Conservative ads target Dem members

Posted: Thursday, November 12, 2009 3:40 PM by Mark Murray
Filed Under: Congress, Ads, 2010

From NBC's Mark Murray
The 60 Plus Association, a conservative seniors group whose national spokesman is Pat Boone, is launching a $1.5 million ad campaign targeting 15 Democratic House members who voted for the health-care legislation that passed on Saturday.

The TV ad argues that the bill cuts Medicare by $400 million, raises taxes on small businesses, and raises insurance premiums.

Here are the eight Dem members the 60 Plus Association is targeting with TV ads: Snyder (AR), Donnelly (IN), Ellsworth (IN), Hill (IN), Pomeroy (ND), Titus (NV), Perriello (VA), and Connolly (VA).

Here are the seven Dem members it's targeting with radio ads: Berry (AR), Klein (FL), Michaud (ME), Etheridge (NC), Hodes (NH), Dahlkemper (PA), and Carney (PA).

*** UPDATE *** Greg Sargent's blog notes that the president of the firm who created the TV ad above is Larry McCarthy, who created the infamous Willie Horton ad in the '88 presidential election. The blog also notes the 60 Plus group backed George W. Bush's Social Security privatization plans.

EMAIL THIS

Comments

George W Bush, in his 8 years in office, nearly destroyed the universe!!

Liberal Leanings (Sent Thursday, November 12, 2009 3:44 PM)

>>> AFL-CIO, which supports the legislation, quickly responded to the ad with a fact-check. <<<

The AFL-CIO, checking facts. Really? This just keeps getting better. For the Republicans.

Manny, Miami FL (Sent Thursday, November 12, 2009 3:45 PM)

FRead; "The TV ad argues that the bill cuts Medicare by $400 million, raises taxes on small businesses, and raises insurance premiums. "

Umm, the bill does all of those things, plus it mandates that indivduals purchase insurance (a big wet kiss from Obama to the insurance companies) or pay a hefty fine if they don't, and if they do neither, they will go to jail.

Obama says You Will Comply (Sent Thursday, November 12, 2009 3:48 PM)

The Treasury Department said Thursday that the deficit for October totaled $176.4 billion, even higher than the $150 billion imbalance that economists expected.

Why is President Obama continuing to SIT ON the bulk of the money's he requested to help the economy? It makes no sense at all. He got what he asked for and we are getting NO BETTER!

It's very selfish to request the funds, get them and then sit on them instead of following through with what he said he was going to do. Many American's believe the funds are being set aside for campaigning next year for the 2010 elections to keep control.

If not for some selfish reason, can anyone explain why it makes sense to hold the funds to keep American's in the sad state that they find themselves now?

Seriously, Obama got what he asked for and is doing nothing of any substance with the money. How can anyone justify this negligence or carpet bagging?

Who can step up and defend this unfair logic with conviction?

Josh Larson, FL (Sent Thursday, November 12, 2009 3:57 PM)

Rovian lies...Rovian tactics. That's all the conservatives know. No leadership...No new ideas...That's the conservative republican way.

Ron Indiana (Sent Thursday, November 12, 2009 3:59 PM)

And just what would a bunch of overly wealthy seniors (60 +, so that means the rest of us should get to retire at 60 also, right? -Now that's repugnant double speak if I ever heard it)know about health care benefits? Perhaps they got to retire at 60 because they were overpaid employess in the health insurance industry? probably so, probably so.

Union Baby, Tennessee (Sent Thursday, November 12, 2009 4:04 PM)

This phoney astroturf group is funded by pharma money and didn't have any real membership until they started collecting dues from seniors they have scared to death with healthcare lies this summer (again, lies funded with Pharma money).

This groups history is well known and should be fully reported by MSNBC and others rather than regurgitating the group's self-styled "conservative AARP" moniker, which is a crock!

http://crooksandliars.com/jon-perr/right-wing-war-on-aarp

Kim Thornton, Annandale, VA (Sent Thursday, November 12, 2009 4:09 PM)

*** UPDATE *** Greg Sargent's blog notes that the president of the firm who created the TV ad above is Larry McCarthy, who created the infamous Willie Horton ad in the '88 presidential election.

So Al Gore knows Mr. McCarthy. Because the Willie Horton ad was funded by Gore.

Dawn, Kansas (Sent Thursday, November 12, 2009 4:11 PM)

The AFL-CIO, which supports the legislation, quickly responded to the ad with a fact-check. It contends that none of the Medicare savings and cuts comes from reducing seniors' benefits; that only the wealthiest of Americans will be taxed in the bill and that many small businesses are exempt from the mandate to insure workers; and that the bill would cut the deficit by $100 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

============

What bill? The House bill? I'll assume that because the targeted people are members of the House. The House bill, PelosiCare, comes in at a cost of over $1.3 trillion, well over and above the break even point of $850 billion dollars that it is estimated health care costs will go up in the next ten years. PelsoiCare in fact adds $450 billion dollars to the deficit over that time.

