Liberal coalition buys ads, praises Lincoln for vote on healthcare bill

Health Care for America Now has launched new television ads praising the two
Democratic senators from Arkansas and giving quiet support to Ben Nelson, the
centrist Democrat from Nebraska.

HCAN, as the coalition is known, includes liberal groups
such as Campaign for America’s Future and MoveOn.org and labor unions such as
the AFL-CIO.

{mosads}The spot airing in Arkansas gives political cover to Sen.
Blanche Lincoln (D), who is facing a tough re-election next year, and Sen. Mark
Pryor (D).

Airing on broadcast and cable in Little Rock, Jonesboro, and
Ft. Smith, that ad praises Lincoln and Pryor for standing up to health
insurance companies.

“The health insurance industry makes $25 billion in profit.
No wonder the insurance lobby spent millions trying to stop the Senate from
even debating health insurance reform,” the ad’s narrator says. “But our
Senators, Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor, stood up to the insurance lobbyists.”

Lincoln and Pryor voted with all Senate Democrats to quash a
GOP-led filibuster of the motion to begin the healthcare debate. The motion
passed Saturday night by a vote of 60-39.

The ad started Tuesday and will air for a week, with a day
off on Thanksgiving. It will run during the Saturday night football game
between Arkansas and LSU.

The second spot, also beginning Tuesday, gives Nelson covert
support by slamming GOP Sen. Mike Johanns (Neb.) for voting against a motion to
begin debate on the 2,074-page bill.

“The first job of the U.S. Senate is to debate important
legislation. But Nebraska senator Mike Johanns must think that’s not part of
his job because Johanns voted to stop the debate on health insurance reform
from even taking place,” a narrator intones.

“So who’s he really working for? The health insurance
industry,” the narrator says.

The swipe at Johanns appears intended to give support to
Nelson who voted with Lincoln and Pryor.

Johanns took a shot at Nelson last week when he said “I
don’t see how any pro-life senator” would take the position of voting to begin
debate on the healthcare bill because it requires health insurance exchanges to
offer plans that cover abortion.

Nelson was the only anti-abortion Democrat to consider
voting against the procedural motion to begin debate.  

The Nebraska ad airs for a week on broadcast and cable
stations in Omaha and Lincoln and will take the day off on Thanksgiving.

Health Care for America Now has purchased $175,000 worth of
airtime in Arkansas and spent $125,000 in Nebraska.