Posted on 12/16/2009 9:53:47 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Guess who just discovered the Jim Geraghty Axiom? Dana Milbank of the Washington Post reports that Barack Obama reversed his get-tough-with-Big-Pharma routine when it came to actually, er, getting tough with Big Pharma. How did Obama’s allies on Capitol Hill feel about it? “Awkward”:
On the campaign trail, Barack Obama vowed to take on the drug industry by allowing Americans to import cheaper prescription medicine. “We’ll tell the pharmaceutical companies ‘thanks, but no, thanks’ for the overpriced drugs — drugs that cost twice as much here as they do in Europe and Canada,” he said back then.
On Tuesday, the matter came to the Senate floor — and President Obama forgot the “no, thanks” part. Siding with the pharmaceutical lobby, the administration successfully fought against the very idea Obama had championed.
“It’s got to be a little awkward,” said Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.).
How bad did it get? John McCain wound up as the voice of populism:
He also said during his presidential campaign that he wanted to “let Medicare negotiate for lower prices” for drugs. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, when he was in Congress, also championed reimportation. Yet now, after their successful battle against it, the two are expected to fight off a similar legislative effort to allow Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices.
Even before the vote came, it had become clear that President Obama’s aides had the votes to kill the proposal Senator Obama once co-sponsored. This, said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), “contributes to the enormous cynicism on the part of the American people about the way we do business here.” To Dorgan, he pledged: “I will be by his side as we go back and back and back again on this issue until justice and fairness is done and we defeat the special interests of the pharmaceutical industry which have taken over the White House and will take over this vote.”
Milbank and Democrats would have an easier task in counting the promises Obama keeps. Thus far, he’s managed to mostly keep his word on Afghanistan, and, um … now, give me a minute …
There are good reasons for this reversal. First, the administration already got $80 billion in concessions from the pharmaceutical industry and their support for ObamaCare, although Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid may put both in jeopardy by reneging on the White House’s deal. Second, the Canadian prices are artificially low, the result of Canadian intervention. The pharmaceuticals make up the difference in the US, which allows them to pursue a lot of R&D that only has about a 10% success rate. Forcing them to sell at artificially low prices will mean a lot less R&D, much less capital to pursue new cures, and the stagnation of health care rather than progress.
Of course, it would have been better for Obama to inform himself better before issuing foolish campaign promises that he would later have to reverse. But that would have meant less populist pap, and probably would have put Hillary Clinton in the White House.
but if your a Republican your college thesis is fair game.
There is a jackpot of democrats promises and claims to take advantage of. Hope it is put to good use. Last year Obama opposed personal mandate.
Where are all the stimulus promises videos?
Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.
There is reality, and there is liberal loopy-land. Obamao was getting tough with “Big Pharma” when he was loony tooning lunatics in loopy-land. Now he is a loony toon in reality. It’s like moving back and forth in parallel dimensions.
Wow! That's pretty bad!
The list, ping
If it didn’t have such tragic consequences for the rest of us I would laugh so let’s see paid off by the pharmaceutical companies, the banks, Imelt (GE), Soros, etc., etc.
Do you think his base will ever catch on? This is a pretty scathing article from another leftist add this to Taiibi maybe some of them are...
The president famously told bankers he stood between them and pitchforks. Presumably he meant the pitchforks are country rubes like myself and 250 million Americans who think that when troops give their lives to serve our nation, bankers who get huge bailouts might ask what they can do for our country, instead of enriching themselves to levels that historians will discuss for a hundred years.
It is not the job of the president to protect the fat cats from the proper wrath of the people. It is the job of the president to protect the people from the improper abuse of the fat cats.
And now: Congress may pass a healthcare bill that would help insurance CEOs making $10 million a year spend a generation raising premiums even further, while certain senators who take their money work to defeat a public option that would serve the nation and lower the deficit and that is supported by a majority of the people.
And now: Drug companies that concluded a secret deal with the White House to raise drug prices by almost 10 percent work to defeat proposals to allow import of lower-priced drugs that would serve the consumer and lower the deficit, and that are supported by a majority of the people.
http://thehill.com/opinion/columnists/brent-budowsky/72169-obamas-fat-cats
Oh, they know it alright.
I have had some interesting exchanges with hard core socialized medicine supporters and they just think that everybody does it, so you're a hypocrite for pointing out their guy does it. (And besides- Bush was the DEVIL)
The refrain is that "we have to do something". They just don't care about corruption if it comes from a Democrat president. It worked that way with Klinton, and the story repeats with Obama. They thought they'd have us with Gore and failed, then with Kerry and failed so they will protect this puppet of the left (and who knows who else) no matter what happens. Paranoia strikes deep.
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“Internal Memo Confirms Big Giveaways In White House Deal With Big Pharma”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/13/internal-memo-confirms-bi_n_258285.html
Well, he simply lied to get elected. Isn't that what corrupt politicians do?
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