Sam Richter, Dallas Tx (Sent Thursday, November 12, 2009 4:15 PM)

What do you expect from a multi millionair like Pat Boone? And that union thing, bet he belongs to the musicians union so he has had health insurance all of his performing life, sorry Pat, you never sang very well and you sure are no expert on health insurance, no love lost over you when you left Tennessee, actually, we are all pretty glad you never came back.

Union Baby, Tennessee (Sent Thursday, November 12, 2009 4:24 PM)

If the $400 million in cuts to Medicare don't reduce benefits, then where are the cuts coming from? Reducing payments to doctors? Which causes doctors to accept less and less Medicare patients? It's already hard to find a doctor that will accept new Medicare patients. We want more detail instead of broad, sweeping attacks.

Fine Print, MI (Sent Thursday, November 12, 2009 4:30 PM)

I wish both sides would stop attacking individual people and focus their energies on attacking the details of the nightmare bill. Most people don't even know why they support or why they hate the health care bills. They need the details.

Randall B., AR (Sent Thursday, November 12, 2009 4:41 PM)

Good for the AFL-CIO....those pesky fact checks just don't allow for lies to have much traction do they? Well we can't criticize them for not trying. It is sort of like the big kid who puts his hand on the little kid's head while the little kid swings and swings trying to hit the bigger kid. He sure is trying but the likelyhood of making contact is slime if ever. Maybe the little guy will tucker out from trying and then they'll put him to bed. Gotta look for the monsters and the boogyman as the little guy is scared of his own shadow.

eagle1776 (Sent Thursday, November 12, 2009 4:43 PM)

Pat Boone...really? The ex-teen singing idol who never really did much else is the spokesman for this group?

Pat, seriously, take off the polyester suit, white shoes and belt. They make about as much fashion sense as your current ideals.

Try YouTube...Pat Boone's recent comments featured on Olbermann's show. Here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnDSo_MOCec

For NewsMax, Boone stated that exterminators need to go to the White House and kill it's varmints and unwelcomed creatures. He called the President and his family "alien rodents."

Seriously, this guy doesn't represent my grandpa, or any other humans I know.

Michelle, military wife in Germany (Sent Thursday, November 12, 2009 5:03 PM)

Republicans are truely an evil lot. They're at the top of the feeding chain when it comes to health insurance coverage....and they don't want to share (especially with the millions of newly unemployed who have to make a dicision of paying the mortage/rent or paying for very expensive cobra. Shame on you!!

William in Houston (Sent Thursday, November 12, 2009 5:04 PM)

This so-called 60 Plus Association is an attempt to offset the AARP endorsement of the health care reform bill. We know how many of the elderly (and near elderly) are represented by the AARP -- some 35 million. How many members does the 60 Plus Association have? Is it, in fact, anything other than an industry group fronting for the for-profit healthcare insurance companies? Or instead of "for-profit" I might say "ANYTHING for profit" instead?

Steven Randolph, Tampa, FL (Sent Thursday, November 12, 2009 5:06 PM)

fuzzy math at work again. "...many small businesses are exempt from the mandate". the way this economy is going, small business can't take many more hits. Plus, they say there will be no taxes for middle income families/ppl. BS. If medical appliances and products are now going to be taxed, then the middle income is being taxed. Harry Reid just announced they're considering Medicare tax increase.

leave our health care alone! (Sent Thursday, November 12, 2009 5:07 PM)

I guess if the truth isn't scary enough - lie. If the reality would benefit the majority - lie. Conservatives will do anything to pad the pockets of the wealthy - they know no shame.

JB (Sent Thursday, November 12, 2009 5:13 PM)

After years of watching Conservatives using the "appeal to the illiterate and ignorant" with distortions and half-truths, this doesn't surprise me one bit. I'm only surprised it took them so long. Just remember, the Willie Horton ad was a deliberate appeal to the racists by capitalizing on Nixon's Southern Strategy. Now-deceased Lee Atwater, Reagan's & GHW Bush's campaign manager, admitted as much shortly before he died of brain cancer in 1991. Atwater apologized for this tactic before he died. Keep that in mind before giving any credibility to anything Larry McCarthy does.

RadicalLefty in NWF (Sent Thursday, November 12, 2009 5:36 PM)

Give em Hell, I wish i were old enough to join them.

Brian in Houston (Sent Thursday, November 12, 2009 5:41 PM)

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