erhaps it was a bit of good luck that rubbed off on the ASA Political Action Committee (ASAPAC) Executive Board members during their attendance at the ASA 2004 Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada, last October. Or perhaps it was the fact that so many politically active ASA members put their time and resources on “the table” in support of important federal and state candidates. Whatever it was, the hands dealt to ASAPAC on November 2 included enough winners to make the 2003-04 election cycle — ASAPAC’s seventh election cycle in operation — one of its most successful ever. From the federal races at the top of the ticket to state races down ticket, ASAPAC-backed candidates of both parties claimed impressive wins for anesthesiology and all of medicine.

At the top of the ticket, ASAPAC supported the incumbent President George W. Bush for re-election. Many ASA members had urged the PAC to support the incumbent administration, citing the president’s work to reverse, in part, the Clinton Administration’s elimination of the Medicare physician supervision requirement, the Bush Administration’s support for Medicare physician payment increases for 2003, 2004 and 2005 and the president’s strong personal commitment to advancing professional liability reform. Also cited were the efforts of Senators John F. Kerry and John R. Edwards, while in the U.S. Senate, to expand nurse scope of practice and the senators’ strong opposition to meaningful liability reform. Sen. Edward’s work in North Carolina as a plaintiff’s attorney also was noted. ASAPAC’s support for the Bush-Cheney campaign marked the first time in its 14-year history that it had participated in a presidential election.

Members of the 2005 ASAPAC Executive Board

Chair Danial O. Laird, M.D. Las Vegas, Nevada

Secretary Scott B. Groudine, M.D. Latham, New York

Board Members James L. Becker, M.D. — Waukee, Iowa Patricia J. Davidson, M.D. — Columbus, Ohio Steven D. Goldfien, M.D. — San Francisco, California Charles D. Gregorius, M.D. — Lincoln, Nebraska Steven J. Hattamer, M.D. — Nashua, New Hampshire Scott E. Kercheville, M.D. — San Antonio, Texas Randall P. Maydew, M.D. — Albuquerque, New Mexico Jeffrey S. Plagenhoef, M.D. — Dothan, Alabama Brian N. Vaughan, M.D. — Chapel Hill, North Carolina Hector Vila, Jr., M.D. — Tampa, Florida

In U.S. Senate races, ASAPAC was dealt a raft of good hands as virtually all key ASAPAC-backed candidates prevailed in their re-election or election efforts. Of particular note was the re-election of Democrat Senator Harry Reid of Nevada. Sen. Reid, a longtime patient safety advocate, was supported by ASAPAC in a series of radio advertisements aired on Las Vegas and Reno radio stations featuring ASA Past President Neil Swissman, M.D., of Las Vegas. The advertisements praised Sen. Reid for his longstanding support of various federal patient safety initiatives. With his re-election win, Sen. Reid is expected to become the Senate Democratic leader, filling the vacancy created by the defeat of Senator Thomas A. Daschle (D) of South Dakota.

Another key Senate win for ASAPAC occurred in South Carolina with the election of Congressman Jim DeMint (R) in the race to fill the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by the retirement of Senator Ernest F. Hollings (D). Rep. DeMint, a strong advocate for legal reform, enjoyed heavy support from physicians throughout the state, including unusually strong support from anesthesiologists. Columbia, South Carolina anesthesiologist and ASA Board member Vincent J. Degenhart, M.D., was featured in an ASAPAC-funded, statewide radio advertisement campaign in support of Rep. DeMint. The well-received advertisements commended Rep. DeMint for his strong and consistent support for professional liability reform and his effort to expand access to health insurance.

Other key wins for the ASAPAC occurred in key Senate races throughout the South. In North Carolina, Congressman Richard Burr (R) prevailed in his race to fill the seat left by vice-presidential candidate John Edwards. Rep. Burr, a longtime supporter of physicians, won with the strong support of Bertram W. Coffer, M.D., Richard L. Gilbert, M.D., Wesley B. Robinson, M.D., and other members of the North Carolina Society of Anesthesiologists (NCSA). In 2003, ASA and NCSA honored the work of Rep. Burr at a reception at the ASA Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C.

