If only Tom Daschle had paid all
of his taxes
November 18, 2013, 01:15 pm
By Carol Felsenthal
Think back to those heady days of
late 2008, just after Barack Obama
was elected president but before he actually had to govern. He was busy
pondering his dream team for the important Cabinet positions — Timothy
Geithner, despite some minor tax problems (some $43,000), to Treasury; Eric
Holder to Justice, Hillary Clinton to State, and Robert Gates to stay on at
Defense.
Obama needed a commanding leader
at the Health and Human Services (HHS)
Department because he was determined to be the president who finally made
national healthcare happen — and happen soon, as in the first part of his first
term.
In December Obama announced his
choice for HHS. No, not the clueless former Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D),
but former senator (he lost his seat in 2004 to Republican John Thune) from South Dakota Tom Daschle.
Daschle is a little guy, but he’s
tough, shrewd, and as a former Democratic majority leader, he understood power.
He knew how to negotiate, and that meant sometimes negotiating with
Republicans. (Healthcare reform was a particular interest; he had by then written
one book on the subject and would co-write another in 2010.)
After his defeat, Daschle, who is
not a lawyer, signed on as a “special public policy adviser” at the Washington office of the Atlanta law firm Alston & Bird. (Though
not officially a lobbyist, never having registered as one, he was close, and he
was married to an aviation lobbyist.)
Daschle had the usual complex ties
of a Washington
bigwig, and it was soon discovered that he had neglected to pay $128,203 in
taxes the three years previous. Some was unreported income he received for
advising a private equity fund; some involved the personal use of a car and
driver given to him by an employer. Like Geithner, who claimed he did his own
taxes using Turbo Tax, Daschle said he had made an innocent mistake. He filed
amended returns and promptly paid what he owed plus $11,964 in interest.
Obama stuck with Daschle as long
as he could. “The president has confidence that Sen. Daschle is the right
person to lead the fight for healthcare reform,” press secretary, Robert Gibbs
said. But Obama had demonized lobbyists during the campaign, and he saw that
Daschle’s path through confirmation would be difficult and that the
presidential honeymoon would be ruined by charges of hypocrisy. So Obama
apologized and, in February 2009, Daschle withdrew, explaining that his
appointment would be a “distraction” that could harm the goal of “affordable
healthcare for every American.” Obama then turned to Sebelius.
On “Meet The Press” Sunday, David
Gregory, discussing the horrendous rollout of ObamaCare, asked, "where is
Bobby Kennedy? ... Who has got the muscle in the White House to get it [the
website] done and make sure the president gets what he wants?”
Daschle had the muscle; Sebelius
did not.
Who can resist asking, would
things have been different if Daschle had paid his taxes in full and on time? I
think yes. He would have asked the right questions, demanded answers; he would
not have crossed his fingers and hoped the website worked when it was switched
on Oct. 1.
One of the reasons often given for
Obama’s refusal to fire Sebelius is how in the world would he get another
nominee through the Senate. Obama should take on that fight while Democrats are
still in control. Daschle was well liked in the Senate, and he might just make
it — assuming there are no further innocent mistakes on his tax returns.
Tom Daschle
Tom Daschle was the nominee for health
and human services secretary for the Barack
Obama administration, Denis
McDonough was his foreign policy adviser, is a director at the Center for American Progress, a member
of the Council on Foreign Relations
(think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think
tank).
Note: Denis McDonough
was Tom Daschle’s foreign policy
adviser, a senior fellow at the Center
for American Progress, and is the chief of staff; former deputy national
security adviser for the Barack Obama
administration.
Open
Society Foundations was a funder for the Center for American Progress.
George
Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (think tank), the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, and
was a supporter for the Center for
American Progress.
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Center for American Progress.
Neera
Tanden is the president for the Center
for American Progress, and was a senior adviser for health reform for the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services.
Carol M. Browner
is a director, senior fellow at the Center
for American Progress, and was the energy czar for the Barack Obama administration.
Melody
C. Barnes was the EVP for the Center
for American Progress, the domestic policy council, director for the Barack Obama administration, and is Barack Obama’s golf partner.
No comments:
Post a Comment