Montana Tribal Leaders Growing Frustrated with "The Whore of the Insurance Industry."
By Urban Native Staff Writers
UPDATE: 12/12/09: The Great Falls Tribune has posted a news article stating Melodee Hanes conferred with the Baucus divorce attorney before Wanda Baucus was even aware she and the Senator were divorcing. This story, that looked like a scandal-of-the-week last week, continues to unfold. Senator Baucus admits in the same article to giving Ms. Hanes a 14,000.00 raise. The story seems to be muted by a progressive media skittish about covering the negative aspects of Senator Baucus's Washington life--amid the critically needed health reform legislation now being debated. The future for the Senator is unclear; so far it does not seem to be tarnishing the Democratic party brand and this may very well evaporate out of the headlines as the health legislation advances. Stay updated here......
In a story that broke on Friday at http://www.mainjustice.com, Senator Max Baucus admitted to his attempts to gain a Department of Justice appointment for his live-in girlfriend, Melodee Hanes, an attorney from Montana. For political observers of Montana politics, this is nothing new for the Senator, who has used his influence to corner the political market, so-to-speak, for his successive wins in the U.S. Senate. The Baucus political machine, now increasingly becoming the bane of Montana progressives--has been unleashed full force on the American public. The Senator was non-apologetic and matter of fact in stating his girlfriend withdrew from consideration of a top spot at the Justice Department; after the new couple decided to live together in Baucus's new DC digs. Baucus is a political mentor of Jonathan Windy Boy, who is featured in the Indigenous News section of this edition.
Montana progressives and tribal politicos are becoming frustrated and disgusted at the blatant power plays and public arrogance of the Senator. Already, the Senator has almost single-handedly undermined the Obama presidency in its fledgling year. The Senator has been at the helm of what can only be described as a Congressional non-effort on health care reform. The Senator first proposed a public option--a government alternative to the for profit health care insurance market--then voted against it in his Finance Committee vote on it. The public option is viewed as a watered down compromise after the Senator took single payer medical care off the table earlier this year, when the health care effort got underway in his committee.
Montana Native American political observers fear Baucus may be intentionally attempting to derail a second Obama term. His public distractions and obvious and public disregard of the Obama change message has led tribal political leaders to believe the Senator is engaged in veiled racially motivated attempts to ensure President Obama does not get re-elected in 2012. At the same time, urban Indians are growing increasingly frustrated at the Democratic party slight of the urban poor and minorities in the first round of stimulus legislation. Indeed, the economic conditions of the state's largest racial minority group are growing increasingly desparate. Native leaders point to the misleading state unemployment figures, noting these figures do not take into account the long term unemployed, nor accurately reflect the economic conditions of the state's urban ard rural tribal communities. Community leaders are not happy with the the White House reluctance to enact an expanded stimulus even though major labor and civil rights organizations had called for just that during a forum in mid-November hosted by the Economic Policy Institute. Some native leaders and former tribal councillors from the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, Montana: speaking on the condition of anonymity have outright called Baucus, "the whore of the insurance industry." The Montana Democratic Party is becoming unglued as a result of Baucus's actions. Earlier this past fall, 18 party county chairs stood unified against the Senators bungling of the health care issue.
The political favoritism illustrated by Baucus's latest abuses only confirm tribal leaders conclusion that state party leaders engage in a system of tribal tokenism to give the appearance of racial inclusiveness. At the same time, tribal leaders point out those native political leaders are steered toward offices where Native Americans have no real political power, even though the Indian vote is crucial to the state Democratic party. Evidenced in the 2008 cycle, the election of Denise Juneau to the State Office of Public Instruction Superintendent office exemplifies tribal leaders fears the party pipeline structure is exploitive of the tribal vote. Juneau has no real power at a state level, tribal leaders believe Native Americans are steered toward such positions to frustrate tribal progress: this has led to distrust of the party pipeline. Native American leaders are re-thinking future support of the state Democratic party; proposals being floated are the creation of a Native American third party.
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