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Do you understand now why CREW wanted all the details pertaining to WH/Medical Industry meetings
If it wasn't for the memo leaked to the Huffington Post, and made public today (top story in TPM), we wouldn't know about the secret White House/Pharmaceutical industry deal whereby the former agreed to not import drugs from Canada.
Unless...the White House had complied with the request of the Center for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which sought every record possible of the meetings between the White House and the pharmaceutical industry (and coal industry).
The White House released the names, but not the records asked, in the form of audio, video, photos, etc.
Some hard-core White House loyalists in this and other progressive boards reacted with anger at the request, arguing that not everything should be made public.
Unless...the White House had complied with the request of the Center for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which sought every record possible of the meetings between the White House and the pharmaceutical industry (and coal industry).
The White House released the names, but not the records asked, in the form of audio, video, photos, etc.
Some hard-core White House loyalists in this and other progressive boards reacted with anger at the request, arguing that not everything should be made public.
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This was hardly a secret, there have been several blogs about it here at TPM.
August 13, 2009 5:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
And while I'll agree the details were not as forth coming as they should have been. The $80 Billion dollar deal with Pharma was announced loud and clear by Obama on June 29th.
August 13, 2009 6:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
Lawrence O'Donnell said, it was a non-deal anyway; there is no way to hold either side accountable. Sort of a 'gentleman's agreement.
August 13, 2009 6:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
And Robert Reich said, "I'm a strong supporter of universal health insurance, and a fan of the Obama administration. But I'm appalled by the deal the White House has made with the pharmaceutical industry's lobbying arm to buy their support."
He also said the deal "undermines democracy."
August 13, 2009 8:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, but it's the typical sort of "gentleman's agreement" that Democrats are regularly snookered into in DC. The drug industry gives a promise to reduce costs by X amount over so many years (with fingers crossed mind you) and the administration agrees to make sure the final bill prohibits numerous things like negotiating drug prices and importing from Canada. Thus, if the bill passes the industry has it's side of the deal without question but there's no obligation, nothing to force or compel the industry to fulfill it's part of the bargain and you know that as sure as shootin they will find some reason why they just couldn't cut costs that dramatically and the public is, once again, screwed.
August 14, 2009 2:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
The details of the deal were not so loud and clear to the Huffington Post's Ryan Grim, who reported on August 7th that "Just exactly what Obama promised in return wasn't made public and was the subject of intense debate on Capitol Hill Thursday, as senators wondered aloud if the White House had tied their legislative hands.
August 13, 2009 8:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
releasing the names of who was in the meetings would not have made one bit of difference in health care negotiations. what exactly would anyone have done if it was known? protest? ha!
August 14, 2009 2:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
CREW asked for more than the names of the participants.
""we seek records of any kind, including electronic records, audiotapes,videotapes, photographs, and computer print--outs. Our request includes any telephone messages, voice mail messages, and daily agenda and calendars and information about scheduled meetings."
http://www.citizensforethics.org/files/FOIA%20Request%20(6-22-09).pdf
August 14, 2009 6:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
There is not one tooth in the deal...So lets just get all the info out there so the nitpickers can do their thing and divert attention from really getting things done!
The 'offer' was about getting the congress to NOT regulate the industry...Obama may have let them do what he let the clintons do---hang themselves by their own verbiage...It has worked well in the past!
August 14, 2009 10:09 AM | Reply | Permalink
Because they want health care reform to fail and so they, like you, are spending every fucking day in August attacking the goddamn Democrats instead of fighting GOP lies and smears??
They might as well join that HuffPo ex-Politico jackass and type up some fake memos to waste our time.
Meanwhile HCR is being swiftboating.
Real good fucking team players.
August 14, 2009 1:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well, I do understand and support the CREW request.
But at the same time, don't think a memo prepared after the fact by a lobbyist and then leaked by the same is exactly "proof" with specificity of a deal either (and likely wouldn't have been revealed by the CREW request as it appears to exist completely outside of White House discussions). There doesn't seem to be ANY confirmation other than the lobbyists own assertions that this thing is even "real".
Now, why would a health care lobbyist be motivated to get progressives fighting among themselves rather than focusing on their enemies? Hmmmm. Seems like a bullshit red herring to me.
August 14, 2009 1:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
Good point. I believe that full disclosure would keep these kind of lobbyists from spreading false claims, if he is in fact lying.
August 14, 2009 2:34 PM | Reply | Permalink