Now that the dreaded sequester is starting to feel like the New Normal, the airwaves are starting to fill up with ads trying to position it as the New Abnormal.
First shot (via Politico’s Morning Score):
Bankrupting America, a project of the group Public Notice, is going on air with a national cable and online ad . . . urging Congress to consider responsible cuts in dealing with sequestration. “What is sequestration? A three percent cut in federal spending. Three cents out of every dollar the government spends,” the ad’s narrator says. “Americans have made tough choices and cut back; Washington refuses. Call Washington and ask them why it’s so hard to cut spending. “ The ad will run March 5-15.
Said TV spot:
A penny for your thoughts, Bankruptniks.
On another front, an outfit called the Coalition for Medicare Choices has launched an ad campaign assailing Medicare cuts in particular and the sequester in general.
Via Reuters:
Health insurers launch TV war over Medicare Advantage cuts
(Reuters) – The health insurance industry is escalating its lobbying battle against a proposed Medicare Advantage pay cut to insurers by launching a television and online advertising campaign to garner public support among the program’s 14 million beneficiaries.
America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), a leading Washington-based trade group, said a 30-second commercial titled “Too Much” would be shown in a dozen states and the Washington, D.C., area in hopes of dissuading the Obama administration from imposing a 2.3 percent cut in government payments next year.
The commercial, presented by an industry-sponsored group called the Coalition for Medicare Choices, fails to mention that the payment cuts are aimed at insurers, not beneficiaries.
Said TV spot:
Sequester factcheckorama.
Roll your own.
Campaign Outsider 