Financial appeal comes as Republicans rally for, critics attack La. senator’s legislation
As U. S. Sen. Bill Cassidy hunts votes for the latest GOP health care bill, the Louisiana Republican’s campaign committee is using the fractious legislation to flush out cash for his political treasury. His fundraising arm sent this email Wednesday (Sept. 20):
“Friend, we have real momentum to repeal and replace Obamacare, but misinformed attacks are coming from all sides. I won’t back down now. “We have ONE LAST CHANCE to repeal and replace the most intrusive, overbearing healthcare law in the history of our country. But the deadline is rapidly approaching, and I need your support to fight back and get our message out. “Will you chip in $10, $25 or $50 to help my fight to repeal and replace? Every bit helps! “
The message from billcassidy.com came as President Donald Trump and Senate Republican leaders were rallying around the legislation by Cassidy and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S. C., and critics were mounting new attacks on the measure. The Louisiana Democratic Party, which opposes it as a threat to low- and middle-income people and those seeking insurance to cover existing health problems, slammed Cassidy’s fundraising opportunism: “This attempt to capitalize off of ripping health care from the very people he is sworn to protect is deplorable,” Stephen Handwerk, the party’s executive director, said Thursday.
Bill Cassidy says his ‘Obamacare’ overhaul has almost 50 votes
Cassidy’s campaign could use more money. Among the 100 senators, his account balance — $1.7 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics — ranks 46 th, less even than Louisiana’s junior senator, Republican John Kennedy, who was elected to the Senate just last year. Cassidy was elected to the Senate in 2014 and is up for re-election in 2020.
As Bill Cassidy seeks votes for health care bill, John Kennedy seeks changes
That his campaign is hoping to boost the balance with a swipe at “Obamacare” is not unusual; politicians and advocacy groups exploit hot issues with fundraising appeals. Further, fundraising for major office is a year-around job.
“When you consider that the average senator planning to run for re-election needs to raise at least $100,000 to $150,000 a month for six years, more if they are expecting a tough race or are in a big state, most are fundraising all of the time,” Louisiana native Charlie Cook, editor and publisher of The Cook Political Report, said Thursday . ” These letters are written by fundraising staff or consultants; it’s what they do for a living. They hang the copy on whatever is in the news.”
A physician and a member of the Senate health committee, Cassidy has close professional and political ties to the health care sector: doctors, drug companies, insurers and others. Among senators, he ranked 10 th for contributions from the sector, with $2.1 million from 2012 through 2016, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. From the subsector of “health professionals,” including physicians, he received $1.3 million – more than any senator .
Still, the Cassidy-Graham legislation has put him in a difficult position:
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, representing branded drug makers, has not taken a position on the Cassidy-Graham measure. It backed then-President Barack Obam a’s 2010 Democratic health care overhaul.
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Drew Broach oversees coverage of Louisiana state politics and environment issues — plus other odds and ends — for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. Email: dbroach@nola.com. Facebook: Drew Broach TP and Louisiana Coastal Watch. Twitter: drewbroach1. Google+: Drew Broach.
