Slashdot Mirror
Genentech Puts Words In the Mouths of Congress Members
theodp writes "In the official record of the historic House debate on overhauling health care, the speeches of many lawmakers echo with remarkable similarities. Often, that was no accident. Statements by more than a dozen lawmakers were ghostwritten by Washington lobbyists working for Genentech. E-mail obtained by the NY Times shows that lobbyists drafted one statement for Democrats and another for Republicans. Genentech, a subsidiary of 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. ... The statements were not intended to change the bill, which was not open for much amendment during the debate. They were meant to show bipartisan support for certain provisions, even though the vote on passage generally followed party lines. ... Asked about the Congressional statements, a lobbyist close to Genentech said: 'This happens all the time. There was nothing nefarious about it.'"
If something happens all the time, it does not mean there is nothing nefarious about it. Quite the contrary.
"This happens all the time" != "There was nothing nefarious about it."
The entire point of republican democracy, as opposed to direct democracy, is that making representation a full-time job allows our representatives to put the time and effort into being informed about the issues. It scares and angers me that they try to accomplish that by listening to lobbyists.
The original Howling Frog is a fictional character and has no UID.
Aye... Genentech wasn't doing *anything* wrong simply by providing information and a point of view. The people to be mad at here are our congressmen... who are apparently so busy "raising funds" and standing in front of things that they don't take the time to actually F'ing LEARN about the topics they legislate on. And apparently, NOR DOES THEIR STAFF anymore. THOSE are the people to be mad as hell at.
Its bad enough that the voters are often idiots... but the idiocracy keeps creeping deeper into the leadership as well.
Which is of course why you want more, bigger government who do everything for you. Because then there will be fewer puppets and more nice fuzzy people who have nothing but your best interests at heart.
I swear, I'm either going to have to buy a farm somewhere and retire, far away from people, or buy a rifle and start taking random pot shots. Which is cheaper?
Deleted
More proof of who the US Government really works for. Here's a clue. If you're not a wealthy corporation, its not you.
Shouldn't this headline actually read, "42 House members plagiarize report by Genetech". Isn't the reality that these politicians had no opinions, or at least lacked the will to find and articulate one, and instead opted to copy someone else. Not that it makes the whole situation any less shameful.
Only if we let them. What about you? Do you pay attention to the issues and vote accordingly? Or are you happy to let them do as they please? If the people don't pay active attention, the politicians will do as they please.
Qxe4
As can be seen we really only have one party in Washington. The money party. It's a smoke and mirrors thing. They use ideology to divide and confuse the public while they take our money. It's been working well for them. I sometimes think no one in Washington D.C. believes in anything.....I hope I'm wrong...but I don't think so.
I think it's time we end the pretense these people are doing anything independently, and let them wear jackets with sponsor patches ala Nascar.
I guess this is why congress and house members feel it's OK to vote for a 1900+ page bill they have not even read all of, nor allowed the public to read before a vote - why bother reading when your corporate sponsors have given you all the soundbytes you need?
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
It shouldn't be surprising that people who aren't educated and aren't very bright aren't very good at electing people who are bright or educated. Democracy ensures that the public gets a government no better than they deserve.
Its like the politicians had a big giant hand (not so invisible) in the middle of their back, replacing their backbone. Their left hand is suddenly controlled by a giant thumb, and their right hand is suddenly controlled by a giant little finger. Their mouths move up and down, not quite in sync with the words coming from somewhere. Inside, the politician is thinking: All I have to do is say these words and I will make more than 400 times the street prostitute down the block. No sticky mess or anything. Cool! Those lobby people sure do pay a lot more than that official 'government' salary too. I wonder how much they would pay me if I offered to bend over and touch my toes.... oh wait, I already did.
In an interview, Representative Bill Pascrell Jr., Democrat of New Jersey, said: “I regret that the language was the same. I did not know it was.” He said he got his statement from his staff and “did not know where they got the information from.”
So, this guy gets paid at least $174,000 per year plus all those awesome perks and retirement plans that none of us peons could ever get, and he can't do his own homework?!
What does this guy do all day?
It's NOT me! It's the meds! I'm on 1000mg of Fukitol.
This is dumb meme, to run an honest country you need enforced standards that prevent legislative and executive corruption, a knowledgeable electorate helps, but public servants with their hand in the till still need to goto jail --- which means that you need an independent commission to investigate and prosecute that.