In Louisiana, ASAPAC supported Congressman David Vitter in his victory to fill the seat of retiring Louisiana icon Senator John B. Breaux (D). Rep. Vitter, who has longstanding ties to anesthesiologists in the Metairie and New Orleans areas of the state, was honored at the 2004 ASA Legislative Conference. He is the first popularly elected GOP Senator in Louisiana history.

Georgia and Florida also were sites of wins by key ASAPAC-backed candidates. In Georgia, 6th Congressional District Congressman Johnny Isakson (R), who has worked with Georgia anesthesiologists for years, will replace Senator Zell B. Miller (D). And in Florida, Mel Martinez (R), former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, narrowly won the Senate seat being vacated by Senator Bob Graham (D). ASAPAC Executive Board member Hector Vila, Jr., M.D., worked with the Martinez campaign in the Tampa area.

Looking to the Midwest, all of medicine enjoyed a very important victory in Oklahoma with the election of Tom Coburn, M.D. Dr. Coburn, a family physician and obstetrician, served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1994 through 2000. During his House tenure, he served on the influential House Energy and Commerce Committee — a committee with significant jurisdiction over health care issues. Dr. Coburn’s work on the committee focused on Medicare payment issues and efforts to advance the Patients’ Bill of Rights. Sticking to his 1994 pledge to serve only three terms in Congress, Dr. Coburn left office in 2000 and returned to Oklahoma where he practiced medicine until deciding to run for the U.S. Senate early in 2004. Dr. Coburn’s successful return to elected politics was supported locally by ASA member J. William Kinsinger, M.D., of Oklahoma City. Dr. Kinsinger organized an ASAPAC-supported campaign event in his home for Dr. Coburn.

Despite the many winning hands enjoyed by ASAPAC on November 2, there are inevitably those bad hands that must be played out. Such was the case in the U.S. Senate race in Washington state. There 5th Congressional District Congressman George R. Nethercutt, Jr. (R) fell short in his effort to unseat incumbent Senator Patty Murray (D). Despite an ASAPAC-funded statewide radio campaign and the broad support of the state’s physician community, Mr. Nethercutt, a strong advocate for professional liability reform and a friend of many local anesthesiologists, was never able to generate the level of support he needed to defeat the sitting Senator. Congressman Nethercutt and his enduring efforts to address his state’s severe professional liability problem will be sorely missed by the medical community.  

Moving further down the ticket, if nothing more, the 2004 elections affirmed the old axiom about the power of incumbency in the U.S. House of Representatives — it is very difficult to defeat a sitting member of the House. Indeed virtually all 120 ASAPAC-backed House incumbents were re-elected. In particular all ASAPAC-supported physician members of Congress won re-election with relative ease. Re-elected physicians included longtime ASA friend and recipient of the ASA Excellence in Government Award Congressman Dave Weldon, M.D. (R-FL), Phil Gingrey, M.D. (R-GA), Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX) and Donna M. Christensen, M.D. (D-Virgin Islands).

Other key ASAPAC-backed House incumbents re-elected included House Ways and Means Committee members E. Clay Shaw, Jr. (R-FL), J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ) and Richard E. Neal (D-MA). Committee Chairman William M. Thomas (R-CA), a strong advocate for physicians, and Nancy L. Johnson (R-CT) and Fortney H. “Pete” Stark (D-CA), all key figures in setting Medicare payment policies in the House, also were re-elected with ASAPAC support. Committee member Max A. Sandlin, Jr. (D-TX) fell victim to redistricting in Texas and was defeated in his re-election bid.

Important House Energy and Commerce Committee members re-elected included Charles Norwood (R-GA), Frank Pallone, Jr., (D-NJ) — a recognized leader in pain related issues — Bobby Rush (D-IL), Gene Green (D-TX) and John Sullivan (R-OK).

Among the hotly contested “toss-up” Congressional Districts, ASAPAC supported winners Pete Sessions (R-TX) and Jim Matheson (D-UT). Rep. Sessions, running in the newly drawn 32nd Congressional District of Texas, defeated redistricted Representative Martin Frost (D). Rep. Frost, a 13-term incumbent, was the former Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and a strong supporter of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists. Rep. Matheson, a rare pro-liability reform Democrat, won re-election in the Republican-leaning 2nd Congressional District of Utah.

