Senators who opposed tobacco bill received top dollar from industry

[Old Coot]

Source: McClatchy

WASHINGTON — Among the 17 senators who voted against allowing the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco are some of the top recipients of campaign contributions from the tobacco industry, which has donated millions of dollars to lawmakers in the past several campaign cycles.

Over the course of his nearly quarter-century Senate career, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who hails from the tobacco-rich state of Kentucky, has received $419,025 from the tobacco industry, more than any other member of Congress, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that analyzes the influence of money on politics and policy.

North Carolina Republican Sen. Richard Burr, who led the opposition to the bill, is the second highest recipient and netted $359,100 from tobacco-related political action committees and individual contributions. His state is the nation's largest tobacco grower and is home to R.J. Reynolds, the nation's second largest tobacco manufacturing company, which contributed $196,850 to Burr's campaigns.

Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss, the ranking Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee, is the third highest recipient with $228,700. Kentucky Sen. Jim Bunning, who's up for re-election next year and is considered the most vulnerable Senate Republican, ranks eighth with $194,166.

Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/254/story/69925.html

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Campaign contributions really should be banned. Let the government provide a little bit of money for qualified candidates and let the politicians find inexpensive ways of obtaining attention. These large amounts of money from a single industry are obscene.

[NC_Nurse]

1. No surprise on Burr. NC has always had a huge tobacco growers lobby. Helms

always raked it in from them too.

[izquierdista]

2. Inexpensive ways

The inexpensive way is for television and radio stations to provide time for candidate forums free to the candidates as a condition for receiving an FCC license. It's time that media owners learned the meaning of "no tickee, no washee".

[HillbillyBob]

3. I say again long past time to end the campaign bribes

from corps lobbies.
Public funding for campaigns that way they all get the same and we take the corpses out of our government. If corps want to donate they donate to a central common fund to be equally distributed.
No gifts , dinners, vacations to Scotland to play goof..

[notesdev]

4. I just can't figure it out

Why would Senators from states like Kentucky, North Carolina, and Georgia oppose further restrictions on tobacco?

[joshcryer]

6. I dunno, it shocks me!

:sarcasm:

[defendandprotect]

5. Called Burr's office last week to suggest he wear Doctor's White Jacket . . .

as he defended tobacco from the regulators last week!!

Just like old times --

Waxman finally moved this ball, pretty much off the court and the GOP put it back in

play again, reducing all the fines which were to go to Medicare which has been picking

up all the cancer patients that tobacco produced!!!

[Mermaid7]

7. No more $ for Senator other than their salary.

This whole system of corporation buying and paying for 'our' elected representives influence, is nuts.

I mean what are we thinking or allowing?

Time to put an end to this.

Either they are there to represent us, not their worst interests, or they are not allowed in.


Just say no.

[No Elephants]

13. I agree, but, realistically, how do you suggest we put a stop to it?

[tomm2thumbs]

8. guess all the money was for nothing - price of cigarettes paid for the lobbying

[Mermaid7]

9. And

swimming pools, yachts, trips to Monte Carlo, Dubai, fur coats, breast implants, you name it, all by increasing the taxes on the addicts that the tobacco corporation feeds, deceives and needs.

They got game!

[ShockediSay]

10. Thomas and Scalia would call this free speech n/t

Just like money funneled into election campaigns
of state judges.

[toopers]

11. Who really cares . . .

the smoker's knew what they were getting into.

[Indydem]

12. ...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5829911

[bemildred]

14. Elections should all be conducted ONLY with public funds.

It is no restriction of free speech to demand that elections not be bought.

[classysassy]

15. Men and women

without honor.( the congressional critters).

[emilyg]

16. Say it again and again.