Sweet blog special: Case study "In Illinois, Obama dealt with lobbyists." But "faults Clinton for ties."
WASHINGTON--The Boston Globe's Scott Helman has been digging around the Illinois record of White House hopeful Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) He uses Obama's role in a healthcare bill while a state senator in Springfield as a case study. "Lobbyists found a sympathetic ear," Helman reported.
The lede from his Sunday story...
When Barack Obama and fellow state lawmakers in Illinois tried to expand healthcare coverage in 2003 with the "Health Care Justice Act," they drew fierce opposition from the insurance industry, which saw it as a back-handed attempt to impose a government-run system.
Over the next 15 months, insurers and their lobbyists found a sympathetic ear in Obama, who amended the bill more to their liking partly because of concerns they raised with him and his aides, according to lobbyists, Senate staff, and Obama's remarks on the Senate floor.
