Sunday, November 24, 2013

Behind the Ad: The Koch brothers feel your pain (stop laughing)

By Richard K. Barry

Who: Americans for Prosperity (a conservative outside group backed by the Koch brothers)

Where: Six Democratic incumbents

What's going on: Last week Americans for Prosperity, a front group for the obnoxiously rich Koch brothers, launched attack ads on the Obamacare rollout against three Democratic senators and three congressman. The lucky recipients of the attention are Sens. Mark Begich (AK), Mary Landrieu (LA), Kay Hagan (NC), and Reps. Ron Barber (AZ), Joe Garcia (FL) and Partick Murphy (FL). Obviously these folks are perceived as vulnerable.

The question is to what extent the rollout will be a campaign issue next fall. I'm as annoyed as any Democrat that Obama and team gave Republicans so much to work with. But I'm confident the plan will work eventually and be very popular. But timing is everything.

In the short term we can expect Republican money to make the best of the current climate. In this ad, targeted to women voters, the narrator says that "Obamacare doesn't work. It just doesn't."
"I trusted the president and Senator Begich. Lots of promises were made to pass ObamaCare. They knew the real truth," says the narrator in the Alaska ad. "Senator Begich didn't listen. How can I ever trust him again?"

Obamacare has been a favourite target of Americans for Prosperity (AFP) all year, as they have tried to convince women voters that affordable health care is not their friend.

In an article in The Hill, AFP President Tim Phillips is quoted:
Some politicians are scrambling to distance themselves from ObamaCare. But people are hurting. They're losing their doctor, seeing the plan they liked stripped away from them, seeing prices go up and their options dwindle. Political games won't fix this. We want to make sure this is the number one issue on everyone's mind.

You'll have to forgive me for not believing the Koch brothers give a rat's ass how much Americans might be hurting.

(Memo to the Koch brothers: Find an actress who doesn't seem constipated).

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