Arrow-right Camera
Subscribe now

‘New sheriff’, old idea

In response to Gregory Ruff’s letter, “Trump’s the new sheriff,” I would encourage Ruff to study his history more carefully. Democrats have championed allowing Medicare to negotiate with Big Pharma from the inception of President Bush’s prescription drug benefit passage in 2003, and Republicans have blocked it all along.

In 2007, the House passed a bill that would have granted Medicare the ability to negotiate with Big Pharma, and a Senate procedural vote blocked it. Then-Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. Sanders (I) and pretty much every other Democratic senator, along with six Republican senators, voted to give bargaining power. This bill was blocked by 42 Republican senators who cared more about Big Pharma than the patients paying for these expensive drugs.

Hillary Clinton’s record speaks for itself. She championed disadvantaged seniors, not Big Pharma. Since then, Republicans have continued to block negotiating power. The “new sheriff’s” ideas aren’t that new after all. It would’ve been nice to have seen an editor’s comment on this.

Chris Anderson

Spokane



Letters policy

The Spokesman-Review invites original letters on local topics of public interest. Your letter must adhere to the following rules:

  • No more than 250 words
  • We reserve the right to reject letters that are not factually correct, racist or are written with malice.
  • We cannot accept more than one letter a month from the same writer.
  • With each letter, include your daytime phone number and street address.
  • The Spokesman-Review retains the nonexclusive right to archive and re-publish any material submitted for publication.

Unfortunately, we don’t have space to publish all letters received, nor are we able to acknowledge their receipt. (Learn more.)

Submit letters using any of the following:

Our online form
Submit your letter here
Mail
Letters to the Editor
The Spokesman-Review
999 W. Riverside Ave.
Spokane, WA 99201
Fax
(509) 459-3815

Read more about how we crafted our Letters to the Editor policy