Dick Gephardt Has Been Replaced by a Cylon

When Dick Gephardt was a major figure in Congressional politics and a twice-candidate for president, he was always regarded as a friend to working America, the guy from Missouri who understood blue collar values and the need for the economic relief of the middle class.  He was a champion for the cause of quality, affordable health care for all.  Now, however, he appears to have been replaced with a doppelganger, Battlestar Galactica-style, who is bent on being the “trusted” spokesperson for incremental reform.  The times, they are a-changing

Let’s flash back to the 2004 campaign for President, Mr. Gephardt’s plan to extend coverage was more robust than any other candidate except Dennis Kucinich.  He also was very explicit that health care was his top issue:

"The cornerstone of my campaign will be the idea that all Americans should have health insurance… Providing health care for the uninsured is one of the surest stimulus measures we could give our economy. It provides financial relief to businesses that are struggling to provide it for their employees. It enhances labor mobility and would pump more money into one of the economy's biggest sectors: health care… Our goal must be to provide every American with quality health care coverage."

Suffice to say, this unrelenting focus on health care earned criticism, most pointedly (and, in retrospect, ironically) from Sen. John Edwards, who claimed that Gephardt’s plan was wrong-headed.  Kerry and Dean by contrast released far more modest proposals, which increased coverage around the margins without making a big push to cover every American.  But Gephardt would not back down, declaring that reforming health care “is in my heart; it is in my soul; it is in my head. I will not rest until we get everyone covered with health insurance in this country.”

Let me put it this way:  the dude ran on a universal health care platform! For all intents and purposes, that was the issue that distinguished him among a crowded Democratic field.

That’s why it’s so surprising to read this blog post on the NY Times Caucus, saying Gephardt is actively giving voice to the idea that small, incremental reforms are what's needed, and that reformers need to scale down their ambitions. “Now Mr. Gephardt says universal or near-universal coverage cannot pass this year — and he is urging the White House to defer that goal until it enacts cost-saving reforms in health care delivery… Universal coverage ‘is absolutely imperative, and it needs to be dealt with. But the way to get to it is to show that we can deal with some of these problems first.’”

Sir, who are you and what have you done with Dick Gephardt?

The short answer is:  he became a lobbyist.  As the Times points out, Gephardt is “now lobbies for corporate America on issues including health care.”  For effect, they also quote Tom Buffenbarger, president of the union IAM, saying “He’s advising a lot of big corporations.  All he’s hearing is costs.”  Hm, might that be connected to Gephardt saying the president should tackle costs first and coverage down the road?  Well, what about Mr. Gephardt’s appointment to the board of Extend Health who, according to their release, is “the leading provider of choice-based retiree health care programs” which includes mixing and matching retirees with a choice of plans from insurance companies including “including the AARP, United Healthcare, Aetna, Cigna, Humana and numerous Blue Cross Blue Shield Association plans.”

Gephardt was appointed to their board April 1.  Now, 11 days later, he’s saying “You know, maybe Obama should slow down on this whole health care reform thing… you don’t want to try and fail like Bill Clinton!”  Bill Clinton, of course, was the president who’s bold universal health care plan was attacked by the same companies now working with Extend Health and supported by one… Dick Gephardt.

On the one hand, it’s truly sad to see such a respected statesman as Dick Gephardt become the “friendly face” of the anti-reform crowd's attempt to slow down the momentum for real, comprehensive reform.  On the other, hey, at least they found someone better than Dick Scott.

(Photo credit of the above frakkin' toaster:  Don Solo on Flickr.)