Three major unions are launching a six-figure ad buy targeting key House Republicans in an effort to keep cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security out of any deal between House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and President Obama to avert the fiscal cliff.
“Speaker Boehner must listen to the millions of Americans who said loud and clear on November 6 that they voted for protecting and expanding the middle class, not for cuts to vital services that millions of Americans rely on for their healthcare, child care and retirement security,” said Peter Colavito, director of government relations for the Service Employees International Union.
SEIU will join the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and the National Education Association (NEA) in targeting Reps. Rick Crawford (R-AK), Mike Coffman (R-CO), John Fleming (R-LA), Erik Paulsen (R-MN), and Scott Rigell (R-VA).
The ad comes at an unusual moment in the fiscal cliff debate, when President Obama has agreed in principle to include one up-front cut to Social Security in an emerging deal with Boehner, but Boehner, facing a restive House conference, is weighing an alternative plan that would include only modest tax rate increases on millionaires and no entitlement cuts whatsoever.
The ad, which you can view below, launches Wednesday and will run through the weekend.
Brian Beutler
Brian Beutler is TPM's senior congressional reporter. Since 2009, he's led coverage of health care reform, Wall Street reform, taxes, the GOP budget, the government shutdown fight, and the debt limit fight. He can be reached at brian@talkingpointsmemo.com.
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