Snappy Casual - The Alumni Lounge

More Fred vs. Gil - This Time in the Post

The Washington Post has also picked up the story of Fred putting Rep. Gutknecht in his place at Grover's, courtesy of WP Hill reporter Juliet Eilperin:

"The proposal to allow U.S.-made prescription drugs to be reimported from foreign countries sparked a fierce debate among conservatives in Republican activist Grover Norquist's weekly meeting on Wednesday. Rep. Gil Gutknecht (R-Minn.) outlined his bill before representatives from several think tanks. The attendees -- including Steve Moore from the Club for Growth and Fred Smith from the Competitive Enterprise Institute -- blasted the proposal, according to participants. Pharmaceutical companies oppose the reimportation idea, but consumer groups support it.

"At one point, Smith accused Gutknecht of trying to stifle pharmaceutical innovation. The bill, he said, would prevent U.S. companies from speeding lifesaving drugs to the commercial market. 'Your bill's going to kill people,' Smith said."

Fred Stands Up to the Man

Fred at Grover's is always a good show. This last Wednesday was especially entertaining, at Roll Call's HOH column reported this morning. Our FLS makes a scene with Rep. Gil Gutknecht:


Fireworks Fly

Conservative leader Grover Norquist hates it when the details of his vaunted off-the-record Wednesday Group meetings spill, but last week's session was too explosive not to dribble out.

Rep. Gil Gutknecht (R-Minn.) got savaged as he tried to pitch his drug reimportation bill to skeptical conservatives. He faced a flurry of attacks from fellow Republicans at the rowdy session, with one participant literally accusing the Congressman of trying to murder people.

"Instead of pitching, he ended up dodging," cracked one insider.

Gutknecht came in to face dozens of individuals from conservative groups in order to win backing for his legislation that would allow the importation of prescription drugs from 26 countries. But the free traders in Norquist's influential group weren't ready to swallow that medicine, insisting that the bill would be a travesty for consumers.

Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.)desperately promised Gutknecht and Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.) a vote on the reimportation bill as the price for getting them to vote for the Medicare prescription drug legislation, which squeaked through by one vote.

Fred Smith of the Competitive Enterprise Institute charged that the reimportation bill will damage U.S. pharmaceutical companies, who would cut back on research on life-saving drugs.

"Congressman, your bill is going to kill people," Smith declared.

Gutknecht, whose bill is expected to face a vote this week, decided not to react.

"Sometimes it doesn't do any good to cast pearls before swine," Gutknecht told HOH, saying he tried to avoid getting down in the gutter. "But Iheld my own. It's sort of a political version" of professional wrestling.

"There are some points that do not deserve a response," he said.

Smith told HOH, "Yeah, it will kill people. And he doesn't even seem to give a damn. The demagoguery is shameful."

The sparring continued in the hallway when Gutknecht left the room, with one source saying that Grace Marie-Turner of the Galen Institute was "literally screaming" at the Congressman.

"It was a very, very energetic conversation," Turner told HOH, stressing that she was not yelling. "Ithink he was sorry he came into that room."

Emerson has crafted a substitute that would try importation from Canada for three years, with drugs from Europe coming in further down the road. It's unclear whether the House GOPleadership will bring up the original bill or the substitute.

"That's a good question," said Gutknecht. "I think the one that comes up will be the one they think they can defeat easier."