Republicans Balk at Contribution Limits
Debate over ethics reform appears to have stalled in the General Assembly with Senate Majority Leader Ron Ramsey and other Republicans refusing to consider a $20,000 limit for individual donors in an election cycle and instead attacking Democrats over small-dollar cash contributions at campaign chili suppers and bar-b-ques. The most heated debate has revolved around the virtually unlimited campaign contributions funneled into Republican campaigns and political action committees by John Gregory, former CEO of Bristol-based King Pharmaceuticals. During the most recent election cycle, Gregory and his family members gave an estimated $1 million to GOP campaigns and various committees in what State Senator Roy Herron has described as “money laundering to avoid the campaign finance laws.” Ramsey, the legislative Republican who’s most closely linked to the Gregory money, denied the charge.
During former Governor Don Sundquist’s administration, Ramsey and other legislative Republicans from Northeast Tennessee routinely lobbied TennCare to purchase more of King’s top-selling drug Altace.
