Daschle to HHS

Sorry, docs: former South Dakota Senator Tom Daschle, reported as Obama’s HHS pick and indeed a “health czar” charged with pushing comprehensive health care reform through Congress, was known as a particularly close ally of the trial lawyers as Majority Leader, and drew on them as his most important donors in his final (2004) race. In 2004 he won an award from the New York Trial Lawyers Association for his work in blocking liability reform at the national level. (CNN, Patterico, American Prospect).

More from Carter Wood who notes the NAM vote tabulation: “On the identified 10 votes [between 1999 and 2004], Sen. Daschle voted against the tort-reform position 10 times. (Included were four health-care, medical liability-related votes.)” (& Dr. Wes).

3 Comments

  • Indeed. Woe is us.

    On the other hand, before the Maury Povich audition, it might have been Edwards.

    Woe is us.

  • […] think with all the hot and cold running lawyers the former Senate Majority Leader has spent time with there’d have been at least one good […]

  • […] You’d think Obama could find some person without major-league trial lawyer connections for the cabinet seat on health, but you’d be wrong [Wood, PoL, on Kathleen Sebelius, and earlier on Tom Daschle] […]