Among open-seat House candidates (candidates running for the seats of retiring members), ASAPAC was particularly pleased to support the winning campaigns of Jeff Fortenberry (R) and former Missouri State Representative Russ Carnahan (D). Rep. Fortenberry won in the open 1st Congressional District of Nebraska with the support of ASAPAC Board member Charles D. Gregorius, M.D. And Rep. Carnahan, the son of former U.S. Senator Jean Carnahan (D-MO) and a friend of the Missouri Society of Anesthesiologists, won the seat of retiring Democratic House Leader Richard A. Gephardt in Missouri’s 3rd Congressional District.

Another open-seat race of importance to the specialty was the preordained victory of State Senator Thomas Price, M.D., in Georgia’s heavily Republican 6th Congressional District. Dr. Price faced no real opposition in the November 2 election after prevailing in raucous open-seat GOP primary and run-off elections in July and August, respectively. An orthopaedic surgeon by training and education and the spouse of an anesthesiologist, Dr. Price received support from ASAPAC by way of a targeted ASAPAC-funded Atlanta radio and direct-mail campaign featuring local Atlanta anesthesiologists Steven L. Sween, M.D., an ASA Board member, and Gwen K. Davis, M.D. The effective ASAPAC campaign informed Republican voters about Dr. Price’s strong record of accomplishment as a Georgia state legislator, including his status as the first GOP Senate Majority Leader in the state’s history.

Though usually down ballot from federal races, state races are of no less importance to ASAPAC. Indeed followers of ASAPAC activities know that in recent years the PAC has begun to look for opportunities to put our money on “the table” in state races of importance to the specialty. As a federally registered political action committee, ASAPAC can only make contributions to candidates in states where the state’s campaign finance law permits such contributions. Fortunately there are a number of states of importance to anesthesiology where such contributions are permitted. Missouri is one such state. In Missouri, at the request of local anesthesiologists, ASAPAC supported Republican candidate and eventual winner Matt Blunt in his gubernatorial campaign. Governor-Elect Blunt also received strong support from the Missouri Society of Anesthesiologists and many of its members. The governor-elect is well-known as a strong advocate for meaningful professional liability reform and is expected to make the long-delayed enactment of reform one of his top priorities.

Oregon and Montana are two other states that permit federal PACs to participate in state elections. In Oregon, at the recommendation of ASA member Thomas J. Hammond, M.D., ASAPAC supported state legislative candidate Alan Bates, M.D., a physician candidate for the Oregon state Senate. Dr. Bates prevailed in his race and is now the only physician legislator in the Oregon legislature. ASAPAC also was pleased to support Gregar H. Lind, M.D., ASA Alternate Director, in his successful run for the Montana state Senate. Dr. Lind will be one of five ASA-member anesthesiologists serving in a state legislature in 2005.

The election and re-election of so many key ASAPAC-backed candidates could bode well for anesthesiology. The continuation of a Bush Administration that has been generally friendly to the medical community offers ASA the continued opportunity to work to address key regulatory issues impacting the specialty. In the U.S. Senate, where there were once a few members with strong ties to their state’s anesthesiologists, there are now many more. Indeed a number of these new U.S. Senators already have solid records of support on important patient safety, Medicare payment, pain-related and liability issues. In the House of Representatives, the return of ASAPAC-backed incumbents and the election of freshman lawmakers such as State Senator Price will surely strengthen the voice of anesthesiology in the halls of Congress. Similarly the election of Matt Blunt, Dr. Bates, Dr. Lind and others will strengthen the voice of the specialty in state legislatures.

Even so, challenges remain for the specialty as we strive to work with these new lawmakers to advance our issues. These challenges include the budgetary situations of the federal government and many state governments, the unwillingness of some lawmakers to appropriately fund reimbursement programs and, of course, the efforts of our opponents to put their narrow interests ahead of the interests of our patients. Only time will tell if these obstacles can be overcome.

As it is often said, political campaigns are the evil twin of public policy. Without engaging in the first, one is unable to be effective in the second. ASAPAC and politically active anesthesiologists have done the first successfully; now we have to continue the fight to do the second successfully.
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Manuel E. Bonilla works on federal legislative issues important to the membership. He also assists the ASAPAC Executive Board.