Now why would Democrats -- the party that swore it fully supported the right to import unbelievably cheap drugs from Canada -- lead the way in killing the drug importation bill? After all, the Dems told us that it was only the Evil Republicans who stood in the way of giving Americans easy access to affordable prescription drugs. Yeah, it was only the Evil Republicans who stood in the way of universal health care too, except our Democratic president forgot to even ask for it. That would be the same Democratic president who magically forgot all about his campaign promise to support drug importation when he made a deal with Big PHARMA almost immediately after he got into office.
Gotta keep that Big PHARMA money coming to the Party of the People! Good cops, bad cops, we are suckers being played. Or as Glenn Greenwald calls it: White House as helpless victim on healthcare:
The President: I really want a public option and Medicare buy-in. What can we do to get it?
Rahm Emanuel: Unfortunately, nothing. We can just sit by and hope, but you're not in Congress any more and you don't have a vote. They're a separate branch of government and we have to respect that.
The President: So we have no role to play in what the Democratic Congress does?
Emanuel: No. Members of Congress make up their own minds and there's just nothing we can do to influence or pressure them.
The President: Gosh, that's too bad. Let's just keep our fingers crossed and see what happens then.
Firedoglake: White House “Irritated” With Howard Dean, Not Joe Lieberman / Corrente: White House Working to Crush Drug Importation Amendment / Dems who voted against drug importation in 2007. . . / Kaiser: Amendment To Allow Drug Importation Fails In Senate: "The defeat of the drug importation proposal … was a crucial victory for Obama and the pharmaceutical industry."
