Today, Senator Mary Landrieu took the opportunity to blast the public option. It’s particularly egregious given her long history of living off the taxpayers.

Back in June, I wrote a post about Landrieu and her long history of taxpayer funded health insurance. The citizens of Louisiana and federal taxpayers have underwritten Landrieu’s health insurance for most of her adult life and, most likely, a good chunk of her childhood. She doesn’t know what it’s like to fight an insurance company or to be without insurance. I rarely ever do this, but I’m reposting the earlier post in full because she is such a hypocrite. Here it is:

I’m intrigued by Senator Mary Landrieu’s opposition to the public health insurance option. It got me wondering how long she’s had health insurance paid by the government. Now, I know the public option isn’t the same as private health care paid for by the government. But, her opposition to making health care more affordable and more available seems inconsistent with a life that’s had health insurance paid for by taxpayers. From various sources, including her own Senate website, I’ve put together the timeline of Mary Landrieu. She was born in 1955. Her dad, Moon, was in the Louisiana State Legislature from 1960 to 1966, served on the New Orleans City Council from 1966 to 1970 and then was Mayor of New Orleans from 1970 to 1978. Then, he was the HUD Secretary from 1979 to 1981. Landrieu herself entered the Louisiana State Legislature in 1980 and served there until 1988. From there, she became the State Treasurer from 1988 til 1996 when she became a U.S. Senator. That’s quite a history of public service. And, it’s also quite a history of being a beneficiary of government-sponsored benefits.

Now, I don’t know that Moon Landrieu got health care benefits for his family while he served as state rep., city councilor and mayor. But, I do know that right now, the Louisiana legislature provides health care to its members and their families: Legislative members are eligible to participate in health insurance and life insurance plans provided by the Louisiana Office of Group Benefits (OGB.) The state pays approximately 75 percent of the member’s portion of the premium and approximately 50 percent of the premium for the member’s dependents. Legislators are eligible to keep their benefits when they leave office only if they have retired or meet the definition of retirement as provided by the OGB Rules. The legislative Office of Human Resources offers members additional health benefits such as vision and dental coverage, however, the members themselves are responsible for payment of those premiums. Maybe it was different back when Mary was growing up. She should let us know. I do know that as a federal employee, Senator Landrieu has lots of options for health care. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) handles this for Landrieu, her colleagues and their staffs. Funny thing, how someone who grew up in government and has been taken care of by government health care is so averse to giving other people a public option. Mary Landrieu has lived a life with good benefits, maybe she doesn’t get what it’s like for many people. See, taxpayers pay the bulk of Landrieu’s health insurance — and probably have for most of her adult life. She’s been well taken care of. Now, she is taking care of the insurance companies, not the taxpayers. If you’re calling Landrieu’s office, (202)224-5824, see if you can find out for sure how long she’s benefited from health insurance paid with tax dollars. If you’re from Louisiana, you’ve been paying for her family’s health insurance for a long time. Landrieu couldn’t be a bigger hypocrite on this one.

Landrieu better vote for cloture on the final bill, which better include the public option.