Georgia Senate candidate Jon Ossoff, amidst a tough Democratic primary, released a new ad criticizing health insurance companies, claiming the industry has “bought off Congress:”
The Georgia Democrat seems to forget his own 2017 special election for former HHS Secretary Tom Price’s Congressional seat. In his bid for Congress, which ended with a $23 million dollar price tag, Ossoff enjoyed donations from Leadership PACs which take funds from big health insurance companies. Ossoff gladly took support from these PACs, aligned with Democrats who he had hoped would be his colleagues in the House of Representatives, all of which have financial ties to the insurance industry, per Open Secrets:
From Rep. Steny Hoyer’s (D-MD) Leadership PAC, AmeriPAC, Ossoff took $5,500, while the group raked in $10,000 from United Health Group and $20,000 from BlueCross/Blue Shield. From Rep. Eric Swalwell’s (D-CA) Leadership PAC, New Energy PAC, Ossoff received $5,000, while the PAC also took $5,000 from BlueCross/Blue Shield of California. From Rep. Ben Ray Luján’s (D-NM) Leadership PAC, Turquoise PAC, Ossoff took $3,000, while the group took $12,500 from BlueCross/Blue Shield. Ossoff also received $1,000 from Rep. Frank Pallone’s (D-NJ) Leadership PAC, Shore PAC, which took $15,500 and $7,500 donations from Blue Cross/Blue Shield and Aetna, respectively. Finally, Ossoff received $500 from Husky PAC, affiliated with Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT), which simultaneously took $5,000 from Cigna Corp.
As Open Secrets notes, these Leadership PACs serve as a back-door way for candidates who pledge to “take no PAC money,” or who do not want to be directly associated with big industries, to still see fundraising.
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The sanctimonious sentiment present in the ad, released during a global health pandemic, is laced with glaring hypocrisy. Ossoff is not the first, and will not be the last, to claim that his fundraising efforts involve no PAC money. This is also not the first instance of Ossoff lying to voters; Ossoff’s 2017 bid for Congress was encompassed by his lies about his record and qualifications, including his experience dealing with national security policy.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) took note of this when Ossoff announced his bid for the Senate:
“Georgia voters won’t be shocked to learn that Ossoff’s first campaign advertisement is misleading voters during a national crisis,” said NRSC spokesperson Nathan Brand. “Ossoff’s problematic history with telling the truth and spreading false information about himself and others won’t cover up for his glaring hypocrisy and left-wing positions. Looking to learn more about all things Jon Ossoff? Visit http://JonOssoff.com.”
Georgia’s Democratic Senate primary to take on GOP incumbent Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) continues to heat up, while Sen. Perdue works to bring relief to Americans affected by COVID-19, and reopen the economy.
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