Over the summer, there were plenty of headlines declaring major pharmaceutical companies either holding off on price increases or rolling back list prices on some of their drugs.
This news generated Trump positive headlines within the framework that he could convince Pharma to give better deals than anyone else. And Pharma went along as it was a cheap give until the election. And now that the election is over; shocking events have occurred.
WHO COULD HAVE PREDIC- [head implodes] https://t.co/mDLtDXFHuV
— Jeffrey Young (@JeffYoung) November 16, 2018
This is the same PR play that Fortune 500 companies played last December where they rolled out regular bonus programs and attributed the cause to the tax cuts that were just passed. And then they kept on doing whatever it was that they were going to do without regard to the tax cuts. It was cheap PR and a political favor that they could bank at low cost beyond a press release.
Yutsano
shockedfry.gif
MattF
Note that Trump has been making a variety of false claims about his drug pricing policies. Kevin Drum demolishes these claims here.
p.a.
C’mon Dave. This is obviously because of the House swap. Remember True Conservatism’s motto: cogito ergo dum
Steve in the ATL
OMFG I [expletive deleted] hate MCO.
Children should not be allowed in the pre check line. Or the sky priority line, for that matter.
Further bulletins as events warrant.
Corner Stone
Good God but I wish Monica Lewinsky would just stop for fuck’s sake.
Corner Stone
@Steve in the ATL: The TSA Pre Check? Of course they should.
Yarrow
Is there a list of the drugs in case anyone can stock up before the end of the year?
I hate them all so much.
Corner Stone
The great thing about Pfizer is that they basically cut all R&D spending and units years ago. Since then they’ve basically become a hedge fund company that buys smaller companies for their patents and then does exactly what you’d expect.
Steve in the ATL
@Corner Stone: says someone who has never flown out of Orlando!
Corner Stone
@Steve in the ATL: BS, baby. I’ve been to the great state of *checks notes*…Florida several times.
Steve in the ATL
@Corner Stone: well played. Or that airport bar wine was stronger than I realized.
“Yes, sir, we just opened an excellent box of 2018 reddish blend from one of the top fifty vineyards in Ocala!”
Yutsano
@Steve in the ATL:
Sigh. I can already tell you’ve had too much. Ocala is where all the horses are. No is digging up the pasture the nags get for no damn weeds.
daveNYC
@p.a.: That’s what the Republicans will be sayimg. Might work too.
TenguPhule
@Steve in the ATL:
This is your punishment for being a lawyer who has to travel a lot for work.
TenguPhule
@Yutsano:
That would explain the funny taste….
TenguPhule
I picked a hell of a week to give up drinking.
Mary G
Hoocoodanode? Everyone. That’s why Democrats made the midterms all about healthcare and the voters said yes, please.
TenguPhule
We are so fucked.
Frankensteinbeck
@TenguPhule:
If they want to humiliate themselves for the twentieth time…
Yarrow
@TenguPhule:
Huh? How’s that going to work?
Ruckus
@Steve in the ATL:
I’ve been put into that line. Me. You’ve met me. After all I am a child at heart.
eclare
@TenguPhule: Gawd I never thought I could loathe the word “deal” so much
Yutsano
@TenguPhule: Link?
Steve in the ATL
@Yutsano: rough year for my company. Can’t afford higher quality Kissimmee motel wine, have to settle for horse manure wine.
You 1%ers make me sick….
Jay
“POPULAR ON TWITTER
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Twitter › Ocasio2018
On Tuesday, we received criticism for supporting youth activists urging Democrats for stronger action on climate change. But by Friday, 6 Congressmembers signed onto the Green New Deal resolution: @repjohnlewis @RoKhanna @JoeNeguse @RashidaTlaib @Deb4CongressNM Thank them! ⬆️
45 minutes ago
Steve in the ATL
@Jay: (no one tell her how many it takes to pass a bill. And for gods sake don’t mention the senate or the White House!)
Yarrow
The best people.
TenguPhule
@Yutsano: HERE.
ruemara
@Jay: I would love it if Twitter required people to pass a 10th grade US government final, before they reposted things as a sign of something something. NO ONE WAS GOING TO DENY THIS GREEN NEW DEAL. No one. Not getting it passed doesn’t mean Dems were obstructing it, it means you didn’t get it through congress.
