U.S. Rep. Thelma Drake was grateful for the TV campaign ads praising her support for the new and much-criticized federal Medicare Part D prescription drug program for seniors.
You know, the program that forbids Medicare from negotiating price discounts from Big Pharma.
Her campaign manager thanked the national chamber of commerce for airing them on her behalf over the last few weeks.
It turns out the pharmaceutical industry actually paid to air the ads as part of a nationwide $10 million covert campaign to help some GOP incumbents, according to The Associated Press, citing unnamed political officials.
Democrats are howling in outrage at the revelation.
"This Republican Congress looks out for the big drug companies, and the big drug companies return the favor by pouring special interest money into local campaigns," said Kate Bedingfield, spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
"Virginia seniors are tired of taking a back seat to corporate profits and they want a representative who will fight for their bottom line for a change."
So, Big Pharma quietly footed the bill for at least part of a recent multimillion-dollar ad campaign praising lawmakers who support the new Medicare program.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce claims credit for the ads, although a spokesman refused repeatedly to say whether it had received any funds from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.
Drake's opponent, Democrat Phil Kellam, on Friday blasted Drake and the ad campaign that benefited her re-election effort.
"This is a desperate attempt to protect a crony," he said. "They're investing in Thelma Drake. Just as she's grafted to George Bush, she's grafted to the drug industry. This is a convoluted, clandestine attempt to mislead the voters and people in general."
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