STAT+: Can a top Republican from a bygone political era fix pharma’s woes in Washington? — SkimNews
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- Eric Cantor served as House Republican majority leader in 2013 and was described as the party's de facto 'chief political strategist' in a New Yorker profile from that year
- Cantor worked with GOP colleagues at a Virginia resort in 2013 to shift the party away from its stereotype as focused on the rich and corporate interests
- The 2013 rebranding effort was a response to growing populist currents and aimed to prove Republicans wanted to improve the lives of everyday people
- The article frames Cantor — now a figure from a 'bygone political era' — in connection with current pharma issues in Washington, though the substantive reporting remains behind the STAT+ paywall
Why it matters: The framing positions a former House majority leader who once led the GOP's anti-corporate-stigma pivot as a potential intermediary for pharmaceutical interests in Washington — a role that would test whether the populist-versus-corporate balancing act Cantor attempted in 2013 still applies to today's policy fights.
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