How government works

How government works: via Glenn Greenwald.

• Start as the Chief Counsel for the Senate Finance Committee in charge of health and entitlement issues.
• Leave job to move to health insurance giant WellPoint to serve as its Vice President for Public Policy and External Affairs, lording over their lobbying and other government-influencing activities.
• Once it looks like Democrats are actually going to get off their asses on health care, move back to Senate to become top aide to Democratic Sen. Max Baucus, the Senate Finance Committee Chairman who would oversee the drafting of the healthcare bill, after his top aide leaves to become lobbyist for health care industry.
• Effectively write the entire health care bill and fill it with all kinds of carve-outs and concessions to the insurance industry as well as killing the public option.
• Join the Obama administration to help implement the new law.

I'm not sure of the next step, as it hasn't happened yet, but I'm pretty sure it's "go back to Wellpoint to earn millions for the work you did for them."

Isn't it wonderful? Join us next time when we recount how this exact same scenario happens in the financial reform process with an executive who works for... probably Goldman Sachs. Yeah, Goldman Sachs.