What am I talking about? Well, let's start from the fact that John Myers is all over this California politics stuff. He went through the most recent finance filings and found that the CDP had received $10,000 from Anthem Blue Cross?
Really? John Burton, as chair of the CDP, thought it was cool to solicit and take money from Anthem Blue Cross? One of the groups he was railing against during the waning days of the health care fight?
I was sort of amazed by that and needed to get to the bottom of this. So, I called up the CDP and said "What you talking about CDP?"
Turns out, the check arrived, unsolicited, from Anthem Blue Cross late in the work day. The staff, being a bit hesitant about a $10K check from a big health insurer, set the check aside for Chairman Burton's approval. However, this being 24-hour reporting days, the staff, in constant reporting mode, wrote it up right away and filed it.
I've been told, and have no reason to doubt it, that the check was never cashed, and will not be cashed. It will be returned promptly.
But, this brings up a good question. Should the party return such unsolicited funds? Certainly, we should not be courting these companies, that much should be in no question at all. But, if they are dropping off checks, couldn't the party use that money against the insurer? Spend it sending mail into swing districts to support representatives that will support single payer health care?
Yeah, they wouldn't send any more checks, but so what? Anthem knew who they were sending the check to, John Burton, who wrote and got passed SB 2, one of the most progressive health care reform packages ever passed in America. Of course, ABC didn't like that, and spent heavily to repeal the measure. (Correction: Anthem Blue Cross didn't actually get involved in SB 2, but have been involved on the wrong side in pretty much every other health care fight in California)
What say you, Calitics folks? Would you have cashed that check?
