The Washington Post gives the latest attack ad against Rep. Gary Peters Two Pinocchios, indicating it has some misleading information. The maximum an ad can get is four.
The ad, being run by Americans for Prosperity, which is backed by the conservative Koch brothers, goes after Peters, a Democratic U.S. Senate candidate, for voting for the Affordable Care Act, more commonly referred to as Obamacare. The ad is similar to another one by the Americans for Prosperity that goes after Democrat Sen. Mark Udall.
Republicans are focusing around the country on an anti-Obamacare message, hoping it will be effective enough to win some key seats in the upcoming mid-term election.
Glenn Kessler, author of the Washington Post column Fact Checker, which gave the ad Two Pinocchios, writes:
These two ads are basically cookie-cutter ads, with similar images and text, aimed either at incumbent Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) or at Rep. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), who is running to fill an open Senate seat. They also make vague allegations of people losing doctors or “thousands” of dollars in higher health-care premiums. (After complaints from parents of victims of the July 20, 2012, Aurora movie theater shooting, AFP removed an image in the ad of President Obama and Udall in Colorado after the shootings.)
As we have repeatedly noted, there are winners and losers under the health-care law—and Americans for Prosperity is adept at focusing just on the losers. The numbers on cancellations are also a bit dated, because the Obama administration offered an administrative fix that allowed many plans to be extended for at least another year. Many plans also offered a renewal option with the letter that informed policy-holders that their old plan did not meet the requirements of the Affordable Care Act. (Udall, for instance has stressed that 92 percent of people received a renewal option.)
The 225,000 figure for Michigan includes 47,000 policyholders who were offered to stay on a plan carried by Blue Cross Blue Shield. But AFP is careful to use words like “could” be canceled. -- Allan Lengel