Jay
@Steve in the ATL:
6 signatures in 2 days, + Nancy Smash’s full support, while dealing effectively with mysoginistic, yute shaming attacks from the Old Boys Clubs,
and she’s not even sworn in yet.
But I understand #its impossible, #why bother trying, # just roll over and #give up.
TenguPhule
@Jay:
You do remember who’s in control of the Senate, yes?
Jay
@ruemara:
You realize, nothing the House passes in the next 2 years and 1 1/2 months, is going to pass the Senate or get signed by the Insane Clown POSus, right?
And “all this” is optics, positioning and platforming and getting it out to the Public because the MSM is loath to actually mention platforms and policy, right?
You know, politics right.
But I understand, AOC is “politicing wrong”.
Jay
@TenguPhule:
And your point is that Democrat’s shouldn’t engage in politics for the next 2 years and 1 1/2 months?
Mnemosyne
@Jay:
Yes, the Democrats would never have supported the Green New Deal if AOC hadn’t told them about it. They all slapped their foreheads and said, “My god, she’s right, we should do something about global warming! We never even thought of that!”
It’s hilarious how you’re watching a planned PR blitz by the new Democratic majority that’s backed by powerful House Democrats like John Lewis and think it was all AOC’s doing. ?
Hint: the spokeswoman out front is usually not the person who created the strategic plan, no matter how compelling she is. In fact, it’s highly unlikely that only one person created the strategic plan.
On the other hand, Cheryl can probably take a bow at this point since she was the first one to think that AOC and Pelosi were working in concert with each other from the start.
TenguPhule
@Jay: No, my point is that let’s not pretend its going to pass. This is showboating, nothing more.
Jay
@Mnemosyne:
Got it, as a young woman of colour, AOC needs to know her place. She needs to sit down, shut up and leave things to her betters.
Mnemosyne
@ruemara:
I’m starting to think Cheryl was right all along and AOC and Nancy Smash we’re playing us all along. ? It’s definitely a great advertisement for her as Speaker:
Hey, new kids! Do you have a pet project or cause you’d like to highlight? Come talk to Nonna and she’ll get you all fixed up with the publicity and backing you need.
Corner Stone
@TenguPhule: I don’t understand what about this is showboating? Nothing is going to be easy for the next two years. But we need to put paper together to show some of the things that matter to us. This seems like a hard uphill road to hoe that people are arbitrarily setting for some.
Mnemosyne
@Jay:
Yes, because AOC did this all on her own with no assistance at all from Nancy Pelosi and senior House Democrats like John Lewis. They certainly didn’t help her plan it or push it to the press. ?
Jay
@TenguPhule:
It got the Green Plan into the media.
The last time the Green Plan was mentioned in the media, was 807 days ago, during coverage of one of Hillary Clinton’s Campaign Speeches, as an aside.
But I understand, for “reasons” AKC is “politicing wrong”.
Corner Stone
@Mnemosyne: AOC…uhhh….specifically mentioned others that should be thanked…This is getting pathological for someone who has never yet cast a single vote we can hate on.
Jay
@Mnemosyne:
And what have the rest of your unseated Freshmen and Freshwomen managed to get done and out into the Media this week?
But I understand, you have not come to praise AOC, you have come to bury her.
zhena gogolia
@Corner Stone:
Come sit by me!
Vanity Fair seems invested in making her a “celebrity.”
debbie
@Yarrow:
I can’t find a list, but there’s this:
debbie
@Mnemosyne:
From the tweet above:
ETA: Though I only count five …
Jay
@zhena gogolia:
There’s a bunch of “media” “invested” in making her a celebrity.
There’s also a bunch of “media” “invested” in proving she’s a fake popualist billionaire communist with granite countertops.
She’s handled both well, always drawing the subject back to policy.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Twitter › Ocasio2018
If I walked into Congress wearing a sack, they would laugh & take a picture of my backside. If I walk in with my best sale-rack clothes, they laugh & take a picture of my backside. Dark hates light – that’s why you tune it out. Shine bright & keep it pushing.✨
1 day ago
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Twitter › Ocasio2018
Rep-elect @JoeNeguse of Colorado signing onto the #GreenNewDeal Select Committee proposed by Leader Pelosi. Thank you, Joe – we don’t have any time left to save our planet, and you’re leading the charge.
