{"id":118365,"date":"2021-07-17T20:35:24","date_gmt":"2021-07-17T20:35:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/?p=118365"},"modified":"2021-07-17T20:35:24","modified_gmt":"2021-07-17T20:35:24","slug":"how-moderate-democrats-are-sabotaging-their-ideological-allies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/politics\/how-moderate-democrats-are-sabotaging-their-ideological-allies\/","title":{"rendered":"How Moderate Democrats Are Sabotaging Their Ideological Allies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Of the many, many provisions that could end up in the $3.5 trillion spending package Democrats are hoping to pass with their ultra-thin majorities in Congress, allowing Medicare to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs is among the most popular.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s so popular, in fact, that a group of the most vulnerable incumbent Democrats in Congress are pleading with Democratic leaders to pass it. Standing in their way? A group of fellow centrists, many of whom have campaign war chests full of pharmaceutical companies\u2019 money and comparatively little risk of losing their seats.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While the idea that progressive Democrats\u2019 loyalty to activist groups harms the party is frequently discussed in the media and in Washington, the split over drug pricing shows how centrist members of Congress\u2019 loyalty to politically powerful industries can be just as harmful to Democratic electoral hopes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A <\/span>Kaiser Family Foundation survey<\/span> found two-thirds of Americans thought allowing prescription drug negotiation should be a top priority for Congress, with only 4% declaring their opposition to the idea. Another poll, <\/span>conducted by Gallup for the nonprofit West Health<\/span>, found 81% of adults supporting the idea, including 97% of Democrats, 80% of independents and 61% of Republicans. The proposal is especially popular among seniors, the most reliable voters in off-year elections.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So it was not all that surprising on Wednesday when a group of Democrats holding swing seats, many of them ideological moderates, <\/span>sent a letter<\/span> to congressional leadership demanding the idea\u2019s inclusion in a final package.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The letter itself noted a host of policy reasons for its inclusion: Pharmaceutical companies are constantly raising the prices of crucial drugs, often at rates that greatly outpace inflation; Americans often pay far more than people in other countries for the same drugs; the money saved through negotiation could pay for other reforms to the health care system.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the identity of the signatories, and the letter\u2019s final line \u2015 which cites the popularity of drug price negotiation\u00a0<\/span>\u2015 indicate another reason they are hoping for action: It will help them win tough races for reelection in 2022, when the political environment is expected to favor Republicans.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe number one issue I hear about in my district is the cost of prescription drugs,\u201d said Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.), the letter\u2019s lead author. \u201cWe have got to get something done. We can\u2019t afford to wait.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While state legislatures are set to redraw congressional lines before the 2022 elections, the Democratic signatories \u2015 including Michigan Reps. Haley Stevens and Elissa Slotkin, Kansas Rep. Sharice Davids, and Texas Reps. Colin Allred and Lizzie Fletcher \u2015 currently represent districts with a Cook Partisan Voter Index score of R +1. (The Cook PVI, which is based off of recent election results, is widely used by political professionals to estimate the partisan lean of a district or state.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Key Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (Ore.), also support giving Medicare the power to negotiate drug prices. <\/span><\/p>\n

The biggest hurdle seems to action, at least for now, is a relatively small number of moderate Democrats, most of whom signed on to a separate letter in May threatening to vote against any action on pharmaceutical prices that did not have bipartisan support. The party\u2019s small majority in the House means that these centrists could block any action.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe must garner bipartisan, bicameral support, with buy-in from a majority of Americans and stakeholders in the public and private sectors,\u201d the nine moderates, led by California Rep. Scott Peters, wrote in a letter that echoed pharmaceutical industry talking points about the need to balance affordability with innovation. \u201cIf this pandemic has taught us anything, it\u2019s that we all, truly, must be in this together.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While this group of moderates does include some members who hold swing seats, many of them \u2015 including Peters, New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer and <\/span>Massachusetts Rep. Jake Auchincloss<\/span> \u2015 also have a history of taking significant donations from the pharmaceutical industry. In contrast with the members demanding action on drug prices, the moderates pushing back represent districts with an average PVI of D +9.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Gottheimer, in particular, has regularly attacked progressives and suggested they hurt Democrats\u2019 electoral chances. \u201cIf you are spending all of your resources and time fighting with each other instead of fighting the other team, that is a huge distraction,\u201d he <\/span>told The Washington Post<\/span> this week, explaining why he formed a PAC dedicated to fending off progressive primary challenges.<\/span><\/p>\n

But this time, he and his allies are distracting the party from passing politically potent legislation that could help the party\u2019s most vulnerable members.<\/p>\n

The pharmaceutical industry, by many accounts, is the most powerful lobby in Washington. The industry spent more than $92 million on lobbying in the first quarter of 2021 alone, <\/span>according to OpenSecrets<\/span>. And PhRMA, the industry\u2019s major trade group, has already declared its total opposition to reforms in a statement on Thursday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t about lowering costs for prescription drugs,\u201d said Debra DeShong, the group\u2019s executive vice president of public affairs. \u201cThe real goal of this budget is to upend Medicare to help pay for Tesla tax credits and other government programs at seniors\u2019 expense.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPharma\u2019s going to put out all the stops,\u201d said Margarida Jorge, the campaign director at Lower Drug Prices Now. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing they\u2019re not willing to do. There\u2019s going to be scare tactics.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The electoral fight has already begun: American Action Network, a political nonprofit group controlled by House Republican leadership, received a $4.5 million donation from PhRMA in 2019. In May, it began running $5 million worth of ads attacking 45 different Democrats for supporting Medicare drug price negotiation, arguing it would outsource drug manufacturing to China. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee responded with digital ads of its own, defending vulnerable members from attacks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wild was one of the Democrats targeted by PhRMA, but she insists she does not fear the political blowback.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m happy to take on the pharmaceutical industry if that\u2019s the price it takes to get something done,\u201d she said. \u201cI think this is such a winning issue that I don\u2019t mind.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

RELATED…<\/h3>\n

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Of the many, many provisions that could end up in the $3.5 trillion spending package Democrats are hoping to pass with their ultra-thin majorities in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow Moderate Democrats Are Sabotaging Their Ideological Allies - Fin2me<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/politics\/how-moderate-democrats-are-sabotaging-their-ideological-allies\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Moderate Democrats Are Sabotaging Their Ideological Allies - Fin2me\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Of the many, many provisions that could end up in the $3.5 trillion spending package Democrats are hoping to pass with their ultra-thin majorities in [...]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/politics\/how-moderate-democrats-are-sabotaging-their-ideological-allies\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Fin2me\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-07-17T20:35:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/854081161001_5803074673001_5803074389001-vs.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mark\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/politics\/how-moderate-democrats-are-sabotaging-their-ideological-allies\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/politics\/how-moderate-democrats-are-sabotaging-their-ideological-allies\/\",\"name\":\"How Moderate Democrats Are Sabotaging Their Ideological Allies - 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