By placing Sens. Max Baucus and Patty Murray on the debt supercommittee, Majority Leader Harry Reid opened the door for special interests to play an outsize role in the upcoming debt battle. To see why, go back to an April 15, 2009, meeting on Obamacare that included White House officials, Senate Democrats, union leaders and drug lobbyists. Senior White House official Jim Messina (now Obama’s campaign manager) and Baucus’ Chief of Staff Jon Selib hashed out a deal that day with representatives from leading drug committees and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the largest single-industry lobby in the country. The meeting, tellingly, took place at the headquarters of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
Out of this meeting were born Healthy Economy Now and Americans for Stable Quality Care, two PhRMA-funded political groups that would run ads not only touting Obamacare, but also supporting endangered Senate Democrats who voted for the health plan. Reid and other “reformers” squeaked out victories in 2010 with support from the industry-funded groups.
