It's time to 'take it up a notch'. It's time to put the names of those Senators and House members in a full page ad with the New York times who have taken millions of dollars in 'contributions' from the private health insurance companies and big pharma.
It is time to put the peddle to the metal and make certain that as many Americans as we can possibly reach understand fully how much money our Senators and Congress people are being paid in order to block or worse kill the passing of a decent health care bill with a robust public option.
Health Insurers and Drug Companies Contributed $26.2 Million to 111th Congress and Senator Max Baucus, A Leading Architect of Health Care Reform, Received More Industry Contributions Than Any Other Congressional Candidate.
Although I have volunteered for the Democratic party on several occasions in my life, I have yet to try to fund raise for this kind of an idea. So bear with me please, and more than that, help me with your ideas.
I am not certain how we at DailyKos could go about a fund raiser to put such an ad in the New York Times, but I do know this. That if we were able to do this together, contributing whatever we can, five dollars, ten dollars, etc, that we could raise the money to do this.
Sit back and just imagine the fall out, the looks on the faces of the Senators and Congress people on their staffs when they pick up this full page ad and read their names and how much in 'bribes' they've received from the private health insurance companies and big Pharma.
In addition, I believe placing a full page ad would 'force' the media: television, radio, other newspapers to finally begin a 'real' conversation that needs to be addressed. Instead of just using the word: Lobbyist and never actually naming those members of Congress who are receiving 'pay-offs' it is time to show in large print the truth as recently quoted by Matt Taibbi: Our government doesn’t exist to protect voters from interests, it exists to protect interests from voters.
Health insurers and drug companies gave a combined $6.1 million to the top ten recipients in each house of Congress since 2005, according to a study released today by the non-profit Consumer Watchdog.
Health insurers contributed $2.7 million to the top ten members in each house, while pharmaceutical companies contributed $3.4 million to the top ten members of each. The two industries donated a combined $26.2 million in campaign contributions to the current members of the 111th Congress.
And just to make it perfectly clear, Baucus is having yet another 'fund raiser' when he goes on 'vacation' in August. Unbelievable, but true:
Baucus held a Montana fundraiser last month that was reportedly well-attended by health industry lobbyists, and has another scheduled the weekend of August 1 dubbed "Camp Baucus," where donors and "the whole family" can "enjoy Big Sky's fly fishing, golf, horseback riding and great hiking."
Below is a 'beginning' list of names to be named and funds that have been received by the Senators and Congress people. The Center for Responsive Politics compiled federal campaign contribution data for use in this analysis.
Note: The full list of all Senators and Congress people who have received money from the Medical Industrial Complex is located here:
http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/...
But for the sake of space, and consideration of an full page ad in the NYT these are the top 10 recipients in both the Senate and House. If anyone has a better list, please let me know. I was unable to copy and paste the list from the article, because I could not figure out how to do so - I just went ahead and typed it in for today.
Top 10 Senate Recipients of Health Insurer Money
Senator Amount
McCain, John (R.AZ) $ 319,494
Baucus, Max (D.MT) $ 213,400
McConnell, Mitch (R-KY) $ 211,200
Chambliss, Saxby (R-GA) $ 138,150
Collins, Susan M. (R-ME) $ 117,000
Dodd, Chris (D-CT) $ 114,250
Lieberman, Joe (I-CT) $ 111,900
Kyl, Jon (R-AZ) $ 106,950
Warner, Mark (D-VA) $ 104,750
Hatch, Orrin G. (R-UT) $ 98,903
Total Received by Top 10 $1,535,997
To 10 Senate Recipients of Pharmaceutical Money
McCain, John (R.AZ) $ 312,188
Baucus, Max (D.MT) $ 229,520
McConnell, Mitch (R.KY) $ 225,900
Specter, Arlen (R-PA) $ 209,200
Hatch, Orrin G. (R-UT) $ 198,700
Lieberman, Joe (I-CT) $ 194,040
Menendez, Robert (D-NJ) $ 133,043
Enzi, Mike (R-WY) $ 130,500
Cornyn, John (R-TX) $ 118,200
Kyl, Jon (R-AZ) $ 110,850
Total Received by Top 10 $1,862,141
Top 10 House Recipients of Health Insurer Money
Representative Amount
Cantor, Eric (R-VA) $ 151,150
Boehner, John (R-OH) $ 130,500
Camp, Dave (R-MI) $ 128,923
Deal, Nathan (R-GA) $ 127,000
Pomeroy, Earl (D-ND) $ 120,800
Towns, Edolphus (D-NY) $ 101,850
Blunt, Roy (R-MO) $ 96,300
Tanner, John (D-TN) $ 89,000
Ryan, Paul (R-WI) $ 88,700
Roger, Mike (R-MI) $ 87,000
Total Received by Top 10 $1,121,223
Top 10 House Recipients of Pharmaceutical Money
Barton, Joe (R-TX) $ 189,100
Dingell, John D. (D-MI) $ 184,300
Clyburn, James E. (D-SC) $ 175,996
Deal, Nathan (R-GA) $ 171,635
Eshoo, Anna (D-CA) $ 151,000
Boehner, John (R-OH) $ 148,625
Frelinghuysen (D-NJ) $ 148,450
Cantor, Eric (R-VA) $ 147,600
Buyer, Steve (R-IN) $ 146,850
Blunt, Roy (D-MO) $ 143,500
Total Received by Top 10 $1,607,056
(I can't get these numbers to line up correctly as I do not have the computer skills to figure that out...anyway you get the idea and the numbers.)
I tried to do some research on exactly how much it would cost to run a full page ad in the New York Times and the closest information I could find was when Move-On.Org did it's now infamous ad on General Petraeus. Apparently they paid $167,000 for a full-page black-and-white ad on a Monday. I'm not certain if that is the going rate now, but the purpose of this diary, is to find out if 'we' as a community could raise this money (give a dollar, give five, give ten - give what you can) and I guess more importantly, would Kos be willing to use the name of his website to place such an ad? I'm willing right this minute to write a check for $75.00 (that I don't really have right now) just to get this off the ground.
One idea I had was to just list the Senators, and to combine the figures from the Heath Insurers and the Pharmaceuticals as thus:
Senator Amount
McCain, John (combined numbers:) $ 631,682
Baucus, Max $ 449,920
McConnell, Mitch $ 437,100
(You get the idea - the combination of the two numbers pack a bigger punch of how much these Senators are putting in their coffers).
I'm just kind of flailing in the dark here people, so I'll start with a poll, and see what kind of interest we have before I go further. Your ideas are more than welcome and necessary to this important step.
Finally, I want to say that if we could place this ad in the NYT while the Senators and House members are 'on vacation' (because god forbid they should actually stay in Washington DC and take care of the most pressing economic issue of our time) then remember this: they will be sitting on their fat little fannies at home when this ad comes out, and their constituents will more than likely flood their offices with phone calls, visits and emails to ask them up close and personal about 'who the hell are they really working for?' Because it is clear that the last thing these 'Senators and Representatives' are doing is helping Americans obtain a robust public option and the same kind of health care that they enjoy every single day.