A Massa Mess

As the nation’s capitol awaits the warmth of spring and the cheerful budding of Washington’s famous cherry blossoms, another mark will pass this coming week with seemingly little fanfare – the 500^th day since President Barack Obama was elected into office.  While the 2008 election was clearly historical, much has changed during the ensuing 500 days in the political environment, and the recent resignation of Representative Eric Massa (D-NY) shows that the tides are changing for the Democratic Party.

Dubbed the “Massa Mess,” the first term Congressman and Navy veteran created yet another black eye for Democrats at a time when the party should be focusing on the fall midterm elections.  Accused of sexual misconduct by male members of his own staff, Massa stepped down from office last Monday.  While his actions were clearly unethical, they would have been forgotten in the media focused land of DC if he had simply walked off into the sunset.  But, Democrats did not get off quite so easy. Lashing out publically against White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emmanuel, Massa claimed the notorious Obama advisor had orchestrated the ethics investigation to intimidate him and other Congressmen into voting against the House healthcare plan.  Priming the story for soap opera status amidst the political tug-of-war of Washington, Massa continued his vendetta by claiming that “Rambo” had bullied him in the showers of the House gym over his position on the President’s health plan.  So, while the story may not be true – as I’ve been saying for months, the real deals happen in the backroom or, in Massa’s case, near the showers. 

But, while the Massa scandal holds some prurient interest, it lays out two interesting realities in the Washington, DC parlor game of policy.  First, and arguably the harshest truth for Democrats, is that we are facing March 2010.  The glowing dates of November 2008 are long gone.  Some 500 days after the election, the party that stormed into office is clearly losing ground. No longer able to use George W. Bush as the boogie man for the country’s problems, Democrats have experienced a huge rise in the deficit and an unemployment rate edging closer to 10 percent since they entered power.  If these problems aren’t bad enough, we’ve now got swirling scandals such as the evolving ethics charges against Representative Charlie Rangel (D-NY) and Governor David Patterson (D-NY) and a slew of retirements.  The, Democrats are headed down an unsustainable path. Remember, the late-term GWB2 challenges when Representatives Tom DeLay (R-TX), Mark Foley (R-FL), and Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) helped hammer nails in the coffin of a once unstoppable Republican majority?  It seems a bit early for the Dems to have faltered, but they have…

The second reality from the Massa resignation is the clarity of how politics is played in Washington, DC.  Rarely do we get a glimpse at the inside world of horse-trading and persuasion that is the undercurrent of how real work gets done in Washington. The claim that Rahm Emmanuel in the nude lobbied Massa in the House gym illustrates the nature of how coalitions are formed and votes are won.  As Otto von Bismarck, the 19^th century statesman and first leader of the German Empire, once said, “There are two things you will never wish to watch: the making of sausage and the making of legislation.”  It seems the “Iron Chancellor” was wise beyond his years.

So, like any sausage, we need to await the healthcare bill and it’s stuffing of “pork.”  Until the package is unveiled (later this week), Democrats should hope we don’t get any more peeks inside Emmanuel’s or anyone else’s legislative approaches…

Kevin Fickenscher, MD

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