6 hours ago
TenguPhule
@Jay:
Where it will immediately drop out of sight and disappear down the memory hole because the media is more interested in the next shiny bright distraction then it is about policy.
We can scream and shout about what we should be fucking doing to fix shit. That’s fine. But for now there is no conceivable way to actually pass any of it into law and everyone on our side needs to keep that in mind and avoid fracturing or giving up because the House doesn’t manage to fix anything in the next six months.
I have no dog in this fight you keep trying to pick. I just want the horns pointed out at the fucking Republicans, whatever it takes.
Mnemosyne
@debbie:
That’s exactly my point. Jay thinks that AOC planned and organized this all by herself when it’s becoming more and more obvious that it’s a PR push planned by the House Democratic leadership with her assistance. It’s a hell of a smart play for all of them. She gets to be the spokesperson for a cause they all believe in and brings far more attention than any of the people signing on would have brought to it. It’s a win for everyone, and a very smart play that was well-orchestrated by the puppetmistress, Nancy Pelosi.
TenguPhule
@Corner Stone:
The language being thrown around is that Democrats in the House “must do more about climate change”.
Congress needs both House and Senate to get things done. The rhetoric needs to aimed at the obstructionist Republicans, not tarring our own. We have enough enemies as it is without getting into the circular firing squad again.
debbie
@Mnemosyne:
I apologize if I misread your post. To me, it sounded like you were saying she wasn’t giving anyone else credit. I’ve missed just about all of the last couple of nights’ back-and-forth about her, so I know little about positions, etc. Just promise me one thing: You’ll save a significant chunk of your passion to direct at those who really deserve it, the GOOPers!
Corner Stone
@TenguPhule: TBH, I don’t understand your take on this. We aren’t going to pass min wage bills, or health care bills, or any number of other worthy bills in the next two years. But we can’t, or shouldn’t, just sit on the sidelines and point fingers. Fight for a few things, fail some times, and make a bunch of campaign pitches for 2020. IMO that was always the plan when the Senate didn’t flip.
Jay
@Mnemosyne:
Wow, quite the Strawman factory you are running there.
Please cite the post where I said “that AOC planned and organized this all by herself”.
Little hint, you cant.
You just love making shit up.
TenguPhule
@Corner Stone:
I just want everyone from base to our representatives to all be on the same wavelength here. No misunderstandings or unrealistic expectations of what the elected Democrats can and can’t do.
Jay
@TenguPhule:
I’m not “trying to pick a fight”. I’m trying to point out a few tiny media “wins” that are happening for the Democratic Party, breaking through the MSM’s wall of bullshit, before the New House has even been seated.
The Ususal Suspects here prefer attacking a young freshwoman of colour who has helped get Democratic Platforms and Policies into the “news”, for not knowing her “proper place”.
Maybe they should spend their time finding out what kind of countertops she has.
The dominant MSM meme during the 2018 Midterms, was that the Democrats were running against Trump.
They wern’t. They were running on local issues and policies.
But if you arn’t a wonk, and instead get your news from the “half hour”, like many American voters and non-voters, you would never have known that.
Everytime the MSM is forced to actually mention Democratic Party policies and proposals, is a “big win” in the Time of Trump.
Mnemosyne
@Jay:
Really? So when you said this …
… you didn’t mean that she was standing up against the House Democrats, you meant she was working with them. And when you said this …
… what you really meant to say was that AOC was acting as the spokesperson for the leadership of the House in concert with them by using her celebrity to highlight one of Pelosi’s priorities.
You probably should work on your writing skills, because I’m not the only one here who seems to think that you were giving AOC all of the credit for what is looking more and more like a planned PR campaign in concert with the House leadership.
Mnemosyne
@debbie:
No worries. Like I said, I just realized that Cheryl’s take was actually the right one all along, so I’m still readjusting my thinking.
WaterGirl
@Jay:@Mnemosyne: Right or wrong, I don’t think I can take 2 years of AOC quibbling. It’s already ruining threads for me.
