These highly suspicious developments signal a new low in Republican healthcare obstructionism,” said Jeremy Funk, Comm. Dir. Americans United for Change. It shows they are even willing to stoop to bribery to keep 400,000 Virginians without coverage and one health emergency away from bankruptcy. Resorting to shady backroom deals shows that Virginia Republicans have seen the
polling and know they’ve lost the public debate over closing the coverage gap. Republicans know they have no good answer for why they want Virginians who do have insurance to continue paying around $1,000 more in premiums every year to make up for uncompensated ER careincurred by the uninsured.
“They know there’s no excuse for refusing to accept resources sitting on the table from the federal government to cover 400,000
Virginians for three free years and pick up 90% of the tab after that. Republicans know that amounts to around 5 percent more than what the state would have spent on Medicaid anyways in the absence of the Affordable Care Act. But in return for that tiny investment three years down the road, it will save thousands of lives, boost Virginia’s economy by $3.9 billion annually and created 30,000 jobs.
The health and economic benefits far outweigh the costs. I’m talking about hard-working Virginians that are not impoverished enough to qualify for Medicaid but earn too much to qualify for subsidies to get private insurance in the new health law’s Exchange. But if Virginia Republicans only want to deal in quid pro quos, here’s one where everyone wins: take the available ACA resources today in exchange for saving lives, lowering premiums, and creating jobs in Virginia”
Virginia state government has been locked in a fierce budget fight for the last several months. Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), after having run on the issue of Medicaid expansion last year, has said he won’t approve a budget without the policy, which would bring coverage to 400,000 low-income Virginians, boost the state’s finances, and improve the state’s economy.
The Republican-dominated House of Delegates refuses to pass a budget with the policy because, well, they have an irrational hatred of “Obamacare.” The state Senate, meanwhile, is evenly split, with 20 Democrats and 20 Republicans, and is siding with the governor on the issue.
Republicans appear to have outmaneuvered Gov. Terry McAuliffe in a state budget standoff by persuading a Democratic senator to resign his seat, at least temporarily giving the GOP control of the chamber and possibly dooming the governor’s push to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.
Sen. Phillip P. Puckett (D-Russell) will announce his resignation Monday, effective immediately, paving the way to appoint his daughter to a judgeship and Puckett to the job of deputy director of the state tobacco commission, three people familiar with the plan said Sunday.
Senator Puckett quickly covered his tracks after news of the inside deal leawked out. The Senator admits to interviewing for the deputy director of the state tobacco commission job but now says he has no interest in it. Puckett says he quit due to
family problems. In any event 400,000 uninusured Virginians will suffer from Puckett's action but Puckett's daughter can receive the judgeship the republicans were blocking.
This story is about more than republican obstruction, it is also about a corrupt democrat willing to sell out for personal and family gain. Politicians of both parties are beneath contempt in this matter.
There are a few moving pieces to this one. Puckett will give up his seat and Republicans will reward him with a different job, plus a judgeship for his daughter. There will be a special election in Puckett’s district, which will very likely elect a Republican and shift control of the state Senate from Democrats to the GOP.
Medicaid expansion was going to be difficult in Virginia anyway, but with Republicans controlling both chambers of the commonwealth’s legislature, the uphill climb just got a little steeper and the hopes of 400,000 struggling Virginians just got a little bleaker.
Indeed, just as striking as the scheme itself is the motivation behind it. At this point, it looks as if Virginia Republicans effectively enticed a state senator to quit in order to help ensure low-income families are denied access to affordable medical
care.
Imagine what would be possible if conservative policymakers invested this much effort in actually helping working families.
In a written statement, McAuliffe said last night, “I am deeply disappointed by this news and the uncertainty it creates at a time when 400,000 Virginians are waiting for access to quality health care, especially in Southwest Virginia. This situation is unacceptable, but the bipartisan majority in the Senate and I will continue to work hard to put Virginians first and find compromise on a budget that closes the coverage gap.”
