Republicans Anonymous

The FDA is being criticized for approving dangerous drugs. Taking swift and decisive action, Mr. Bush promptly PROMOTES the guy responsible for gutting drug safety investigations:

... House investigators (In 1985) concluded that Dr. Crawford, at that point the director of the F.D.A.'s Center for Veterinary Medicine, had put the interests of the livestock industry ahead of the public's interest in protecting health.

A committee report, adopted unanimously, found that Dr. Crawford "actually fostered the illegal marketing of unapproved drugs," failed to discourage the illegal use of drugs that tainted the milk supply, failed to remove drugs from the market that had been proven unsafe and approved drugs that his staff members suspected were carcinogenic.

Dr. Crawford disbanded an independent drug-safety group for humans within his center because, he stated then, "it is now our job to approve drugs." Internal reports warned that this move would undermine safety concerns, hearings found.

This last finding has echoes today. Some lawmakers recently proposed the creation of a drug safety center that would be independent of those at the F.D.A. who approve new drugs. Dr. Crawford opposes these proposals.
...

...Dr. Sidney Wolfe, the drug safety gadfly at Public Citizen, denounced the nomination.

"Crawford has been and will be one of the worst commissioners that there has been," Dr. Wolfe said. "He's a terrible choice."


Source: New York Times F.D.A. Nominee May Face Scrutiny of Tough Year and Tough Past March 17, 2005

Democrats and any Republicans still moral enough to place the public interest ahead of their careers should reject this particularly incompetent Bush nominee. Democrats should suck it up and demand full hearings. George Duh-bill-you (pron. W) Bush must be held personally responsible for the next FDA-sanctioned drug calamity.