The Senate is whittling away at the amount of money that would be available for anti-smoking efforts and to help tobacco farmers and their communities. But the Mount Everest of cash that could be coming to lawyers, well, that's remained sacrosanct. Makes us wonder if it's another example of how effectively money talks on Capitol Hill.
Trial lawyers are among the biggest and most reliable contributors to Democratic campaigns.
So most Republicans voted in favor of McConnell's cap on lawyer fees. Most Democrat voted against it. But enough Republicans, in the majority Republican Senate, broke ranks to defeat the proposal. McConnell will probably offer it again. The lawyers who first took on the cigarette companies deserve to be compensated, and to be compensated well, for their work.