Make Politicians Achieve Benchmarks to Fund Their Campaigns

Here's another grim example of how our public servants really work for the interests who fund their campaigns.

From USA Today:

WASHINGTON — Senators who raised millions of dollars in campaign donations from pharmaceutical interests secured industry-friendly changes to a landmark drug-safety bill, according to public records and interviews.

The bill, which passed 93-1, grants the Food and Drug Administration broad new authority to monitor the safety of drugs after they are approved. It addressed some shortcomings that allowed the painkiller Vioxx to stay on the market for years after initial signs that it could cause heart attacks.

However, the powers granted to the FDA in the bill's original version were pared back during private meetings. And efforts to curb conflicts of interest among FDA advisers and allow consumers to buy cheaper drugs from other countries were defeated in close votes.

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This kind of thing happens all the time. It's legal. It's damn near mandatory. It reinforces, once again, the obvious conclusion that these policians are addicted to power and money and will act in the best interests of those who give them power and money.

I'm thinking that we go with public funding, but not for incumbents. Only candidates who have never run for office qualify for public funding, say $500,000 to $2 million depending on the race. The incumbent will have to reach BENCHMARKS of public service while in office to insure that they will receive public funding for re-election.

VIDEO: DCCC ad makes the case against Rep. Heather Wilson's relationship with the drug lobby.


TAGS: Lobbyists, Campaign Finance, Heather Wilson, Pharmaceutical Industry