all!

:nuke:

I'm emailing this to Rachel Maddow and telling her, you sat at the table with Daschle and no one mentioned his interest in this company. Why don't you remedy that failing and disclose it on your show?

:mad:

Wrote Rachel and asked her why Daschle was chosen to speak for the Dems with an obvious conflict of interest.

Always was.

Daschle was one of the earliest people who got behind Obama's career and pushed him for president, way back before most had ever heard of him. Many of the highest people on Obama's campaign team were former Daschle staffers. I agree with your post, but there's no reason to be surprised that Daschle would be picked by Obama to head HHS. He was one of the men behind the curtain all along.

I'm incredibly disgusted by the political situation in this country. Between the right wing and the corporate Dems and Repubs, there is no virtually no representation for the needs and wants of an actual progreesive, nor is there any force up to the task of stopping the corporate rape of America.

What to do? Dunno. I have too many family ties to up and leave the country. Work for real change, I guess, though in this country, the idea is almost laughable.