Lobby E-Mails Show Depth of Obama Ties to Drug Industry
Source: NY Times
WASHINGTON After weeks of quiet talks, drug industry lobbyists were growing nervous. If they were to cut a deal with the White House on overhauling health care, they needed to be sure President Obama would stop a proposal by his liberal allies intended to bring down medicine prices.
On June 3, 2009, one of the lobbyists e-mailed Nancy-Ann DeParle, the presidents top health care adviser. Ms. DeParle sent a message back reassuring the lobbyist. Although Mr. Obama was overseas, she wrote, she and other top officials had made decision, based on how constructive you guys have been, to oppose importation on the bill.
Just like that, Mr. Obamas staff abandoned his support for the reimportation of prescription medicines at lower prices and with it solidified a growing compact with an industry he had vilified on the campaign trail the year before. Central to Mr. Obamas drive to overhaul the nations health care system was an unlikely collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry that forced unappealing trade-offs.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/09/us/politics/e-mails-reveal-extent-of-obamas-deal-with-industry-on-health-care.html?_r=1&hp
Dont call me Shirley
(10,998 posts)rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)that the NY Times isnt the only source. Can you spell denial?
alp227
(32,045 posts)Guess what? That reporter was Tim Carney of...(drum roll) DC's right-wing tabloid Washington Examiner!
The interview is at the 1 hour 8 minute mark of this video
http://www.livestream.com/thomhartmann/video?clipId=pla_c6e483de-e6cd-4102-a1c6-a2d3be783b47
rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)I wouldnt be surprised if it was. But I try to keep an open mind. If the evidence can be debunked please let me know. But in this case there is a lot of smoke and that usually means there is fire. Big Pharm came out looking like a rose. Did they make deals with the President?
alp227
(32,045 posts)rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)dinopipie
(84 posts)Simple yes or no answer
Did or did not President Obama cut a deal with the pharmaceutical companies?
I and millions of other say yes.
If you have some proof he did not then I would love to see it.
_ed_
(1,734 posts)Are you suggesting that the NYT should hide this to help Obama? Isn't that what we've been bitching about concerning Fox News for the last decade?
RufusTFirefly
(8,812 posts)Iliyah
(25,111 posts)now bring some dirt on Mittens, y'know, the guy who like to dress up cop, but want to fire them, go figure.
bloomington-lib
(946 posts)djean111
(14,255 posts)There is absolutely nothing Obama could do that would make me vote for a republican, because it is the entire republican agenda that is abhorrent to me. Romney is just a front puppet.
JoePhilly
(27,787 posts)frylock
(34,825 posts)it's not a smear if it's the truth ffs.
djean111
(14,255 posts)this is old news, and not worth voting for Romney because of it.
If we were choosing between two Dem candidates, then that would be a different story.
In my opinion, there is nothing that Obama did - that I don't like - that Romney wouldn't double down on.
Leontius
(2,270 posts)Democratic party stands on this type of issue, with the people or with the corporations. It's clear he doesn't stand with the people here.
MrSlayer
(22,143 posts)Sell the people out to a bloodsucking industry? Say it isn't so!
bhikkhu
(10,720 posts)" - millions of Americans are receiving free preventive services and getting cheaper prescription drugs, Marilyn Tavenner, the interim administrator of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said in a statement Tuesday."...and $1.5 billion in savings.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/12/07/health-care-reform-returns-surprising-1-5-billion-medicare-savings.html
It sounds like Obama worked out a pretty good deal with them which brought costs down and kept the jobs in the US. If costs were the only reason people wanted to import pharmaceuticals, and costs were the main issue that was dealt with, then how is that not good?
dinopipie
(84 posts)So you must have no problem with the GOP intentionally crashing the US economy so they can get more Pubs in office and make President Obama a 1 term president.
They are getting their desired result are they not?
bhikkhu
(10,720 posts)where is the cause for criticism?
Every means and every end is not equivalent.
Octafish
(55,745 posts)Paging Dr. Emanuel. Paging Dr. Emanuel...
Safetykitten
(5,162 posts)secondwind
(16,903 posts)can amend it and tweak it as we wish, but at least it is ON the books.
No mean feat!