The “especially in Southwest Virginia” reference stood out. Puckett represents one of the poorest parts of the state, and many of his own constituents stand to benefit greatly from Medicaid expansion. In other words, by quitting and helping GOP state lawmakers, Puckett is leaving his own community much worse off.
The full details of this arrangement, including whether or not Puckett was explicitly offered the position as deputy director of the tobacco commission in return for his agreement to resign his senate seat, are not yet known.
Although the executive director of the commission is appointed by the governor — who is currently Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe — the deputy director is appointed by the commission itself. Both the chair and the vice chair of the commission are Republicans.
If Puckett was offered the seat on this commission in exchange for his decision to resign from the state legislature, however, he may have committed a very serious crime. Under Virginia’s bribery law, it is a felony for a state lawmaker to “accept, or agree to accept from another … any pecuniary benefit offered, conferred or agreed to be conferred as consideration for or to obtain or influence the recipient’s decision, opinion, recommendation, vote or other exercise of discretion as a public servant or party official.
Given this statutory language, two questions need to be answered before Puckett could be prosecuted. The first is whether Puckett agreed to accept the tobacco commission job “as consideration for” his resignation from the state senate — that is, whether there was a quid pro quo deal where the job was offered up as the prize Puckett received if he agreed to resign.
The second is whether Puckett’s resignation counts as an “exercise of discretion as a public servant.” Based on a search of Virginia court cases using the legal search engine Lexis, there does not appear to be a court decision answering this question.
In any event, the circumstances of this anticipated resignation — in which a Democratic senator throws control of the state legislature to the GOP, and then immediately receives a job from a commission controlled by a Republican chair and vice-chair — is suspicious. It also could have very serious consequences for Virginia’s least fortunate residents.
Puckett can join former Virginia governor Bob McDonald in the political hall of deceit and shame.
In the wake of a “firestorm of criticism regarding his resignation from the Virginia Senate,” Puckett withdrew his name from consideration for the tobacco commission job. The fact that Puckett will not take this job, however, will not necessarily save him from prosecution if he did, in fact, agree to trade his seat in the state senate for a new role with the tobacco commission before this firestorm arose.
Virginia’s bribery law provides that anyone who “accepts or agrees to accept” a bribe in return for an “exercise of discretion as a public servant” is guilty of a felony, so Puckett could have committed the crime of bribery if and when he agreed to deal away his senate seat — regardless of whether he later decided not to take the prize that he was offered.
It’s also worth noting that the bribery law also punishes anyone who “offers, confers or agrees to confer upon another . . . .any pecuniary benefit as consideration for or to obtain or influence the recipient’s decision, opinion, recommendation, vote or other exercise of discretion as a public servant or party official.”
Thus, if a Republican official or other individual offered Puckett the tobacco commission job in exchange for his resignation from the senate, this action does not become less criminal just because Puckett ultimately decided not to take this job.
State elections in Virginia were often bought with booze. Even George Washington got voters really, really drunk.
Elections in colonial Virginia were often decided by how much free alcohol and food a candidate provided for voters. George Washington first learned this the hard way in 1755 when he ran for a seat in the Virginia House of Burgesses at the age of 23 and failed to offer alcohol. Sure, there could have been other factors at play, but Washington didn't even come close to winning.
When Washington ran again for the same office in 1758, he was sure not to make the same mistake twice. Washington provided almost half a gallon of alcohol for each voter. Apparently, the exact amount of libations was "nearly 47 gallons of beer, more than 70 gallons of rum punch, about 34½ gallons of wine, 2 gallons of cider, and 3½ pints of brandy." Washington was actually worried this wouldn't be enough and told his campaign manager, James Wood, that “my only fear is that you spent with too sparing a hand.” Washington ended up winning this election in a landslide.
Well that sorta explains some of the mistakes of the past. What is the excuse for this fellow?
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