Lawyer Bill Marler Blasts Democrats Over Food Safety Legislation

After the Senate's food safety bill was declared dead-on-arrival due to a constitutional technicality over revenue provisions, Marler—who has contributed nearly $166,000 to federal Democrats since 1998 and helped raise millions more—threatens to withhold future support. "This is the stupidest thing," he states. "It doesn't make me want to dig into my pocket to help the Democrats." The bill was derailed because it required companies to pay recall fees, violating the Constitution's requirement that revenue-raising provisions "originate in the House." He sent t-shirts to every senator featuring his face and the slogan "Put a trial lawyer out of business," flew in clients to testify, and lobbied for nearly two years. "And they screw it up in one sentence." "If at this point the president and Democratic House and Senate leaders cannot get these bills across the finish line, disappointment is far too mild a feeling," he wrote on his blog.