Mr. Cox has accepted big tobacco donations for years. Yet he claims the money doesn’t influence his votes? Then why do they keep giving him money?

Chris Cox’s interview with Dan Tsang on KUCI is interesting for several reasons. Particularly, the last 20 minutes are pertinent to his donations from tobacco companies. (To listen click on http://falco.kuci.uci.edu/~dtsang/subversity/thisweek.htm, scroll down to October 29, 2002, then click on the loud-speaker icon, then you can fast forward to the 41st minute.)

1. You will notice by listening to the entire interview that Mr. Cox has an excellent command of detail when he wants to – about China, tobacco issues, etc.

2. When it comes to remembering whether or not he accepts campaign donations from Philip Morris, he somehow cannot remember. This is so despite both RJ Reynolds and Philip Morris being perennial donors (according to www.opensecrets.org).

3. Mr. Cox then makes the amazing statement that his donations don’t influence his voting. He claims that he’s no friend of the tobacco companies. But, he’s only giving you part of the story. Indeed, his hard work and leadership in Congress to limit class action lawsuits against tobacco companies completely contradicts that statement. Yes, class action lawsuits continue to be the tobacco firms’ biggest nemesis because House leaders like Mr. Cox won’t vote to have them regulated through the Food and Drug Administration as recommended by the American Medical Association.