Has Wal-Mart Really Changed Sides In The Health Care Reform Battle? Will They Crack The Whip On Blanche Lincoln?

In this morning's L.A. Times David Lazarus confides confusion that one of the country's most politically reactionary corporations, Wal-Mart, is taking a pro-health care reform stance. "It's not clear what the retailer's motives may be," he writes, "nor does it truly matter. Wal-Mart is to be commended for taking a stand-- something far too many businesses have been reluctant to do." Wal-Mart is also one of the country's most hated corporations. They sell cheap slave-labor products, primarily from China, putting American workers out of work, depressing the wage base here, devastating normal American retailers and acting as a de facto monopolistic price-fixer across the American economy. (They're also trying to force their own standards on popular culture, something well illustrated currently by their mud-wrestling match with Green Day.) And they force their poorly paid workers to get health care from strapped government entities. Every time they want to open a new store in an area where the inhabitants haven't had their brains rotted out from environmental catastrophe, Wal-Mart winds up in a legal battle with the residents who don't want them around.

Do you think Mr. Lazarus is confused about Wal-Mart's motivations because he doesn't know any of this? Or maybe he just doesn't care. "Whatever the company's motive, retail behemoth Wal-Mart Stores Inc. made healthcare reform significantly more likely last week by throwing its weight behind a requirement that all employers provide health coverage."

Did they? Wal-Mart can influence a great many senators, particularly Republicans. The Walton family and the Wal-Mart PAC contribute a great deal of money, almost all of it to corrupt right-wing legislators. So far this election cycle the PAC has donated to 8 senators-- Evan Bayh (D-IN), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Robert Bennett (R-UT), Richard Burr (R-NC), Jim DeMint (R-SC), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Arlen Specter (R-D- PA), and John Thune (R-SD)-- all of whom oppose health care reform. They also own two senators out-right, both nominal Democrats, albeit right-wing anti-family Democrats, Arkansas corporate shills Mark Pryor and Blanche Lincoln... yes that Blanche Lincoln, widely referred to Inside-the-Beltway as the Senator from Wal-Mart. She's never opposed them on anything... not ever. Neither has Pryor. When it actually looked like Obama and the Democratic majority could pass Employee Free Choice, Wal-Mart persuaded Lincoln to serve notice-- publicly-- that she would reverse her previous position (on the identical bill-- although one Wal-Mart didn't care about knowing Bush could always veto it if worse came to worst). She declared she was not only against Employee Free Choice this year but that she would join the Republican Party filibuster to prevent it coming to a vote.

Anticipating Wal-Mart's opposition to health care reform, she jumped out in front of the parade and declared she opposes the public option. If Wal-Mart really supports health care reform, all they have to do is tug her leash-- and Pryor's-- and that's two "no" votes that become "yes" votes in an instant.

This is Wal-Mart, right? The same company that's drawn fire from unions and municipalities for not providing sufficient coverage to its own 1.4 million U.S. workers?

The same company that just a few years ago was fighting aggressively against similar proposals at the state level?

"Wal-Mart has been working hard to improve its image on healthcare," said Paul Ginsburg, president of the Center for Studying Health System Change, a Washington think tank. "They've moved from being a bad guy to a good guy."

That was the consensus among various healthcare experts I spoke with. While none could say for sure what Wal-Mart's motive may be, there was general agreement that whatever the company is up to, its contribution to the reform debate is a positive one.

"This blows a hole in business opposition to reform efforts," said Judy Feder, a Georgetown University public policy professor who also serves as a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress... Many healthcare activists are reluctant to go on the record criticizing Wal-Mart for fear they'll discourage the company from continuing down the reform path. But privately, they say it's possible Wal-Mart is backing mandates as a way to head off more onerous legislation.

Specifically, the company may be trying to put the kibosh on a "free-rider provision" that would require employers to contribute to individual policies or government programs like Medicaid if workers have no other recourse for coverage.

About 52% of Wal-Mart employees are insured through the company, up from roughly 46% several years ago. The rest have to look elsewhere for coverage.

Often, coverage ends up being provided by taxpayers. As the nation's largest employer, Wal-Mart would perhaps have the most to lose from a free-rider provision.

The Asheville Citizen Times may not reach as many readers as the L.A. Times but they probably reach as many Wal-Mart shoppers. That paper claimed today that Wal-Mart's move into Obama's camp "represents a seismic shift" and a "game-changer" and they quote Wal-Mart's CEO, Mike Drew, at length:

“During the debate, we must keep our eyes trained on one clear imperative: reforming health care is necessary not just to improve the health of all Americans, but also to remove the burden that is crushing America’s businesses and hampering our competitiveness in the global economy. ... From a business perspective, health reform could not be more critical. … We are for an employer mandate which is fair and broad in its coverage, but any alternative to an employer mandate should not create barriers to hiring entry level-employees. …With smart, targeted policies, we can create a financially-viable health care system that enables workers to change jobs without losing their care, and allows businesses to become more nimble.”

The company says it's "open" about the public option and that it will have a statement to make "at some point." Until that point, unless Senator Lincoln makes up her own mind, the Campaign For Health Care Choice will continue informing Arkansas voters that Blanche Lincoln works for big corporate CEOs and not for them and their families. If you'd like to help us keep the pressure on Lincoln-- and other members of the American House of Lords-- please consider a donation at Blue America.