On both ends of the spectrum, wavering Democratic Caucus members took historically massive pork payouts and other concessions in exchange for their votes for H.R. 3590. The craziest of these involved Nelson and the aforementioned Mary Landrieu, who each agreed to vote for the bill in exchange for, respectively, a $100 million exemption from Medicaid payments and $300 million in extra federal spending. Deals like this increased the obligation of the average taxpayer under Obamacare to a triple ultimatum: many of us would now have to (1) buy our own private health insurance, (2) pay taxes to
...more

