The ASA Political Action Committee (ASAPAC) marked
the 2001-02 election cycle with heightened political
involvement and qualified success in supporting candidates
for the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives
and gubernatorial posts. With growing recognition
of the political and legislative challenges facing
the specialty, ASAPAC spent nearly $1.6 million in
contributions and involved itself with 18 candidates
for the U.S. Senate, more than 200 candidates for
the U.S. House of Representatives and a number of
key gubernatorial candidates.
In the U.S. Senate, ASAPAC enjoyed a historic win
with the defeat of New Hampshire Governor and Democratic
U.S. Senate candidate Jeanne Shaheen. With ASAPAC’s
support, the governor was defeated by GOP candidate
John Sununu by 19,000 votes.
In response to Governor Shaheen’s June 2002
decision to exempt her state from the Medicare physician
supervision requirement, ASAPAC launched a campaign
to block the governor in her effort to win a U.S.
Senate seat. As part of an independent expenditure
campaign, ASAPAC used a number of different mediums
to inform Medicare-aged voters in New Hampshire about
the governor’s decision to weaken Medicare patient
safety standards in the state. Newspaper advertisements,
radio spots and an aggressive, targeted, direct-mail
campaign informed voters about the governor’s
decision and its impact on them and, apparently with
some effect, their families.
Although difficult to quantify overall, the impact
of ASAPAC’s campaign on its target audience
was seen in the experience of one New Hampshire anesthesiologist.
During a preoperative examination, the anesthesiologist
was asked by a Medicare beneficiary if he had heard
“what Governor Shaheen had just done to the
state’s Medicare program.” The beneficiary
then recited virtually word-for-word one of ASAPAC’s
radio spots. The patient punctuated the discussion
by stating: “That’s why I’m not
going to vote for Governor Shaheen.”
The defeat of Jeanne Shaheen was complemented by a
number of important wins for ASAPAC in U.S. Senate
contests. In Texas, anesthesiologist-backed GOP candidate
John Cornyn won his race to replace retiring Senator
Phil Gramm. In Montana, Senate Finance Committee Chair
Max Baucus won a new term, and in North Carolina,
Elizabeth Dole, with strong backing by North Carolina
anesthesiologists, prevailed in her race to replace
retiring Senator Jesse Helms, a longtime friend of
anesthesiology. ASAPAC also backed Minnesota GOP candidate
Norm Coleman. Other ASAPAC-backed candidates such
as Republican Jim Talent of Missouri, Democrat Jack
Reed of Rhode Island and Democrat John D. (Jay) Rockefeller
of West Virginia also won.
Among Senate races involving physicians, ASAPAC-backed
candidate Greg Ganske, M.D. (R), was defeated by incumbent
Tom Harkin (D) in Iowa. In Louisiana, ASAPAC-backed
Senate candidate John Cooksey, M.D. (R), failed to
win enough votes to advance to the December run-off
against incumbent Mary Landrieu (D).
In the U.S. House, the vast majority of ASAPAC-backed
candidates prevailed. However, among the few competitive
contests, it was a mixed bag for ASAPAC. Some vulnerable
GOP incumbents such as Robin Hayes in North Carolina-8th
Congressional District (CD), Robert R. Simmons in
Connecticut-2nd CD, and Ways and Means Committee member
E. Clay Shaw, Jr., in Florida-22nd CD were re-elected
without much difficulty. Others such as Heather Wilson
in New Mexico-1st CD and Henry Bonilla in Texas-23rd
CD won in very close races. Among vulnerable Democrats,
ASAPAC candidates Bill Luther of Minnesota-2nd CD,
a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee,
and Karen Thurman of Florida-5th CD, a member of the
Health Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee,
were defeated. Both will be missed by anesthesiology.
Among open-seat House candidates, ASAPAC did exceptionally
well. An open-seat is a congressional district in
which there is no incumbent running either due to
retirement or because the district was newly created
through reapportionment. ASAPAC-backed open-seat winners
include Phil Gingrey, M.D. (R), an obstetrician/gynecologist
in Georgia-11th CD, David Scott (D) in Georgia-13th
CD, Tom Feeney (R) in Florida-24th CD, Mario Diaz-Balart
in Florida-25th CD, John Porter (R) in Nevada-3rd
CD, Jim Gerlach (R) in Pennsylvania-6th CD and Dennis
Cardoza (D) in California-18th CD. Other open-seat
winners include Jo Bonner (R) in Alabama-1st CD and
Bill Janklow (R) in South Dakota-AL. Mr. Bonner is
the spouse of former ASAPAC staff member, Janeé
Bonner. Mr. Janklow is the soon-to-be former governor
of South Dakota who vetoed a nurse anesthetist independent
practice bill.
An aspect of the 2002 elections with which ASAPAC
is particularly pleased is its decision to make contributions
to candidates for state office where permitted by
state law. This election marks the first time that
ASAPAC participated in state legislative and gubernatorial
elections. Direct ASAPAC contributions went to New
Mexico gubernatorial winner Bill Richardson (D), Maryland
winner Robert Ehrlich, Jr. (R) and unsuccessful Iowa
challenger Doug Gross (R). Mr. Gross was challenging
incumbent Tom Vilsak, the nation’s first governor
to opt out of the Medicare physician supervision requirement.
Contributions also were provided to the Republican
and Democratic governor associations and a number
of state party committees in support of gubernatorial
candidates.
ASAPAC also made a contribution to Maryland State
Senator Andrew P. Harris, M.D., an anesthesiologist.
Dr. Harris was one of five anesthesiologists to run
for election or re-election to state office and one
of four to prevail (see page 7). Other successful
anesthesiologist-candidates include Tom M. George,
M.D., for the Michigan State Senate, Kyle L. Janek,
M.D., for the Texas State Senate and Sam L. Page,
M.D., for the Missouri State House of Representatives.
Gregar H. Lind, M.D., ran a strong yet unsuccessful
campaign as an independent for the Montana State House
of Representatives.
ASAPAC’s work in the 2001-02 election cycle
has served to strengthen anesthesiology’s hand
in the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House. The specialty
has gained a few much-needed supporters in governors’
mansions. Additionally, with the defeat of Governor
Shaheen, anesthesiology has made clear its intentions
to aggressively target for defeat, whenever possible,
those who actively work to dismantle important Medicare
patient safety standards.
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Members of the 2002 ASAPAC Executive
Board
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Chair
Danial O. Laird, M.D.
Las Vegas, Nevada |
Secretary-Treasurer
Bruce R. Brookens, M.D.
Englewood, Colorado |
Board Members
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Arthur M. Boudreaux,
M.D.
Birmingham, Alabama
Patricia J. Davidson, M.D.
Columbus, Ohio
Scott B. Groudine, M.D.
Latham, New York
William D. Hetrick, M.D.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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Tripti C. Kataria,
M.D.
Brookline, Massachusetts
Norman Levin, M.D.
Los Angeles, California
Randall P. Maydew, M.D.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
John M. Zerwas, M.D.
Houston, Texas
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Manuel
E. Bonilla works on federal legislative issues
important to the membership. He also assists
the ASAPAC Executive Board. |
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