Ryan-Aligned Group Readies Attack Ads for Critics of O’Care Repeal Bill

House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis., speaks at his weekly news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
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As the GOP bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act faces a conservative revolt in the House of Representatives over both the bill’s substance and rushed review, an outside lobby group is preparing to drop half a million dollars to pressure skeptical lawmakers to embrace the plan.

The American Action Network, a conservative non-profit closely aligned with House Speaker Paul Ryan, will spend the money on TV ads in the dissenting lawmakers’ home districts, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Here is one of the ads, targeting Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), a prominent member of the Freedom Caucus and critic of the bill:

Jordan publicly railed against the bill earlier this week, lamenting its many provisions that preserve or replicate elements of the Affordable Care Act.

“Look, did we promise the American people we were going to repeal Obamacare but keep some of the Obamacare taxes?” he asked Tuesday. “Did we promise the American people we were going to repeal Obamacare but keep and expand Medicaid? And did we promise the American people we were going to repeal Obamacare but create a new entitlement with the fancy name of refundable tax credits? I don’t think we did.”

Here’s the full list of targeted members, according to the American Action Network:

Many previous targets of negative ads by the so-called “dark money” organization—which does not have to reveal its donors—lost their races in 2014, including Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Mark Pryor (D-AR), and Kay Hagan (D-NC).

Since this January, the group has spent more than $8 million dollars lobbying for the passage of a bill to repeal Obamacare.

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