What did Pat Robertson know and when did he know it?

 People were stunned that Pat Robertson endorsed Rudolph Giuliani  for President. Rudolph’s multiple marriage lifestyle  does not  jibe with Robertson’s philosophies.   

 I was stunned at the endorsement   because Rudolph Giuliani  was the lawyer who kept the makers of Oxycontin out of jail.  

I’ve written a number of columns about Mr. Giuliani’s representation of the company that makes Oxycontin.    The Oxycontin people made  a product that the company’s top executives knew was addictive.  They got their marketing people to push unsuspecting doctors to prescribe it to innocent patients.

A lot of people went to the doctor for a  back ache and came out drug addicts.

If a street dealer turns people into addicts, we lock them away.  It didn’t happen to the drug makers.

One of Giuliani’s first cases as a prosecutor was locking up a drug dealer named Nicky Barnes.  Barnes was the inspiration for the movie New Jack City and got a long prison sentence.

He had Rudolph as his prosecutor and not his lawyer.

 Lots of people addicted to Oxycontin are in jail.

None of the drug makers are. For that  the drug makers can thank their well connected lawyer, Rudolph Giuliani.

The man Reverend Pat Robertson wants to be President.

 I watched the 700 Club for years.  I  thought that Reverend Robertson was sincere in his beliefs, even if they didn’t always agree with mine.  

I suspect Robertson is now  out of touch.  Still it is dangerous for an out of touch person to make political endorsements.

I am willing to bet that Pat Robertson has never even heard of Oxycontin and doesn’t know about Giuliani’s involvement. 

The  mainstream media spends a lot of time talking about Rudolph’s multiple marriages, and his friend who got  indicted.  They’ve ignored how Giuliani made his living.

Helping a company that  sold addictive drugs  is  worse than being married a few times.

Each issue is a reflection of a person’s  character but Rudolph’s divorces and  affairs only  hurt him and his immediate family.   Oxycontin has hurt thousands of families.

I have  friends with multiple marriages.  I don’t have any that market addictive drugs. If I can screen my friends to that level, Rudolph Giuliani can do the same thing.  He’s the one that wants to be President.

Before Pat Robertson bestows his endorsement on a candidate  for President of the United States of America, he needs to do  some screening too.

I don’t like ministers in either party endorsing political candidates.   Ministers should push issues and ideals but endorsing an individual candidate crosses a line.

I would think that Reverend Robertson would be opposed to marketing addictive drugs to unwitting patients.  The practice goes against biblical principles.

Giuliani’s  post mayoral  career has gotten scant attention and the horrors of Oxycontin has  been felt primarily  in  rural states, like Kentucky.   Rudolph may march to the presidency, with Pat Robertson by his side, winning urban states and never having to atone for his part in the Oxycontin story.

 If Reverend Robertson wants to have an impact on society,  he could  come to Kentucky. He could visit and  see the wasted lives, the wrecked families and  the absolute pain that the Oxycontin  has caused.   His ministry should  offer assistance to those seeking treatment.  They need prayers and support.

 After Robertson  has seen the horror of Oxycontin and has learned what Giuliani did to help its maker,    I would like to look Reverend Robertson  in the eye and ask him he could still thinks Rudolph Giuliani should be the next  President of the United States of America.

 It is the kind of background check that Robertson should have done before making an endorsement.

 If Robertson wants to keep his hand in politics,  he can use his  political contacts to make sure that every drug company executive  who markets  addictive drugs   get  serious jail time. 

 He could preach to his television flock to give maximum sentences and large  civil  jury verdicts against  companies who turn innocent people into addicts. 

 He could do a lot of stuff to help people.   

 Endorsing Rudolph Giuliani is not on that list.

 Don McNay is the author of Son of a Son of a Gambler:  Winners, Losers and What to do When You Win the Lottery.   You can write to him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or read his award winning syndicated column at www.donmcnay.com

Previous Columns about Giuliani and the Oxycontin Makers:

Rudolph Guiliani and the OxyContin people

The OxyContin Letters

Ralph Nader, Movie Star