Frist: No Liability for Bird Flu Vaccine. Repugs exploit everything.

I just saw Frist on C-span passing on scary facts about the potential for a pandemic in the U.S. He then went on to stress that we can't have folks suing the manufacturers if the happen to injure or kill anyone with any experimental drug they may produce at the government's request. He expanded his no-liability wishlist to include vaccines and treatments for AIDS and other infectious diseases.

I don't think manufacturers should be exempt from liability if they withhold safety information from FDA or the public about their product. The FDA should regulate the drugs and the torts should be there to enforce the regulations. It's the threat of multi-millions in fines that compels a manufacturer to produce safe products and thoroughly inform the public about any risks that might come from using the product.

But, (Dr.)Frist's actions today got under my skin, not just because of his opportunistic attempt to give financial cover to his cohorts in the pharmaceutical industry. What struck me was this is yet another moment where the republicans have taken a tragedy, or in this case, potential tragedy, and attempted to exploit it to weaken the protections we rely on as U.S. citizens. They want to weaken protections that give us the ability to defend ourselves against big business or big government, and republicans are intent on diluting or eliminating the benefits that we have provided to give average Americans a leg up to a decent living.

There was the republican assault on our constitutional protections right after 9-11, asking Americans to give up their rights to due process, protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, the right to peaceful assembly . . .

Then the Defense Dept. wanted waivers on environmental rules, arguing that the restrictions infringed on national security. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/10/AR2005051001567.html

We all remember in New Orleans, after Katrina, when Bush wanted to exempt re-builders there from paying the prevailing wage.

Now here is their leader Frist, asking us to forgive the liability of drug manufacturers in the face of what his colleagues describe as a coming pandemic. Is there no tragedy or potential tragedy that these cretins won't exploit to give aid and comfort to their corporate benefactors? Disgusting.