Obamacare has cost another Democratic legislator his seat in Congress—at least in part. The latest to fall for ignoring the will of the people by passing Obamacare is Senator Ben “Cornhusker Kickback” Nelson of Nebraska. His popularity took a big hit when his machinations helped get Obamacare through the Senate and never fully recovered. Now, he is resigning after his term is up at the end of this Congress. From the Politico story:
Nelson obtained a huge controversial provision in that legislation — derisively called the “Cornhusker Kickback” by GOP opponents — that called for the federal government to pay Nebraska’s costs for Medicaid expansion, potentially saving the state tens of millions of dollars annually. The provision was ultimately killed, but Nelson still paid a political price. Nelson adamantly denied that he traded his support for the Democratic health plan in exchange for the special provision, yet his standing back home took a big hit. Nelson proved to be the 60th and deciding vote for the Democratic health-care package.
Nelson is the latest self-inflicted political wound victim of Obamacare, along with Bart Stupak (no longer D, MI) and others. As a partial consequence, Nancy Pelosi is Minority Leader instead of Speaker of the House of Representatives.
I don’t know of a single Republican who lost his or her seat for voting no to Obamacare, but I can think of several ousted or not elected Dems out of power for supporting the law that is still, according to polls, opposed by the majority of the American people. It should only happen to the President.
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
The Church in the Age of Therapy
In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…
Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot
On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…
The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen
Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…
