Five months from now, Georgia will hold its primary elections, including the Republican primary for the nomination to be the state’s Governor. Congressman Nathan Deal is one of the seven Republican candidates for Governor this year. For now, however, remains the U.S. Representative for Georgia’s 9th congressional district. The people of Georgia as a whole, and the voters of the 9th district in particular, would benefit from paying attention to Deal’s activities as a member of Congress – especially when those activities are taking place behind closed doors.

Last September, while most of his district was coping with a devastating economic recession, looking for work, struggling to make ends meet, Congressman Deal held a party. The party celebrated nothing but Nathan Deal himself, and his special friendship with a group of Washington D.C. insiders.

The kind of friendship we’re talking about is the kind that money can buy – the friendship of corporate lobbyists. Nathan Deal’s party was held inside the offices of a lobbying firm. Deal’s people called it a “reception”, and Deal was certainly doing a lot of receiving.

On September 23, 2009, Representative Deal and his aides went to 1325 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 700 – the in Washington D.C. lobbying headquarters of the Stanton Park Group. There, they met with a series of power brokers – many of them lobbyists and corporate executives, who were waiting with money as a gift for Deal.

How much money they brought depended upon what kind of friendship they wanted with Deal. In the invitation Deal’s special consultants at Hammond & Associates (Strategic PAC Fundraising!) had written for him, guests were asked to bring $500 if they wanted to be Nathan Deal’s “friend”. To be a “bronze donor”, $1,000 would be sufficient. $2,500 would buy the status of “silver donor”. Guests could pay $5,000 to be a “gold donor” to Congressman Deal. Nathan Deal would give the most special appreciation of all, however, to people bringing the $6,100 required to become a “platinum donor”.

Everyone knows that platinum buys much more than bronze, but what on earth could the people carrying money to meet with Nathan Deal at the lobbying offices of the Stanton Park Group want to buy?

Last year, the lobbyists of the Stanton Park Group earned over a million dollars representing corporate clients in sectors such as health care, telecommunications, and the auto industry. Those clients weren’t paying the Stanton Park Group all that money to avoid influencing the legislation crafted and voted on by members of Congress like Nathan Deal.

Which of those Stanton Park Group clients got special attention? I can’t say for sure, because I wasn’t invited to Deal’s little soiree. I can note, however, a little pattern among the organizations sponsoring the lobbyist event. It wasn’t just any party. It was a drug party.

Among the handful of official hosts of the fundraiser for Nathan Deal were the National Community Pharmacists Association, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, Walgreens, Kerr Drug, and Rite Aid. Among the Stanton Park Group’s clients last year were Barr Laboratories, a pharmaceuticals company, and US Oncology, a company that specializes in the distribution of cancer drugs, with an emphasis on “managing costs”.

I can’t make a conclusion about causality, but I can also note that Congressman Nathan Deal only introduced 10 bills to the House of Representatives last year, and 8 of those 10 bills were health care bill. Every single one of those 8 health care bills was introduced by Representative Deal after that party held on September 23 at the lobbying offices of the Stanton Park Group.

Coincidence?