September 18, 2008

Pharma Pumps Big Money Into Ad Campaign

The ads by America's Agenda: Health Care for Kids may seem like fuzzy thank-you notes to members of Congress for supporting the State Children's Health Insurance Program. But no one spends this kind of money just to say thanks.

The industry association Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America has dropped $11.3 million into the ad campaign, according to a new filing by the group. That pays for a lot, including ads supporting senators running for reelection including Gordon Smith (R-OR), Susan Collins (R-ME), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Max Baucus (D-MT), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Tim Johnson (D-SD) and Jack Reed (D-RI), as well as Rep. Mark Udall (D-CO), who is running for Senate. There are even more ads praising senators not up for reelection and members of the House.

The legislators benefiting from the complimentary ads were chosen because they voted for a bill expanding the children's insurance program (which was vetoed by President Bush) but are under pressure to abandon that support, according to a spokeswoman for America's Agenda.

"We felt these were the ones that needed to be told to continue to support SCHIP," said Nicole Korkolis. "It's a call to action."

The organization is a business-labor coalition, so it's a bit novel that some ads praise Republicans that unions are opposing and others support Democrats that pro-business groups hope to oust. For example, one of the America's Agenda's board members is the head of the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers. That union helps fund American Rights At Work, a pro-labor group running ads against Republicans Smith and Collins, among others.

Korkolis, though, says this has nothing to do with elections. "It's a coincidence that it's during the election cycle," she says. "We're not trying to support candidates in their races."

Can't hurt though, less than seven weeks before Election Day.

-- Will Evans

7:22 PM ET | 09-18-2008 | permalink

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September 15, 2008

Union-Pharmaceutical Coalition Praises Democrats

Click here to listen to the Louisiana ad

 

Update 9/16/08: Here's a new twist on this campaign. America's Agenda also has cookie-cutter ads up supporting the Republican incumbent senators in Oregon and Maine. Union-funded groups have run ads to help Democrats beat those incumbents, but here you have unions joining in a coalition to help the Republicans. We're perplexed.

A new advocacy group, run by union leaders and the pharmaceutical industry, is running ads praising Democrats in hot Senate races for supporting a children's health insurance program.

The group, America's Agenda: Health Care for Kids, gives a boost to Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), the only endangered Democrat incumbent in the Senate, Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Rep. Mark Udall (D-CO), who is running for Senate. The ads praise all three for voting to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which passed Congress but was vetoed by President Bush.

America's Agenda: Health Care for Kids is a nonprofit organization incorporated in August, dedicated to reauthorizing SCHIP. (It's a spin-off of America's Agenda: Health Care for All.) Its president is Doug Dority, who used to lead the United Food and Commercial Workers union. John Flynn, president of the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, is on the board.

A bit more odd is that an executive from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America is also on the board -- and that the group so far is entirely funded by a multi-million dollar contribution from PhRMA. The prescription drug industry certainly supports SCHIP, but it isn't really known for helping elect Democrats.

The strange-bedfellows coalition is reminiscent of Divided We Fail, an advocacy campaign run by business associations, a union and AARP. But this ad campaign looks a lot more oriented toward helping specific candidates.

It's one thing to support incumbents like Landrieu and Lautenberg. But why drop into a hotly contested Senate race like Colorado's? Let us know if you figure it out.

-- Will Evans

6:19 PM ET | 09-15-2008 | permalink

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Peter Overby

Peter Overby

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Will Evans

Will Evans

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