Sunday, November 15, 2009
His master's voice
With apologies to RCA, it looks like Nipper, the famous RCA mascot, can be replaced by at least 42 members of Congress. And their master's voice comes not from a vinyl disc, but from lobbyists for the biotech firms seeking a patent mortal lock on their products.
It would be a great idea, if like NASCAR drivers, Congresscritters had to wear decals listing all their supporters in proportion to their support.
In the official record of the historic House debate on overhauling health care, the speeches of many lawmakers echo with similarities. Often, that was no accident.Working hard for a foreign company to profit. That many of these products are based on publicly funded research which these companies do not pay for is just our tough luck.
Statements by more than a dozen lawmakers were ghostwritten, in whole or in part, by Washington lobbyists working for Genentech, one of the world’s largest biotechnology companies.
E-mail messages obtained by The New York Times show that the lobbyists drafted one statement for Democrats and another for Republicans.
The lobbyists, employed by Genentech and by two Washington law firms, were remarkably successful in getting the statements printed in the Congressional Record under the names of different members of Congress.
Genentech, a subsidiary of the Swiss drug giant Roche, estimates that 42 House members picked up some of its talking points — 22 Republicans and 20 Democrats, an unusual bipartisan coup for lobbyists.
It would be a great idea, if like NASCAR drivers, Congresscritters had to wear decals listing all their supporters in proportion to their support.
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