Dem super-PAC hits Cassidy on shutdown

A major Democratic super-PAC is launching a new ad attacking Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), the leading Republican contender in Louisiana’s Senate race.

“In Louisiana, we expect leaders to solve problems not become part of the problem,” the narrator says in the new Senate Majority PAC ad.

The ad, which is backed by a $250,000 buy and will run statewide, charges he has voted to “raise the retirement age to 70, to raise Medicare costs $6,000 a year, and … 16 times to shut down the government.”

It cites his support for the Republican Study Committee’s 2014 budget and Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) proposed 2012 budget.

The former would eventually raise the Social Security eligibility age to 70, and the latter would reform Medicare in such a way that would result in higher premiums for seniors, starting nearly a decade from now, according to an analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

“That’s Congressman Cassidy’s record in the House. He’d hurt us even more in the Senate,” the narrator closes.

It’s the super-PAC’s first foray into the Louisiana Senate race, and it comes the same week Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) launched her own ad, touting her work to fix ObamaCare.

Like the rest of her party, Landrieu has taken a hit in recent months from the rocky rollout of the healthcare law. A mid-November survey showed more than half of Louisianans unhappy with her job performance, and a similar percentage said her vote for the healthcare law made them less likely to support her.

Senate Majority PAC’s engagement in the race gives Landrieu cover to defend herself on the law, while hammering Cassidy on the shutdown, an issue Democrats hope will remain potent for them in 2014.

Following the shutdown, Republicans took a significant hit in the polls. They have since rebounded, however, buoyed by persistent bad press about the Affordable Care Act.