Washinton Watch for June 22, 2009

• By GERARD SHIELDS
• Advocate Washington bureau
• Published: Jun 22, 2009 - Page: 5B

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U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy made a national television appearance last week to lay out his position on President Barack Obama’s health-care reform plan.

The gastroenterologist was interviewed by Fox Business in what the station called an “exclusive.” The Baton Rouge Republican is a member of the American Medical Association that Obama addressed last week.

Instead of a government-run insurance plan to cover 47 million uninsured Americans, Cassidy said he would like to see the government provide vouchers or tax credits to allow the uninsured to buy private insurance.

Cassidy said that he is open to coming up with a compromise though he hasn’t been asked by House Democrats.

“I’m not dogmatic on this,” Cassidy said. “We’ve not been approached by our Democratic colleagues.”

Vitter praying for Ensign
The big news in Washington, D.C., last week was the admission of an extramarital affair by U.S. Sen. John Ensign, a Nevada Republican.

Ensign was separated from his wife at the time and said he had the affair with a married campaign staffer. Reporters sought out a comment from U.S. Sen. David Vitter about the Ensign revelation. The Louisiana Republican had his own troubles two years ago when he announced that he had committed “a serious sin” in his past.

The acknowledgment came after Vitter’s phone number was found on the client list of a high-priced prostitution ring operated by a woman dubbed “the D.C. Madam.”

Vitter last week lent his support to Ensign.

“I’m certainly praying for the Ensign family,” Vitter told one reporter. “I understand the personal difficulties. They’re certainly in all our prayers.”

Landrieu position criticized
U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu was the subject of an attack ad last week from an unusual source, MoveOn.org.
The organization that traditionally backs Democrats criticized the Louisiana Democrat for opposing Obama’s health-care plan.

“MoveOn’s 25,000 members in Louisiana strongly urge Sen. Landrieu to support a strong public health insurance option that will help lowers costs and cover all Americans,” the 60-second radio spot said.

The group criticized Landrieu for taking $1.6 million in donations from health-care and insurance interests since being elected to the Senate in 1996.