Otherwise Zimbabwe here you come.
I agree we should try, but you can't prevent legislative and executive corruption any more than you can prevent people from doing drugs. You can declare a war on corruption, you can set heavy penalties, you can make a multitude of laws, but people will still find ways around them.
It is unfortunate, but the only way to keep the politicians from doing what you don't want them to do is by having an active populace. As someone else mentioned in a different thread, democracy ensures that the people get the government they deserve.
Qxe4
Of course not. They were simply trying to increase productivity. After all, why should congressional staffers have to write speeches for their congressmen if Genentech lobbyists are already going to have written them? This way, instead of 435 speechwriters for members of the House of Representatives having to write speeches, you have one Genentech lobbyist write two speeches (one for each party). Look at the savings in manpower! I mean, we all know that in this difficult economy, we have to do more with less, right?
The next step is to lay off all the congresspeople and just have corporate lobbyists write the laws directly. Since they're already footing the bill for all the congressmen to get elected, it would save even more money and manpower. Plus, it would eliminate the need to put on these meaningless elections.
Genentech wasn't doing anything "wrong". The "wrong" part comes when we allow a single corporate dollar in politics. Our wise leaders, encouraged by lobbyists, have decided to ignore both the wording and the original intent of the framers, and have decided that a corporation has the same rights as an individual, yet they have none of the civic responsibility. Plus, (and this one's the kicker) they've decided that Money = Speech. What a racket!. The Supreme Court is deciding right now whether or not to remove absolutely all restrictions on corporate money in the political system. I guess the best we can hope for is that Antonin Scalia chokes on an uncooked tortellini before the final vote comes down.
You are welcome on my lawn.
And exactly what are you going to do about it? Glue teabags on your hat and go scream in peoples' faces? Then line up to vote for more corporate stooges?
As long as there's so much money flowing from the corporations to elected officials, your opinion isn't going to matter, your vote isn't going to matter, and your job isn't going to matter, your health isn't going to matter and most of all your life isn't going to matter (unless you're a fetus).
Here's an interesting game: Go compare corporate donations to Congressmen and Senators by party. Then, put them in order by the amount of donations and the industry from which those corporate donations come. Without looking, you can guess what that legislator's vote is going to be on a given piece of legislation 91 times out of a hundred. A group over at NORC at the University of Chicago did exactly that, and that's the number they came up with.
One more thing: despite what you hear on cable TV and AM radio, environmentalist groups don't really give as much money to elected officials as the oil companies.
You are welcome on my lawn.
Oh, Genentech was doing something morally wrong. Contributing to the delinquency of others is morally wrong. It's just not as bad as what their sock puppets are doing.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
Remember the good ole days, when there was a charismatic candidate that promised a new Washington, one that represents the people and not littered with lobbyists.
I guess GW really messed the country up...
--WooooHoooo--
It scares me how much joking there is when there is corruption in government. Plenty of evidence shows that there is pressure to elect senators and representatives who are not skilled at thinking for themselves, and this Slashdot story provides more of that evidence.
Here is what is apparently a worse example: Articles in The Atlantic magazine, CBS News, the New York Times, and other publications suggest that you should be skeptical about flu reports. There appears to be manipulation of government warnings to increase profit for vaccine makers.
If you love your country, you will think seriously about your country's problems.
George Carlin: "Garbage in; garbage out. If you got selfish ignorant citizens you are going to get selfish ignorant leaders."
Sadly there seems to be a lot of that going around in most democracies.
The Long Now Foundation
Which is exactly why the government should be as small and weak as possible.
Ah, so you're enjoying your annihilated retirement fund, munching on your Mad Cow burger while your kids play with with their lead-painted toys in your asbestos lined trailer after you had to flee New Orleans on foot in 2005. And you'd get treatment for that nagging leukemia of yours, but your health insurance company denies coverage because you didn't mention that you once had acne, so their CEO can be worth three quarters of a billion dollars. So you feel like packing up the kids and going to one of those socialisicky countries that have actual health care, but your plane crashes because the exhausted pilot was working a second job to stay off food stamps and the air traffic controller had all of two hours of sleep between shifts.
The genius of small government and the free market at work....
It doesn't matter who you vote for. Once they are in office, they will do whatever their promise-binding corporate overlords tell them to do.
So...
If corruption is like fat, then trying to vote sanity into office is like picking from the menu at KFC, and the chefs would be the special interests.
You are both right.