Issues: Health Care

Crossroads GPS: “Focus”

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An ad from Crossroads GPS hits New York congressional contender Julian Schreibman over his stated support for the Affordable Care Act, leveling falsehoods about the law’s effect on Medicare spending, seniors’ care, taxes, costs, and insurance coverage. In reality, the law reduces future Medicare spending without cutting seniors’ current benefits, it helps control rising costs, and it’s expected to expand insurance coverage – all without taking health care decisions away from individuals or raising taxes on most Americans. What’s more, Schreibman’s opponent, Rep. Chris Gibson (R), voted to keep the $716 billion in savings GPS attacks Schreibman over.

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Crossroads GPS: “Stamp”

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An ad from Crossroads GPS complains that Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) is a “rubber stamp” for spending, citing the Wall Street bailout, the Recovery Act, and the Affordable Care Act. The ad doesn’t acknowledge, however that the bipartisan bank bailout and the stimulus both rescued the economy from an even more severe downturn, while the Affordable Care Act reduces the deficit.

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U.S. Chamber of Commerce: “Failed To Protect Medicare”

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The Chamber of Commerce’s attack on Bill Nelson’s Affordable Care Act vote holds up better in the vacuum the ad presents than it does in the real world. In reality, the law doesn’t cut Medicare benefits and extends the life of the program by eight years. Also in reality, Nelson is running against a congressman who not only voted for the same Medicare savings, but supported the Republican Study Committee’s “Paul Ryan budget on steroids.”

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Americans for Prosperity: “You Be The Judge – Healthcare Freedom Amendment”

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An ad from Americans for Prosperity blames the Florida Supreme Court for ‘denying’ Floridians the opportunity to vote against the Affordable Care Act, which AFP falsely claims will “cost trillions” and allow bureaucrats to cut Medicare. But the ad, which follows in the wake of the GOP’s decision to try to remove three Florida Supreme Court justices, omits the fact that the case before the court dealt with an attempt to place misleading, partisan language describing the health care law on the state’s 2010 ballot.

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U.S. Chamber of Commerce: “Heidi Heitkamp – More Government Isn’t The Solution”

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The Chamber of Commerce subtly suggests that former Attorney General Heidi Heitkamp is a Washington insider who helped pass health care reform, without mentioning that her opponent has been in Congress for two years. The subtext might not be so interesting if the ad weren’t centered around Medicare spending reductions. Congressman Rick Berg voted for those same measures twice, while Heitkamp’s voted for them zero times. And while the Chamber misrepresents the Medicare and tax impacts of the Affordable Care Act, that’s no surprise; the group spent $100 million lobbying against it earlier in President Obama’s term.

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Crossroads GPS: “When”

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Crossroads GPS mimics a DirecTV ad campaign with a stern narrator following a progression of cause and effect starting with the decision to elect Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH). But where the original ads are zany and played for laughs, GPS uses the familiar format to sell voters on misinformation. Brown’s vote for the Affordable Care Act isn’t preventing Ohio manufacturers from hiring, as the ad suggests. Indeed, that sector has been the cornerstone of Ohio’s recovery, showing steady job gains since the recession brought on by the financial crisis.

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American Crossroads: “Where”

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Crossroads GPS relies on old distortions in an attempt to scare Florida seniors about the impact of the Affordable Care Act, including the false premise that Sen. Bill Nelson (D) “cast the deciding vote” on the bill. The ACA does not allow for “rationed” care, and its future Medicare savings do not cut seniors’ current benefits. In fact, Nelson’s opponent, Rep. Connie Mack (R), voted to preserve the health care law’s Medicare savings when he supported Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget plan in 2011. Furthermore, the Affordable Care Act includes important benefits for seniors, such as closing the prescription drug “donut” hole and providing free preventive care.

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Crossroads GPS: “Pressure”

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Crossroads GPS attacks Rep. Joe Donnelly (D-IN) for supporting two “trillion-dollar” bills, citing his votes for the Affordable Care Act and the Recovery Act. But the health care law actually reduces deficits, while tax cuts accounted for about one-third of the Recovery Act’s price tag. In addition to creating jobs and helping prevent an even deeper recession, the recovery bill cut taxes for up to 95 percent of working Americans.

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Congressional Leadership Fund: “Look”

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The Congressional Leadership Fund goes after Texas congressional candidate Pete Gallego for supporting the “job-killing” health care law “that cuts Medicare $716 billion,” but the claim that the Affordable Care Act will kill jobs has long been debunked, and the law doesn’t cut seniors’ benefits. Instead, it finds savings by reducing future Medicare spending – savings that Gallego’s opponent, Rep. Francisco Canseco (R), also voted for in the Ryan budget. The ad also attacks Gallego for voting to raise taxes as a state legislator, but Gallego voted actually voted against one of the tax bills CLF cites to prove their point.

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Congressional Leadership Fund: “Continued”

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Congressional Leadership Fund seeks to damn Rep. Betty Sutton (D-OH) by tying her to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). Although Sutton has received an unremarkable $25,000 from Pelosi’s leadership PAC since 2006, the rest of the ad’s accusations are misleading. Sutton’s vote for the Affordable Care Act didn’t cut $700 out of current Medicare spending; it found future savings without cutting seniors’ benefits. The “failed” stimulus helped rescue the economy from an even greater recession, and the cap-and-trade bill Sutton supported would have boosted the economy at minimal cost to consumers.

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