Why Democrats Hate Tort Reform

In the healthcare debate, Republicans have touted tort reform as a key to bringing down the costs of healthcare. Democrats have steadfastly refused to even consider it, and quash any mention of it. There are no tort reform measures at all in Obamacare.

One of the largest causes of the high cost of healthcare over the past decades is the legal cost of medicine. Nuisance law suits, filed by ambulance chasing lawyers, cost doctors and their insurance companies billions of dollars a year. The suits are filed in the hopes of getting a doctor to settle out of court - and most insurance companies will do that rather than go to the expense and risk of going to court. Other suits, filed on behalf of folks who are legitimately harmed by a doctor or other health provider, can be brought for a limitless amount of money - there is no cap on financial awards for lawsuits won.

Tort reform is aimed at cutting down or eliminating nuisance suits, and setting caps on monetary awards.

Lawyers hate this, and fight it tooth and nail. Tort reform directly impacts the huge amount of money they make off of these lawsuits.

Now, what has this to do with Republicans and Democrats?

Lawyers are some of the biggest supporters and contributors to Democrat candidates. This is no secret. All you have to do is look at lists of contributors to Democrat lawmakers all across the country to see the evidence.

Tomorrow (March 26), Joe (This is a big F***ing Deal) Biden, Dick Durbin, and Mary Landrieu are scheduled to attend a Democrat fundraiser in Dallas. Many hot shot local Dems will also be in attendance. Hosted by lawyer Russell Budd, the private party will be closed to media coverage. All donations to Democrat causes will be accepted, with sponsorships available for $10,000, $15,000, and even $30,400, for someone who wants his name printed on the program along with Biden's.

Russell Budd is the principal partner in Baron and Budd, P.C., a Dallas area law firm that, according to its web site, is "Protecting Americans and their communities from corporate misconduct". I won't say anything else about the firm - they're lawyers, after all. If you are at all interested, you can check out their web site and see for yourself what their targeted clientele is. You can determine on your own if this firm would be for or against tort reform.

Russell Budd has been listed as one of Biden's largest contributors throughout Biden's senate career.

Tort reform sounds like something everyone would agree on. Who wouldn't want to get rid of frivilous, nuisance lawsuits? For the answer, follow the money. Once again, all you have to do is follow the money.

Update - As reported by the Dallas Morning News, Biden's message at the fundriser was that Obama's ability to sell his agenda to America has been hampered by the failures of the Bush Admininstration.

"I did not anticipate the degree of cynicism that had been reached by the American public. The greatest damage the Bush Administration did - more damaging than the recession, their foreign policy - was the loss of faith the American people had in their government to deliver on anything. We inherited a cynical republic, and I can't blame them. Eight years of collapse, eight years of being misled about wars." - Joe Biden, Dallas, Mar. 27

That message is guaranteed to generate frothing at the mouths of die hard liberals, and cause them to pull out their checkbooks in hope of buying more elections. No surprise there. What is a surprise is that these idiots actually believe this line of crap. If Obama wins a second term, he will blaming Bush for everything right up until the day he is kicked out of the White House.

Biden's trip to Dallas for the fundraisers (two of them actually) had absolutely no governmental purpose. He was here solely for partisan fund raising efforts. OK, that's expected. However, I would really like to see how much the Democrat party is reimbursing the Federal government for Biden's travel costs - the airplane, the security, the meals, the booze, the cigars, etc.