The New Louisiania Purchase - 2009 Style

I know both the Republican and Democratic parties do this type of stuff, but it's still an example of why I don't trust the government.

From the Washington Post:

Staffers on Capitol Hill were calling it the Louisiana Purchase.

On the eve of Saturday's showdown in the Senate over health-care reform, Democratic leaders still hadn't secured the support of Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), one of the 60 votes needed to keep the legislation alive. 

The wavering lawmaker was offered a sweetener: at least $100 million in extra federal money for her home state. 

And so it came to pass that Landrieu walked onto the Senate floor mid-afternoon Saturday to announce her aye vote -- and to trumpet the financial "fix" she had arranged for Louisiana. "I am not going to be defensive," she declared. "And it's not a $100 million fix. It's a $300 million fix."