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Drug industry paid for Drake ads, report says
[August 28, 2006]

Drug industry paid for Drake ads, report says


(Daily Press (Newport News, VA) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Aug. 26--U.S. Rep. Thelma Drake was grateful for the TV campaign ads praising her support for the new and much-criticized federal prescription drug program for seniors.

Her campaign manager thanked the national chamber of commerce for airing them on her behalf over the last few weeks.

It turns out the pharmaceutical industry actually paid to air the ads as part of a nationwide $10 million covert campaign to help some GOP incumbents, according to The Associated Press, citing unnamed political officials.

Democrats are howling in outrage at the revelation.

"This Republican Congress looks out for the big drug companies, and the big drug companies return the favor by pouring special interest money into local campaigns," said Kate Bedingfield, spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "Virginia seniors are tired of taking a back seat to corporate profits and they want a representative who will fight for their bottom line for a change."



Drake, a Republican, didn't vote for the new Medicare drug program for seniors but has praised it repeatedly on the campaign trail and defended it against complaints from critics. The measure passed just before she was elected in 2002.

Drake's opponent, Democrat Phil Kellam, on Friday blasted Drake and the ad campaign that benefited her re-election effort.


"This is a desperate attempt to protect a crony," he said. "They're investing in Thelma Drake. Just as she's grafted to George Bush, she's grafted to the drug industry. This is a convoluted, clandestine attempt to mislead the voters and people in general."

Several weeks ago, Drake campaign manager Tim Murtaugh thanked the national chamber of commerce for airing the TV ads that praised Drake for her support of the drug program.

At the time, Murtaugh said that Drake stands by third-party ads that benefit her, and he criticized Kellam for not condemning the third-party attack ads against Drake launched earlier by . Those ads benefited Kellam and were either misleading or inaccurate.

On Friday, Murtaugh sought to distance Drake's campaign from what now appear to be pharmaceutical industry ads on her behalf.

"We had no idea who paid for that ad," Murtaugh said. "We appreciate the message. We agree with it. The program benefits seniors. It had a benefit to consumers."

Democrats have complained bitterly that the new drug program was a Republican-crafted windfall for the pharmaceutical industry, particularly by directly prohibiting the federal government from negotiating the best price for seniors' taxpayer-subsidized prescription drugs.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce took credit for the TV ads aired on behalf of Drake and other Republican incumbents, credit that was identified in writing at the end of each televised spot.

The AP reported that chamber spokesman Eric Wohlschlegel said the chamber paid to create the Medicare ads, but he refused repeatedly to say whether the pharmaceutical industry paid for the airtime to run the ads -- the bulk of the cost of an ad campaign.

When the national campaign was announced earlier this summer, chamber political director Bill Miller described it as a $10 million effort and made no mention of pharmaceutical industry involvement, according to the AP.

The commercials aired in 10 states or congressional districts, presumably those in which GOP incumbents in tight races either voted for or supported the prescription drug program for seniors.

Political officials who described the involvement of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America -- the industry's lobbying arm -- said they did not know whether the industry covered the entire cost of the national ad campaign or just part of it.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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