Yeah, I know, if I don’t like it I can skip over it. But at this rate, I would need to skip half the BJ threads, which I would rather not do.
Will no one think of the
childrenBJ commenters!Yarrow
@WaterGirl: I’m the same way. People can think she’s the most amazing new Rep ever or she’s just grabbing attention or she’s too involved with the Wilmer-left or she’s not left enough because she said something approving about Nancy Pelosi or whatever they want to think. She hasn’t even been sworn in and she’s already some kind of litmus test. It’s ridiculous. She’s like the new Wilmer. Bring her up and everyone starts flinging shit. I’d rather turn that energy outward toward Republicans.
WaterGirl
@Yarrow:
Absolutely.
If we have to repeat the same fight over and over again, I would almost rather fight about Al Franken, and those conversations leave me ready to scream with rage and frustration or spontaneously combust.
Jay
@Mnemosyne:
When I said this:
“ Got it, as a young woman of colour, AOC needs to know her place. She needs to sit down, shut up and leave things to her betters.“
I was pointing out what you think she should do,
Your agism, racisim, classism and mysogeny has been on full display.
When I said this:
“And what have the rest of your unseated Freshmen and Freshwomen managed to get done and out into the Media this week?
But I understand, you have not come to praise AOC, you have come to bury her.”
I was:
a) giving you an opportunity to cite even just one of the new Democratic House Members elect who has managed to berak through the “never mention the Democrats” MSM firewall in the Age of Trump,
but of course, you can’t,
and b) since AOC won here primary, your only purpose here is to slag her.
Jay
@WaterGirl:
For a bunch of lazy assed reasons, the MSM has decided that AOC is either a rising “star”, or a double secret communist billionaire.
She’s going to get a lot of mentions, until the MSM finds a news shiny object to chase.
So, you are going to have to get used to a “certain kind” of Democrat constantly slagging her and trying to drive her down.
If she has a long, sucessful career, they will be still trying her down 20 years from now for “Democrating Wrong”.
Yarrow
@Jay:
The one I canvassed for has been in our local media on local issues and key issues constituents wanted addressed. As it should be at this point, imho.
Mnemosyne
@Jay:
Ah, so your reading comprehension is lacking, too. Somehow, I’m not surprised. It seems to match your issues with spelling. Of the 4 “-isms” you accused me of above, you spelled 3 of them incorrectly.
Also, you should probably look up the definition of “ageism.” You keep using the word, but it doesn’t actually mean what you seek to think it does.
In other words, I find your attempted “arguments” to lack substance since you don’t understand the buzzwords you’re throwing around, so there’s no point in even addressing them. Good day.
Mnemosyne
@WaterGirl:
@Yarrow:
Poor Jay is going to be let down with a thump when he realizes that AOC is a politician with human failings and not Wonder Woman brought to life. ?♀️
WaterGirl
@Jay: You and Mnem are getting really tedious about this. For god’s sake, just let it go.
WaterGirl
@Mnemosyne: If your “good day” means you are no longer going to engage with him on this, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Bobby Thomson
The press releases last year were coordinated though – similar language, etc. Republicans undoubtedly had a PR shop circulating a fill in the blank form.
Jay
@Yarrow:
As it should be, kinda.
The Changing of the Guard and the Platform Carriers would be a major National Story for weeks, in a country that had a functioning First Estate and no Insane Clown POSus.
It’s a big deal and they really pulled off the elections off of a Wave of Engagement, but it’s a MSM “non-story”. Not enough Reality TV to it.
Jay
@WaterGirl:
She’s not going to pie me, she’s not going to not respond and she’s going to keep slagging AOC as long as AOC is in politics.
Yarrow
@Jay: I have no idea what this comment means. Your random capitalization of words in the middle of sentences is quite Trumpian.
Bobby Thomson
I feel about AOC pretty much the same way I feel about Miley Cyrus. A lot of people are or will be mad that she doesn’t live up to their imaginary view of her, while others think she is an overhyped creation of PR. While I don’t think of her as one of the best, she is leveraging opportunities she has, she has legitimate talent, and a lot of the criticisms of her come from her refusing to play a role written by others. Cut her some slack.
Jay
@Mnemosyne:
Actually, I expect “my politicians” to be both politicians and fallible.
