A new TV ad blames prominent Republicans for Ebola deaths, attacking them for championing spending cuts that have gone after emergency public health funding for containing disease outbreaks.
The one minute ad, called “Republican Cuts Kill,” splices grueling images of body bags and workers in hazmat suits with footage of top Republicans like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY) and House Speaker John Boehner (OH) calling for spending cuts. It also features 2014 Republican Senate candidates Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Cory Gardner of Colorado, Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Pat Roberts of Kansas.
The spot was produced by the Agenda Project Action Fund, the same progressive group that has made controversial anti-Republican ads such as “Granny Off the Cliff.” The group’s spokeswoman, Erica Payne, said Monday the ad would air in Kentucky, North Carolina, South Dakota and Kansas — all of which feature competitive Senate races that could swing the majority.
Payne told TPM the group would take out a “low six figure buy in Kentucky – the others states are being decided now.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases, is shown in the ad lamenting the “damaging” spending reductions — including the automatic sequester cuts of 2011 — that Republicans have led the charge for in recent years, and which many Democrats have supported.
The Scientific American recently created a chart on some of these cuts.:
The Agenda Project’s ad can be viewed below:
(Photo credit: Screenshot from the ad)
