The Big Question: Who should replace PhRMA’s head?

Some of the nation’s top political commentators, legislators and
intellectuals offer their insight into the biggest question burning up
the blogosphere today .




Today’s question:

Former
Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-La.) is stepping down as head of PhRMA. Should the
powerful trade group replace him with a Democrat or a Republican?

Justin Raimondo, editorial director of Antiwar.com, said:

They should hold a contest to see who is the most corrupt member of Congress: (see “the judgement of Paris” as the precursor to the Trojan war). That is going to be a very close contest, but no doubt the winner will deserve the prize.

John F. McManus, president of The John Birch Society, said:

The trade group PhRMA should do what all government agencies should do: Fill an empty slot with a patriotic American. The time for considering someone’s political party affiliation as a worthwhile litmus test disappeared long ago.
 
Bill Clinton’s mentor, Georgetown University Professor Carroll Quigley, indicated his awareness (and approval) of this situation in his 1966 book Tragedy and Hope.  He wrote: “The argument that the two parties should represent opposed ideals and policies, one, perhaps, of the Right and the other of the Left, is a foolish idea acceptable only to doctrinaire and academic thinkers.  Instead, the two parties should be almost identical, so that the American people can ‘throw the rascals out’ at any given election without leading to any profound or extensive shifts in policy.”
 
Candidates for office, and candidates for corporate positions, should be judged on the principles they hold, not on a political party affiliation that can mean anything.