Roy Blunt takes populist outrage for a spin.
R.J. Matson/Post-Dispatch
Roy Blunt usually is not the kind of politician who trades in populist outrage. But there he was last week, issuing a statement from his U.S. House office that said, “While many Missourians are still at risk, Wall Street bankers are at the head of the line for H1N1 vaccine.”
Mr. Blunt was reacting to reports, first published by Business Week, that noted that Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and other Wall Street firms had received early shipments of the H1N1 flu vaccine from the New York City Department of Health.
In fact, it turns out that the greed factor — at least as far as H1N1 vaccine is concerned — may be overblown, according to health officials quoted by The New York Times. The big banks took their turns in line like other businesses; Goldman has received only 200 of the 5,400 doses it has asked for. Citi has received 1,200, more than half of what it requested. They’ll have to follow federal rules for inoculating at-risk patients first.
Still, you could argue that banks should have been in line behind big hospitals like Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, which asked for 27,500 doses and received only 200. Health care workers are among those who are supposed to have priority.
Liberal groups overreacted predictably, blasting the bankers’ greed. Mr. Blunt’s was one of the few voices raised from the right. He blamed the Obama administration for the problem, saying, “The federal government continues to demonstrate that it cannot manage distribution of this vaccine; yet the Obama Administration wants to manage a complete government-takeover of health care.”
He also praised European vaccine manufacturers, which he said were free from the “inflexible regulatory environment” that pesters U.S. vaccine manufacturers. In fact, most of big vaccine companies, like Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline, are multinational corporations; they agreed to manufacture the vaccine using federally approved manufacturing processes, only to discover that vaccine cultures for H1N1 don’t grow as fast as they do for other forms of flu.
European countries have no greater stockpile of vaccines than the United States does. But their government-controlled health delivery systems are more efficient than ours at identifying at-risk patients and getting the vaccine to them first.
Whatever the reason, we welcome Mr. Blunt to the populist outrage front. Mr. Blunt was in Congress throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s when, during both Republican and Democratic administrations, the banks got everything they asked for, subsequently wrecking the economy. Mr. Blunt has been a reliable pro-banking industry vote, from repealing the Glass-Steagall Act in 1999 to refusing to allow bankruptcy judges to modify mortgages in 2009.
But now, with big banks setting aside billions for year-end bonuses and fighting desperately to preserve their free rein over the economy, with former Goldman Sachs employees and allies still calling the shots at the Treasury Department and with mortgage foreclosures still rising and unemployment at 10.2 percent, Mr. Blunt is taking populist outrage out for a spin.
It might come in handy in next year’s U.S. Senate race in Missouri, when Mr. Blunt is expected to be the GOP candidate. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, he’s already received $272,000 from the financial, insurance and real estate sectors for that race. Some populist.
Shouldn’t you liberals be blaming this on G.W. Bush, too?
Be thankful we can still carry our guns so that we’ll be able to shoot people ahead of us in line for the vaccine.
For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.
H. L. Mencken
It’s the weekly drubbing of a Republican the goons on the editorial board don’t like. And the wheels on the bus go round and round.
One of my favorite quotes by H.L.Menchen:
“The urge to save humanity is always a false front for the urge to rule it.”
I am stil waiting for the PD Editorial Board to blame this jihad terrorist act on Obama which happened under his watch while he was busy at fundraisers, golfing and taking vacations. No double standard there.
Either Congressman Blunt doesn’t respect his constituency’s intelligence or doesn’t know how easy fact checking has become.
Dave H,
It is not about Bush or Obama. The problems in America are indeed stemming from a huge out-of-control federal government. Deficit spending has grown more and more out-of-control since the 80’s. Even Bill Clinton, despite his ability to claim he left a surplus, doubled the national debt while he was in office. Then, George W Bush doubled it again… and now, it looks like the Obama administration is on track to double the America’s collective debt to 20 Trillion dollars.
So, if it is not about Bush43, or Obama, or Clinton, or Bush41, or Reagan, then who it is about? It is all about the American people! We can continue to blindly wallow in apathy like most mainstream Democrats and Republicans do, or we can choose to overthrow this bloated, tax sucking, war waging imperialist governmental ‘corporatocracy’ that the United States has become today. We the People have both the right and the obligation to throw off any government that has been stolen by corporate lobbyists and corrupt politicians.
Roy Blunt is one of those corrupt politicians. He is kind of like the Republican equivalent of Rahm Emmanuel. Those corrupt politicians will always TRY to pretend they are populists… Even after they have spent most of the careers screwing over their constituents in order to pay back their rich campaign contributers.
It is NOT a Democrat or Republican thing…
It is a ‘Democrat AND Republican thing.’
I am talking about the politicians!
Don’t be fooled… Roy Blunt is definitely no Ron Paul.
Enough said.
Outrage?
November 12, 2009
We, at http://www.savingpontiac.org have relentlessly suggested that General Motors divest it’s Pontiac brand and mothballed manufacturing facilities to new entrepreneurial management for the benefit of the taxpayers creating 40,000 JOBS overnight. Our structure is suggested since the Taxpayers own the brands and the factories through the bailout. In fact taxpayers own every asset of GM; 61% ownership!
Why would any new team be better? Consider the decision by GM the other day to vacate the impending purchase of Opel from GM by Canadian auto parts supplier Magna International Inc. and Russian lender Sperbank. Effectively GM, by reaching this decision, committed to send, estimated at best, $8 to $10 Billion of US bailout money to Europe. In Addition, the decision caused involvement by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Chancellor Angela Merkel, and President Obama (who said he was not involved). The Company workers revoked all concessions agreed in the original deal and GM must now present plans to every Government in Europe. Translation is: significant increases in cost of what it should have taken to attempt to revive the Company. Complete story here: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09309/1011159-28.stm
How long will this go on?
GM has announced investments in India, China, and now a huge investment in Europe. These are the same people that took American taxpayer dollars to help the USA out of a recession. Now they are spending that American bailout money overseas and in the case of Opal, money that should not be spent and now it will cost more and take longer than it should have. Just think, they could have sold the unit and returned the money to Treasury.
http://www.savingpontiac.org suggests over and over that saving both Pontiac and Saturn would create 200,000 direct and indirect jobs in America almost overnight. And by the way, for less than GM will spend trying to save Opal which they could not do for two decades but now think it’s a good idea to spend taxpayer money to do so! WHY is this OK????
Let’s spend American money on American jobs creating quality American cars for Americans using assets that Americans own!!!
I’m shocked, I tell you… I’m shocked.
Mr. Blunt, UnitedHealth called. The check will be deposited today.
Great.
Now where was I?
Oh yes, I’m shocked, I tell you….I’m shocked!
“It’s not a public option, it’s a child”.
Did you hear Ms. Schlafley? Ms. Cunningham? Ms.Davis?
And where, were Mr. Blunt, and his son, the Gov., when we were trying to get the S-chip passed -MIA.
Wanted -Just a little more monies for the children in lesser income brackets.
Meanwhile, back in the Mr. Blunt household, his new wife and their adopted child were enjoying the Best Care possible - because the tax payers were paying for it!
Both Blunts are too ugly for words.
I called Mr. Blunt’s office on more than 3 occasions to ask that he help get this bill passed.
The answers I got , would make the hair on the nape of your neck stand up.
And now -now, he is concerned about the H1N1 virus shot - bull.
He, as usual is interested in only his political future, not in the citizens of our state.
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Garrison - very witty comments. Thanks!
Personally, I am always shocked that anyone, with any sense, would vote for this heartless creature.
Send him packing, just as we did his problematic son.