Senator For Sale

While in the Senate, Missouri Republican Kit Bond was an outspoken opponent of Obamacare and a reliable vote against health care reform and just about everything else supported by the Obama administration.  But once out of Congress he’s a changed man.  The epiphany wasn’t spiritual; it was monetary. 

Bond isn't different from many of those who leave Congress on their own two feet, voluntarily or otherwise, and go to work for the highest bidder; it makes little or no difference which side they are on as long as the pay is good.  Very good.

Bond, who retired after four terms in 2011, went from “The road from ‘Obamacare will destroy the economy as we know it" to "We gotta expand Medicaid to help the urban poor," observed Huffington Post. That road, of course,  is "paved with lobbying dollars” for Bond, it added.

So now he’s lobbying for a prominent business group, the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and telling Republican lawmakers back home in Missouri they need to embrace key provisions of Obamacare by expanding Medicaid eligibility.  It will bring the state billions of dollars in additional federal funding, he explains, though he fails to add that he once tried to block all that aid.

He told the Associated press he still opposes Obamacare but “I'm concerned hospitals in rural and inner city Missouri won't survive.” 

Sounds like he’s saying he likes what Obamacare does but hates it because it is Obama’s.  Or he’s just a cynical opportunist trying to make a buck or three.

About the Author
Douglas M. Bloomfield is a syndicated columnist, Washington lobbyist and consultant. He spent nine years as the legislative director and chief lobbyist for AIPAC.
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