The conservative Club for Growth is out with a pair of playful ads reminding voters in Arkansas and Alaska that Democratic Senators Mark Pryor and Mark Begich dutifully repeated President Obama's false promises on Obamacare. The claims were later rated 2013's "lie of the year" by left-leaning Politifact, and have since been shamelessly revised by the White House. The spots' unappetizing conclusions -- with the bird, um, defecating on a New York Times Obamacare headline -- may be a bit crass, but one suspects these ads will cut through the clutter:
The Alaska version is here. Millions of Americans have been unable to keep their existing plans, with "access shock" severing years-long patient/doctor relationships. And the broken promises are expected to continue to impact vast groups of consumers for years. Obamacare isn't the only subject on which Senators like Pryor and Begich have done Obama's bidding. Last year's Congressional Quarterly analysis revealed that they've voted with the White House 90 percent and 97 percent of the time, respectively. Meanwhile, Americans for Prosperity has released an ad critical of Democratic Senate hopeful Rep. Gary Peters in Michigan. You likely remember Peters as the man whose campaign attempted to silence single mother and cancer patient Julie Boonstra, whose plan was canceled under Obamacare. The new spot, conspicuously aimed at female voters, hits Peters for his unrepentant support for a law that is raising many Michiganders' healthcare costs:
In an interesting twist, an NBA player is now claiming that Michigan Democrats "recently" approached him about running for Senate this fall, which Republican Terri Lynn Land's campaign is touting as a private vote of no confidence against Peters. AFP is also running a positive spot praising Rep. Tom Cotton, Pryor's opponent in Arkansas. In New Hampshire, Scott Brown's campaign is up on air with a new radio ad critical of Obamacare's deleterious impact on jobs and the economy:
Earlier in the month, Democrats on Capitol Hill giddily quoted a piece from The Hill positing that Republicans had "gone quiet" on Obamacare, flummoxed by the law's "successes." In that case, why are GOP ad-makers consistently coming out guns blazing against Obamacare? Perhaps it's because the law remains deep underwater in the court public opinion, as a new AP poll again confirmed just yesterday. It's also no mystery why so many of these ads ruthlessly Democrats to President Obama: He's unpopular, and he's a significant drag on his party. More results from yesterday's national survey:
AP/GfK: Obama approval on the issues- Economy 39-59 Budget 35-62 Immigration 38-60 Foreign Policy 42-56 Jobs 40-58 #LikeABoss
— Josh Jordan (@NumbersMuncher) May 27, 2014
His overall approval rating in the poll is (43/56)...among adults, not likely or even registered voters. By the way, if you're unacquainted with the significance of the #LikeABoss hashtag, read this to get up to speed.