News Roundup, 4/15/08: McCain Wants Money For Himself, Not For Others

John McCain made headlines yesterday, both for problems from DNC lawsuits and problems of his own creation.

Firstly, the Democratic National Committee is asking for the courts to step in regarding McCain's public funding limitations that he accepted earlier and is now trying to back out on, having already raised money above the cap without FEC approval.

And secondly, Congressional Quarterly caught McCain putting his foot in his mouth with regards to unemployment insurance when he suggested that benefits be cut as an "incentive" for those on unemployment to find jobs. This despite overwhelming research that unemployment insurance needs to be expanded, not contracted, as those who actually maintain employment long enough to be eligible are not interested in twiddling their thumbs and mooching until they run out of their six-month eligibility and have no safety net whatsoever.

(But hey — at least McCain's a real conservative! Um, yeah. Don't ask me. Apparently the AP was unaware that the Republican primary is over.)

Considering Republicans' blatant disregard for the average American, it's little surprise that Democratic fundraising is outdoing Republican fundraising multiple times over. The Republican brand is getting its comeuppance for its years of mismanagement — heck, they can hardly get a job for themselves, let alone raise money for others. The Times chronicled yesterday how former attorney general Alberto Gonzales isn't having much luck finding a job, as nobody wants to deal with his sullied reputation. I wonder how he feels about the proposed unemployment insurance cuts.

One more frightening consequence of Republicans favoring big business over the mass populace: insurance providers are feeling very comfortable throwing the entire premise of why health insurance drug benefits exist out the window, as they've started charging outrageously high prices for once-covered prescription drugs targeted to sufferers of chronic diseases such as cancer and multiple sclerosis. The system was designed from the get-go for them to spread the cost of those expensive but necessary medications and balance them out against the many cheaper meds being administered, while (as we've seen) still allowing them to make a nicer-than-tidy profit, but apparently those profit margins weren't big enough for them. Might as well gouge the folks that need insurance coverage the most — after all, they're costing more, so they should pay more. Wait — what's the purpose of having insurance again?

And finally yesterday, Chris Bell reminds us once again that any infighting within the party needs to be made short and sweet as we enter the general election season, as the party that does the better job of unifying themselves after their primary battles tends to do far better come November — a valuable reminder of a consistently observable political fact.