We already know Max Baucus (D-MT) is not a closer.
Nice guy. A decent vote, most of the time. And as he'll frequently remind you if he thinks you're criticizing him from the left, a pro-choice vote from Montana.
But not a closer.
Baucus made a personal promise to deliver on strict oversight of the TARP, and I don't know anyone who's particularly happy with the way that worked out, though he did eventually get a Special IG placed.
Baucus took six extra three months -- when time was of the essence -- to deliver a health care "blueprint" that represented absolutely no progress whatsoever, even though he claims to have been working on it for over a year.
And all the while, other work that Baucus claims jurisdiction over has been piling up.
Now he wants more on his plate:
Behind closed doors, Sen. Baucus has been staking his claim on major aspects of the climate bill, including financing for a cap-and-trade system.
His power play could put Baucus at the helm of the Obama administration’s domestic agenda, giving an unpredictable Montana Democrat control over legislative proposals that could define the Democratic Party for years to come.
The article, because it's in Politico, tries to make the case that this should be worrisome to liberals, because Baucus has been swinging to the conservative side of late, especially when he's trying to get "bipartisan compromise." But Democrats in general ought to be more concerned with the fact that Baucus has been generally ineffective in getting his work done, whether the end product is conservative, liberal, or otherwise.
It may be an impossible situation, given the Senators he's forced to work with. I'm certainly not saying I could get a deal that he couldn't. I'm just saying it's his job, and he hasn't performed well enough to merit more responsibility.
If he's making a jurisdictional play on which there's discretion, I would advise the leadership to steer away from Finance, simply on the grounds that if they'd like to get a damn bill at some point, they're better off somewhere -- anywhere -- else. And really, if he's making a play on which there's not that much discretion, I'd advise the leadership to think about what some other Senators are reportedly discussing in private: casting around for more capable hands for the Finance gavel.
UPDATE: As if to top it all off, TIME notes that Baucus is tinkering with his train wreck of a health care bill... to appease Joe "You Lie!" Wilson!
The controversy over Republican Rep. Joe Wilson's shouting out "You Lie!" at the President over his claim that illegal immigrants wouldn't benefit from health-care reform apparently sparked some reconsideration of the relevant language. "We really thought we'd resolved this question of people who are here illegally, but as we reflected on the President's speech last night we wanted to go back and drill down again," said Senator Kent Conrad, one of the Democrats in the talks after a meeting Thursday morning. Baucus later that afternoon said the group would put in a proof of citizenship requirement to participate in the new health exchange — a move likely to inflame the left.
Forget "the left." This move should inflame people who like to get shit done.
Enough with this guy. If you go to lunch with Max Baucus, he'll take six months to order, and just end up saying, "I'll have what he's having."