"We have lost our ambition, our imagination, and our willingness to do the things that built the Golden Gate Bridge" - Barack Obama (aka President Malaise)
Pitch in with the Prince William Young Republicans and help defeat Obama in 2012!
Feder’s OxyContin Money
By Greg L | 16 April 2008 | Virginia Politics, US Congress | 15 Comments
Fundraising in a Congressional District is hard. Just ask Judy Feder. She doesn’t seem to have a single high dollar donor from the Shenandoah Valley and only a handful from Loudoun in her first quarter campaign finance report. As happened last cycle, Feder gets most of her money from Pennsylvania, California, Maryland, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Georgia, Arkansas, Oregon, North Carolina, Florida, Utah, Illinois, and any place other than Virginia’s 10th district. Some much-needed special interest money is helping make up the gap, though.
Judy Feder got $2,000 in contributions from the Political Action Committee of OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma in the first quarter of 2008, which helps. This is the same Purdue Pharma that was fined $630 million for hiding the dangers of OcyContin from the public, abuse and misuse of which has devastated the Western part of Virginia prompting Frank Wolf to hold hearings on the problem. That fine was levied by a court right here in Virginia, which helps explain why Judy Feder apparently missed this.
From the Roanoake Times:
“With its OxyContin, Purdue unleashed a highly abusable, addictive and potentially dangerous drug on an unsuspecting and unknowing public,” U.S. Attorney John Brownlee said a few hours later at a news conference in Roanoke.
Explaining how the company overlooked warning signs in its quest for profits, Brownlee called OxyContin “the child of marketeers and bottom-line financial decisionmaking.”
Feder, which prides herself has some sort of health care policy architect (she played a significant role in HillaryCare under the Clinton administration), is accepting campaign contributions from a company which played a significant role in creating rather troublesome health care issues in Virginia. I can only imagine what she would do if given the authority to “fix” health care on a national level.
The opinions expressed here are solely the views of the author, and not representative of the position of any organization, political party, doughnut shop, knitting guild, or waste recycling facility, but may be correctly attributed to the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy. If anything in the above article has offended you, please click here to receive an immediate apology.
You can follow the discussion through the Comments feed. You can also pingback or trackback from your own site.
15 Comments
Views: 1334
Loading ...
Want to see a laughable campaign finance report? Check out Bob Marshall’s.
Why would the dems want to nominate this kind of candidate? She seems to have no local support here in Virginia.
Why don’t you spare us the suspense, Harry, and give us a summary…:)
Purdue Pharma did not create “rather troublesome health care issues in Virginia,” the people who abused oxycontin did. Their drug helped me manage some excrutiating pain several years ago, but I only used it on an “as needed” basis. As usual, the abusers of a good thing make it hard on the rest of us. Judy Feder is a socialist, so surely she could be criticized on something more substantial than accepting donations from a legitimate pharmaceutical company.
As far as Frank Wolf holding hearings on the issue, big whoop. I’ll bet they were as almost effective as his letter to el Presidente Jorge last June to secure the borders. So we’ve got another lineup of Empty Suit vs. Socialist Professor. Such matchups do not bode well for the future of the Republic. Wolf should bow out and spend the rest of his days making up stories for his grandkids about what he did during the war.
How stupid can you be taking this “drug industry” money in an area that has really struggled with illegal use?
Its now obvious thanks to Greg’s reporting that Feder will take money from any state and district but the 10th because those that know best realize she can’t even compete after her debacle in 2006. After this report it appears most of the rich local dems don’t even support her strongly. Feder should move to Moran’s district and wait for his retirement.
Barack Obama’s appalling Virginia Tech Statement:
One year after the tragedy at Virginia Tech, families are still mourning, and our nation is still healing. As Americans gather today in vigils and ‘lie-ins’ – or pray silently alone – our thoughts are with those whose lives were forever changed by the shootings. But one year later, it’s also time to reflect on how violence – whether on campuses like Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University or on the streets of Chicago and cities across this nation – can be prevented. Clearly, our state and federal governments have to strengthen some laws and do a better job enforcing others. But we all have a responsibility to do what we can in our own lives and communities to end this kind of senseless violence. That is still our task one year later, and it will be our ongoing task in the years to come.
