Lobbying

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Downsized

by Bob Burton — September 23, 2009 - 5:46am

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), a California-based power utility, has resigned from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce over what the utility's chairman and CEO, Peter Darbee, describes as "fundamental differences" over climate change policy.

Main Source: 
NEXT100 (Pacific Gas and Electric Company Blog), September 22, 2009

Bill Maher Interviews Wendell Potter, Not Just for Laughs

by John Stauber — September 22, 2009 - 4:24pm

CMD's Wendell Potter has had a busy September. He's been featured in Time magazine and quoted by President Obama while in attendance at his joint address to Congress on health care reform.

Main Source: 
Real Time with Bill Maher, September 18, 2009

Closed Doors and Revolving Doors on Health Care

by Diane Farsetta — September 15, 2009 - 4:02pm

"Some of the most influential aides in the closed-door Senate Finance Committee negotiations over health care reform have ties to interests that would be directly affected by the legislation," reports Politico.com.

Main Source: 
Politico.com, September 15, 2009

Wendell Potter: How Corporate PR Works to Kill Health Care Reform

by Wendell Potter — September 15, 2009 - 7:16am
  • Topics: Health, Lobbying, Public Relations

    • September 14th I addressed a gathering at the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC and delivered these remarks:

    It is easy to think of efforts to influence lawmakers as the exclusive domain of K Street lobbyists. Much has been said and written about the millions of dollars the special interests are spending on lobbying activities and the hundreds of lobbyists who are at work as we speak trying to shape health care reform legislation. Very little by comparison has been written about the millions of dollars that special interests are spending on PR activities to accomplish the same goal and that are vital to successful lobbying efforts.

    One of the reasons I left my job at CIGNA, where I headed corporate communications and was part of the Legal & Public Affairs division, was because I did not want to be involved in yet another PR and lobbying campaign to kill or gut reform. I finally came to question the ethics of what I had done and been a part of for nearly two decades to influence decision-making and bill writing on Capitol Hill.

    Reform Debate Healthy for Congressional Coffers

    by Diane Farsetta — September 8, 2009 - 11:03am

    "As the debate intensifies in Congress, health care sector contributions to lawmakers on the committees overseeing" proposals for health care reform "are on the upswing," according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics. In the first half of 2009, "health care interests donated $19.7 million to all federal lawmakers.

    Main Source: 
    USA Today, September 2, 2009

    A "Watchdog" that Likes Corporate Treats

    by John Stauber — September 8, 2009 - 7:30am

    "For America's No. 1 taxpayer watchdog, as Citizens Against Government Waste calls itself, the jet engines seem easy prey. The federal government is already spending billions for Pratt & Whitney to develop engines for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Why spend billions more for General Electric to do the same?

    Main Source: 
    St. Petersburg Times, August 24, 2009

    A Web of Health Reform Opponents

    by Diane Farsetta — September 1, 2009 - 4:09pm

    The industry group America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) isn't just "sending thousands of its employees to town-hall meetings and other forums .... to try to counter a tide of criticism directed at the insurers," as the Wall Street Journal reported recently.

    Main Source: 
    Think Progress, August 27, 2009

    Wendell Potter: Rally Against Wall Street's Health Care Takeover

    by Wendell Potter — August 31, 2009 - 11:24am
  • Topics: Economy, Health, Lobbying

    • Saturday, August 29 I had the good fortune to speak at a community rally for health care reform in a city park in downtown Portland, Oregon. It was a broad-based and diverse group with many signs and placards supporting the 'public option' being debated by Congress, and others calling for 'single payer' reform like that working effectively in other countries such as Canada. Here is what I said:

    I would like to begin by apologizing to all of you for the role I played 15 years ago in cheating you out of a reformed health care system. Had it not been for greedy insurance companies and other special interests, and their army of lobbyists and spin-doctors like I used to be, we wouldn't be here today.

    I'm ashamed that I let myself get caught up in deceitful and dishonest PR campaigns that worked so well, hundreds of thousands of our citizens have died, and millions of others have lost their homes and been forced into bankruptcy, so that a very few corporate executives and their Wall Street masters could become obscenely rich.

    Soft Drink Industry Using Smokin' PR

    by Anne Landman — August 24, 2009 - 2:15pm

    Soft drink companies are joining the list of corporations scrambling to use tobacco industry public relations tactics to influence legislation, in this case to scuttle a proposal to tax sodas and sugary drinks to help fund health care.

    Main Source: 
    San Francisco Chronicle, August 16, 2009
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