Groups opposed to the health care reform law have spent $235 million since the law’s passage in March 2010 attacking the law, reports the New York Times. That number, from Kantar Media’s Campaign Media Analysis Group, far outweighs the $69 million that has been spent on advertising in support of the law. Interviews with viewers in swing states who the anti-reform ads show the message is sinking in.
Among those who have spent large sums opposing the law are the U.S. Chamber of Commerce at $27 million, Karl Rove-affiliated Crossroads GPS at $18 million and the American Action Network at $9 million. An analysis of the ads shows they are largely effective, reports the Times, while the ads in favor of the law, largely from the Department of Health and Human Services, are bland.
From the Times:
Here in the suburbs of Philadelphia, which, according to the Campaign Media Analysis Group, is one of the top five media markets for ad spending against the health care law, it is apparent how such messaging is playing out. (The other top markets are Orlando, Fla.; Tampa, Fla.; Pittsburgh; and Denver, all in swing states.) In interviews with about two dozen residents who were mostly opposed to the law, certain worries, resentments and dark predictions about it came up time and again.