I wonder if it even crossed his mind how tacky this statement is.
What’s tacky about it? What would YOU have said?
Wolf has to primary with an upstart opponent with a thin political resume. That is going to distract him from the main event. Feder may just win this time. Republicans would rather fight each other than find common ground and band together. As for Moran, he is an embarrassment, yet he keeps getting reelected. Also, I don’t support Obama, but didn’t think his statement was that bad. It’s just the usual pre-election, candidate mouth dribbling.
Last time I checked, Wolf’s opponent has raised less money than Feder’s primary opponent. Feder had better be very carefull.
The more people see Feder, the more they get completely turned off. She is just horrible in public. Why do you think almost all her money comes from out of the district? Heck, even the dems probably think she is creepy. I don’t see a whole lot of grassroots support money from the local dems. Feder is perhaps the most unelectable candidate in Va.
It just happens she has friends around the country funding her quest. At least Mike Turner presents himself well. Feders pushy style is a major turnoff compared to Wolf. A moderate like Turner can do much better than a D.C. insider.
I would not have used a tragedy to push gun control politics.
Contrast Obama’s statement with the simple and classy statements by McCain and Hillary.
McCain:
On this day, Cindy and I join with all the students, faculty, friends and family of the Virginia Tech community in remembering those who were taken from this life too early. Even after a year, the tragic events at Virginia Tech remain inconceivable. Words cannot describe the sadness that affected all Americans on that day and ever since. As parents ourselves, Cindy and I would like to extend our prayers to all those remembering the loss of a loved one today.
Clinton:
On this deeply tragic anniversary, my thoughts are with the families and friends mourning the absence of loved ones who lost their lives in the devastating shooting that took place one year ago at Virginia Tech. As we mark this milestone, let us keep in our prayers the victims and their families, and let us work to build a nation in which all of our children are safe and loved.
Maybe it’s because you didn’t spend all day on the phone finding out if your friends were dead or alive. Maybe it’s because you don’t know any families ruined by the tragedy. Maybe you’re simply obtuse. Who knows. But what Obama said was more deeply offensive than a million Wrights. I do not want to see politicians exploiting mass murder to score cheap political points.
OK, candidates for public office have to raise money to pay for their campaigns, and some contributors may have problems with the government in the past. Should that rub off on the candidate? In his career, Frank Wolf has gotten big bucks from Northrop Grumman (just fined $15 million by the government for illegal exports), Lookheed Martin (fined $13 million by the State Department for selling secrets to China) and Raytheon ($25 million government settlement for illegal exports). Does that mean that Frank Wolf is comfortable with the idea of illegal exports or selling secret technology to China illegally? Of course not – it just shows you can make any political contribution sound bad if you try hard enough.
Frank Wolf has also accepted money from Eli Lilly’s PAC–you know, the pharmaceutical company that makes Prozac, another widely abused prescription drug that has been linked to adolescent suicides. Oh, and Eli Lilly would be the company that pulled the plug on a plant (and left some of the partially built walls standing) that was supposed to be an economic boon to Prince William County’s Innovation Park.
Further, from the looks of Wolf’s most recent filings, he also has taken quite a bit of money from real estate, developer, construction, and mortgage broker interests. Does that make Wolf complicit in the current housing market meltdown?
Uh oh, looks like Judy got busted! Feder’s drug money could be gettin a little bit dirty. I still cannot believe she took this money knowing how much this company has done wrong here in Virginia. I guess this stuff happens when most of your money comes from any were but Wolf’s district. I guess when you need easy money you don’t mind taking it from “child marketeers”
Maybe she took a page from Faisal Gill’s book on how to raise money!!!
How does Feder’s guilt by association with big Pharma differ from the SPLC’s twisted logic described in the April 21 thread?