Skip to content

Health Care Ad Wars Heat Up as Recess Begins

The health care ad assault continues this week, led by a $1.2 million ad campaign launched by conservative anti-tax group Club for Growth.

The Club is targeting members of the House and Senate from four states whom it believes “may be persuaded to reject a government-run health insurance program” — read, centrist Democrats, many with competitive contests on the horizon.

Those targeted include: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada; Sens. Michael Bennet and Mark Udall of Colorado; Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor of Arkansas; and Byron L. Dorgan and Kent Conrad of North Dakota.

Democratic represenatives include Marion Berry, Vic Snyder and Mike Ross of Arkansas; Diana DeGette, Jared Polis, John Salazar, Betsy Markey and Ed Perlmutter of Colorado; and Earl Pomeroy of North Dakota.

The ads, which Club for Growth said will “run throughout the August recess,” seeks to play up seniors’ fear that the Democrats’ proposed health care overhaul will lead to government intervention in end-of-life decisions, or as Minority Leader John A. Boehner of Ohio and House Republican Policy Committee Chairman Thaddeus McCotter of Michigan less artfully put it last week, “government-encouraged euthanasia.”

Recent Stories

CBO finds health agency cuts would result in fewer new drugs

Judge tosses lawsuit regarding FBI agents’ identity

Summer cram session — Congressional Hits and Misses

Former Rep. William Lacy Clay Sr. dies at age 94

Photos of the week | July 11-17, 2025

House sends $9 billion rescissions package to president’s desk