Big Pharma Thanks Sen. Patty Murray

Some of you may have seen television ads along the lines of one running in the Seattle area. It's underwritten by PhRMA, the trade group for Big Pharma formally known as Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. The ad asks viewers to pick up the phone and thank Senator Patty Murray (D-Washington) for her hard work on health care reform. I wouldn't be shocked if you are seeing a similar version of the same ad running in your part of the country.

For those of you who don't follow politics closely, Sen. Murray is number three in the Senate's Democratic leadership and is a rainmaker of a fundraiser for Congressional Dems. She's kind of become a latter day Henry "Scoop" Jackson, the late Senator from Washington State who was a huge force in the Senate in the 60s and 70s.

I mention all of this because if PhRMA is lining up in support of a Democrat, then something weird is going on. The group put out a statement on Tuesday actively supporting health care reform. You can bet that's because whatever deal PhRMA is pushing (and thanking Sen. Murray for) does little to touch Big Pharma's profits. And President Barack Obama keeps saying that health care reform will cut the cost of health care?

Um, sure. I bet the price of patented drugs doesn't go down a nickel under whatever health care reform gets pushed through Congress. It'll be a Medicare Part D party all over again!

BTW, pharma companies are among Sen. Murray's top contributors. She's taken in $156,050 from pharma since 2005, according to opensecrets.org, and likely will face little opposition in 2010 from Republicans in this state.