Democrats say Republicans showed their true colors when they voted to blow up Medicare as we know it last week. Now, as members return home for the holiday recess, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is making sure people know about the vote, with a new ad campaign that targets 25 members across the country.
The TV ad imagines a future where Medicare recipients are left in the lurch once a proposed $15,000 annual health insurance voucher runs out. It shows seniors trying to make up the lost Medicare cash by mowing laws, selling lemonade and stripping at parties.
“How will you pay?” the spot asks.
The DCCC says it will run the ad in Speaker John Boehner’s Ohio district if they can raise $25,000 in the next 48 hours.
Watch the spot:
Other members on the DCCC Medicare vote target list this recess will get hit with radio and web ads, as well as grassroots campaigns via phone and email. A similar campaign was launched by the DCCC targeting Republicans over their plans to restrict abortion funding.
Where the TV ad uses humor to go after the Medicare vote, the radio spots the DCCC is running across the country are more direct. From a sample script, running in Minnesota’s 8th District:
“Did you know Congressman Chip Cravaack voted to end Medicare forcing seniors to pay $12,500 for private health insurance, without guaranteed coverage? Tell Cravaack to keep his hands off our Medicare.”
View a list of the 25 members the DCCC is targeting on Medicare here.
Democrats hope the Medicare vote will be a watershed in their quest to take back the House they lost in 2010.
“This is a defining moment for House Republicans: they chose to end Medicare rather than end taxpayer giveaways for Big Oil or tax breaks for the ultra rich,” DCCC Chairman Steve Israel said in a statement. “We will go district by district to hold Republicans accountable for the wrong choice they made.”
Republicans are already dismissing the ad campaign.
“The Democrats’ shameless scare tactics are merely a way to mislead voters and cover up the real Democrat plan to watch Medicare die a painful death, an unacceptable option for America’s seniors,” NRCC spokesperson Joanna Burgos told TPM. “The reality is that the Republican budget blueprint saves Medicare for future generations with no disruption for those in and near retirement, while the Democrats’ plan cuts Medicare benefits and raises taxes on job creators and every person who receives a paycheck.”
