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Blue Dog opposition may be ‘underwritten’ by pharmaceutical giants
John Byrne
Raw Story
Friday, July 31, 2009
Typical “Blue Dog” Democrats — moderate members of Congress who have been the most ardent among Obama’s own party in thwarting ongoing national healthcare legislation — receive 25 percent more campaign cash from the healthcare and insurance industry than other Democrats, an investigation has found.
In fact, a Blue Dog’s average receipts from the medical industry was just $3,625 less than that of the average Republican. Republicans have worked to block plans to enact universal health insurance legislation, saying that it would restrict individual choice and lead to the rationing of medical care.
Blue Dog Democrats say they’re for moderate fiscal policy and aim to reduce the overall cost of a health insurance measure. It appears, however, that their ideological opposition is underwritten by the industry most affected by proposed changes.
Notably, the Blue Dog Political Action Committee has received lavish financial support from pharmaceutical giants Pfizer and Novartis; insurers WellPoint and Northwestern Mutual and the trade group American’s Health Insurance Plans.
The average Blue Dog got more than half (54 percent) of total 2009 financial contributions from the medical care industry. Its PAC has more than doubled in size since 2005 — at a time when both national Republican and Democratic campaign committees reported double-digit drops in funding.
“PAC fundraising has increased in every cycle since the Blue Dogs founding in 1995,” the watchdog Center for Public Integrity writes. “Between the 2005-2006 and 2007-2008 cycles, as fundraising for the National Republican Congressional Committee declined 33 percent and fundraising for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee grew by just 26 percent, the Blue Dog PAC more than doubled its receipts. In all, 357 political action committees donated to the Blue Dog PAC in 2007-2008, up from 223 in the previous cycle.”
Blue Dog Democrats have, on average, received more than $10,000 each from the healthcare industry.
“The support for Blue Dogs from health care professionals is even more evident,” notes campaign watchdog OpenSecrets. “Health pros are among the top 20 industry donors to 38 Blue Dogs since 1989 and are the No. 1 donor for five of them. Health pros have also given the typical Blue Dog $47,550 more than the typical non-Blue Dog Democrat in the House.”
The American Medical Association opposes the creation of a “public plan,” an option that would let Americans buy insurance from a government-run not-for-profit. Such a plan appears to be dead in the Senate. The public plan is also vehemently opposed by the private health insurance industry, which argues that they will be bankrupted by a government-run option that could survive on below-market reimbursement rates from hospitals and doctors.
“The Blue Dogs are carrying water for the industry instead of their constituents,” Richard Kirsch, national campaign manager for Health Care for America Now, a progressive pro-reform group, told The Washington Post. “In effect, the Blue Dogs and the Republicans are taking positions that are closer all the time and further away from what most Americans want.”
Speaking in defense of the moderate Democrats, former Rep. Charles Stenholm (D-TX) told the Post, “The idea behind giving to a group like the Blue Dogs is that you believe that they will agree with your positions most of the time. The same is true for liberals or anyone else. It’s normal in politics.”
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July 31st, 2009 at 4:46 pm
Insurance denies vital testing to expecting mother. Please help! http://ow.ly/iESR
July 31st, 2009 at 5:18 pm
husseins’ health plan includes a national I.D, card that not only gives the district of criminals acess to your health records, but everything else, including your bank account !!!!!!!
July 31st, 2009 at 8:46 pm
You have no idea what the Illuminati Order is that’s coming…
http://www.AlienTrend.com
ANAGRAMABABYLONIMONAPEA Reply:
August 1st, 2009 at 10:44 am
DOGMEN
August 1st, 2009 at 4:53 pm
here we go here we go again with the name calling i just consider them and place them all in the same group criminals
August 1st, 2009 at 4:54 pm
im not calling them names im just saying what they are !
August 1st, 2009 at 6:59 pm
Does anyone have a list of what treatments and medications will be covered under universal healthcare and which will not?
August 2nd, 2009 at 7:02 am
More misdirection, “it’s the Blue Dogs fault!”, they’re against peace on earth and puppies too.
How about a little inconvenient disclosure; when the private medical insurance industry gave Bambi more money than all the other candidates from both parties combined, they weren’t buying reform. They knew they were riding the right pony.
They are giving us an abomination….they’ll just call it reform.
For the well-off, the largest tax increase in decades. At the other end of the spectrum, the poor are being force-fed the largest unfunded mandate in the history of speaking with vowels. Based on the “Ted Kennedy” model: a family of four earning $33,000/yr will have to pay out $9,000 before Bambi’s friends ever pay a dime. And all the while keep those premiums on time and in full, or you’ll be charged with a TAX CRIME. This is not a credit issue! All fees, fines and penalties will be assessed and collected by the IRS.
Pitting these two groups against each other is just part of the deception, people paying more taxes will blame the uninsured, even though none of their money will actually go to making health insurance more afforable. The uninsured are being told they can’t have “single-payer” because rich people won’t pay even more. It’s just another case of “The Three Card Obama.” Remember the “peace candidate?” Fake progressives give us dreamy scenerios of how good they have it in Finnland, so called conservatives scare us with “Socialized Medicine” and other scare tactics, both sides know (or could know) that neither one of these ideas are even on the table. What has already been agreed to is a bailout of the private medical insurance industry. And don’t fall for the “subsidized” conard, the projected cost of the per person is already higher than equally cheesy pay-nothing plans already available. The only difference is this plan will be forced on people who can afford it least. After creating a whole new class of tax criminals from the very people who put their sorry ungrateful asses in power, by 2010 the Democrats will left with running on the slogan “Just Shut Up and Vote.” Go ahead… say dynasty. I dare you.
August 2nd, 2009 at 8:34 am
Until we get rid of lobbyists we will never have true meaningful government. THe govt is bougth and paid for day-after-day. They buy votes with the money. They are all criminals and need to be removed from office. Anyone who takes lobyist money and the lobyist should all be sitting in jail and never be able to obtail a govt job ever again.
August 2nd, 2009 at 5:15 pm
EMERGENCY UPDATE :
Bird Flu Distributed by Dept of Homeland Security
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0jx7D1KNYo
August 3rd, 2009 at 12:44 am
They are all criminals and need to be removed from office. Anyone who takes lobyist money and the lobyist should all be sitting in jail and never be able to obtail a govt job ever again.
August 7th, 2009 at 5:52 am
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