LMFA off at your projection and continual use of strawmen.
You sound exactly like a FB non-voting Bernie Bro talking about Hillary.
LMFAO
WaterGirl
@Jay: That’s a pretty dramatic statement, and it makes me wonder how old you are and if you are new to politics.
Jay
@Yarrow:
So, you have no clue that the Democrats have elected the youngest, most diverse House in US history. That’s a big deal. Not to the MSM
Many of your incoming House Members came directly out of Indivisible, the Women’s March, etc. That’s a big deal. Huge. Almost nobody from past protests ever made it to office. It’s not a “worthy story” for the MSM.
Back in the 60’s, 70’s, even part way through the ‘80’s, a major shift like this was worth at least one National MSM “profile” coverage of each of the incoming House Members.
Not anymore. In the Time of Trump unsourced rumours of the current state of Hair Twitler’s fee-fees due jour are worth 24/7 coverage.
Yarrow
@Jay:
Just because your previous comment was written in such a way that it was difficult to understand what you meant does not mean that I do not know who was elected to the US House.
WaterGirl
@Jay: I have to say I am with Yarrow on this. That’s a lot of buzz words (phrases), two of which I have never seen before, and I have certainly never seen any of them capitalized.
Changing of the Guard
the Platform Carriers
Wave of Engagement
Jay
@WaterGirl:
I’m 68 and have been actively involved in Canadian politics since I was 18.
I’ve been “obsessively” following US politics since Reagan, when the Canadian “conservatives” started importing ReThug advisors, Think tanks, tactics and policies.
Andrew Scheer is going to try to run his 2019 Campaign off what “worked” for the ReThugs in 2018 with a bit of Trumpism thrown in, because his campaign will be crafted and run by the same teams of ReThug consultants.
WaterGirl
@Yarrow: Yeah, the MSM rarely covers anything I think is important; why should we expect them to start now? They have been missing the plot for at least 3 years now, and that is being generous.
WaterGirl
@Jay: My guesses on your age and political involvement were wrong, then. I guess I just don’t get why you feel so strongly about AOC — I am way more enthused about a lot of the other folks who were just elected to the house.
But I feel passionate about Beto, so whatever floats your boat. I just hope you won’t continue to tirelessly flog the same thing over and over. As you no doubt know, sometimes less is more.
edit: Please don’t mistake that as me asking you to explain why you are so passionate about AOC – my interest in her died a couple of days ago with the endless back and forth. Let’s see what she does as a legislator.
Jay
@WaterGirl:
Changing of the Guard = the diverse array of new House Members replacing all the Old White Guys,
the Platform Carriers = contrary to what the MSM said, the incoming Democrats ran on policies and issues, not Trump. Policies + Issues are often referred to in politics as a “platform”,
Wave of Engagement = people didn’t just come out of the various protests to run for office, they came out of the protests and “non-engagement” to staff, volenteer, fundraise.
For every Democrat woman elected to office, there are thousands of engaged supporters, most of whom have never been involved in politics before, who did a lot of the “heavy lifting” of the campaigns. A diverse array of people “got involved” way beyond just voting.
WaterGirl
@Jay: Yes, I know what those words mean. But capitalizing them is not aiding in your communication, and please please please stop your condescending explanations – as if we don’t already know!
I am bailing on this conversation. Have a good night.
Jay
@WaterGirl:
The AOC/Pelosi “stunt” broke through the MSM firewall and got Democratic Party policy to a broader audience despite the Trump 24/7 coverage,
and AOC is keeping the policy in the “news” even if it’s just an adjunct to conservative attacks on her.
When a Democrat busts Gun Control policies through the MSM firewall and into the news, I’ll post that too.
Anything that breaks through the MSM firewall regarding issues that arn’t Trump, that is positive for Democrat’s I’ll post and celibrate.
There are things happening that arn’t Trump.
Jay
@WaterGirl:
You didn’t “understand my post” but you know what those words “mean”,
and when I respond to your post of confusion trying to better explain my shorthand, “I’m condescending?”
Got it.
satby
I smell troll.
Henry Penning
@Yarrow: Sure, install the blond bimbo attorney general of Florida who dropped an investigation into trump university after he gave her campaign $25,000. That’s the way to drain the swamp!