An Americans for Prosperity attack ad directed at Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK) over Obamacare purports to feature a voter for Alaska, but the woman is actually an actress who lives in the state of Maryland, according to The New York Times.
In the ad, a woman criticizes Begich, who is up for re-election in 2014, and President Barack Obama for the “promises they made to pass Obamacare.”
“They knew the real truth,” the woman said in the ad. “Some are even losing their jobs. For too many of us costs are going way up. Senator Begich didn’t listen. How can I ever trust him again? It just isn’t fair. Alaska deserves better.”
In fact, the woman speaking is an actress Connie Bowman, who regularly does voiceovers as well as appearances in print ads.
The Koch brothers-funded Americans for Prosperity ad doesn’t explicitly say the woman is an Alaskan, but the Begich campaign slammed the spot for the implication.
“Today’s misleading ad from the Koch brothers is just more evidence that even billions of dollars can’t buy integrity,” Begich spokeswoman Rachel Barinbaum told the Times.
To keep the senator from being too closely associated with Obamacare, Begich’s office also released a fact sheet calling attention to his support for legislation that would let Americans keep their current insurance through 2015.
Americans for Prosperity released a statement saying that Begich was just trying to distract from Obamacare.
“While Sen. Begich is focused on the residence of an actress in a TV ad, thousands of Alaskans have lost their health care plans despite promises from Sen. Begich to the contrary,” Americans for Prosperity spokesman Levi Russell said in a statement. “Alaskans deserve an answer about why he would continue to doggedly support a law that is leading to less choice, higher premiums, and more bureaucracy.
“The Senator can say he wants to ‘fix’ this law, but he already voted against a bill in 2010 that would help keep health plans grandfathered in. Once again, his focus is on politics, not real people.”
Watch the AFP ad below:
This post has been updated.
