{"id":3652,"date":"2009-11-15T10:25:30","date_gmt":"2009-11-15T14:25:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/?p=3652"},"modified":"2009-11-15T13:59:41","modified_gmt":"2009-11-15T17:59:41","slug":"discouraging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/index.php\/2009\/11\/15\/discouraging\/","title":{"rendered":"discouraging…"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In House, Many Spoke With One Voice: Lobbyists’<\/font><\/strong><\/a>
New York Times<\/font><\/strong>
November 15, 2009<\/div>\n

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“One of the reasons I have long supported the U.S. biotechnology industry is that it is a homegrown success story that has been an engine of job creation in this country.<\/font><\/strong>” This written statement by Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina on the health care bill was identical to one by Representative Blaine Luetkemeyer and used language suggested by lobbyists.<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Yep. That’s Joe "You Lie!<\/font><\/strong>" Wilson from South Carolina. This article in this morning’s New York Times highlights a simple fact. The bloc voting Republicans represent<\/font><\/strong><\/em> the Medical Industry, not the people who elected these Representatives<\/font><\/strong><\/em>. Worse, they represent<\/font><\/strong><\/em> these business interests to their constituents as something other than what they are. They talk about Socialism, Communism, the National Debt, etc. without acknowledging that they are essentially ‘bought votes.’<\/div>\n
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And they sure don’t talk about the Health Care costs that are rising faster than the temperature of the planet. Here<\/a><\/strong>‘s what they talk about:<\/div>\n
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THE PRESIDENT<\/font><\/strong>: … There are also those who claim that our reform efforts would insure illegal immigrants. This, too, is false. The reforms – the reforms I’m proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally.
AUDIENCE MEMBER<\/font><\/strong>: You lie!
THE PRESIDENT<\/font><\/strong>: It’s not true. And one more misunderstanding I want to clear up — under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions, and federal conscience laws will remain in place…<\/div>\n
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Pretty discouraging…<\/div>\n
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UPDATE<\/font><\/strong>: Apparently I’m not the only one flabergasted by today’s article:<\/div>\n
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Biotech Industry Needs 42 Representatives to Try to Refute Jane Hamsher<\/a><\/strong>
By emptywheel<\/font><\/strong>
11\/15\/2009<\/div>\n

On October 29, Jane wrote a scathing post<\/a><\/strong> about what Anna Eshoo’s provision to give biosimilars a route to approval would do, focusing on the 12 years–and probably more–of monopoly it would grant. The following day–October 30–Eshoo responded<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

On November 2, Jane ripped apart<\/a><\/strong> some of Eshoo’s details. She reminded Eshoo that no lesser legislative whiz than Henry Waxman has made the same argument<\/a><\/strong> Jane was making. She pointed out that taxpayers have already paid<\/a><\/strong> for many of these drugs. Meanwhile, a bunch of earnest medical students started pressuring law-makers directly<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

And then, the NYT tells us<\/a><\/strong>, the biotech industry started recruiting Representatives to publicly state their support for the biologics measure.<\/div>\n