CardiovascularRNC Launches Ads Attacking Moderate Dems; PhRMA Considers Huge Campaign
Current ads sponsored by the Republican National Committee prod Democrats, while a very large planned campaign by drug makers could take flight soon.
The Republican National Committee has radio ads in 33 states to pressure 60 moderate House Democrats to oppose the reform proposals drafted by their party"s leadership, CQ Politics reports. CQ Politics rates 41 of those Democrats as "vulnerable" in the 2010 election, indicating that the RNC is looking ahead to that election cycle in addition to weighing in on health reform. An earlier ad by Democrats accused Republicans of attempting to sabotage the health reform debate. An RNC spokeswoman said the new ad holds Democrats who "campaigned on fiscal responsibilityò€¦ accountable to their campaign promises" (Cadei, 7/27).
Meanwhile, the pharmaceutical industry is considering a $100 million ad campaign beginning in September, Bloomberg reports, citing s.
PhRMA, the industry lobbying group, is already planning on "running television commercials in August, in states where pharmaceutical companies have operations, asserting the importance of the drug industry for the economy." The drug makers offered to cut costs by $80 billion over ten years in a deal with the White House, but they also oppose allowing the government to negotiate prices for drugs purchased under the Medicare program, or allowing the reimportation of drugs sold at lower prices outside of the U.S. Some insiders said PhRMA was prepared to stretch its budget to $120 million, and that the content of the ads would depend on the final legislation. (Pettypiece and Burger, 7/28).
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