In what is likely a sign of things to come in 2016, the conservative Koch brothers-backed group Americans For Prosperity released an ad on Wednesday seeking to tie Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) to controversial ObamaCare adviser Jonathan Gruber.
{mosads}Gruber made headlines earlier this year for saying it was the “stupidity of the American voter” that helped the Obama administration pass the Affordable Care Act.
The ad says Landrieu repeated President Obama’s ObamaCare “Lie of the Year” that if you liked your healthcare plan you could keep it, before launching into the Gruber attack.
“An ObamaCare architect bragged about deceiving Americans to pass the law,” the narrator says before cutting to a mash-up of Gruber making his controversial remarks.
“How can Mary Landrieu fight for Louisiana and still support the ObamaCare deception?” the narrator asks.
The ad cuts to Landrieu saying: “I would vote for it again and I’ve said that and I’m not backing up from it,” and “if they don’t like it they can un-elect us, I’m up for reelection right now.”
Landrieu trails Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) badly in their Dec. 6 runoff race for Senate.
At their Monday debate, Cassidy sought to tie Landrieu to Gruber. The candidates each had an opportunity to ask the other a question of their own, and Cassidy asked Landrieu when she knew the administration was being deceitful in passing ObamaCare, as suggested by the recently uncovered remarks.
“I don’t read what Jonathan Gruber says, I don’t even talk to Jonathan Gruber,” Landrieu shot back. “I talk to my constituents.”
Landrieu argued that “the law is not perfect and needs to be improved” but said it’s a “better system than what we had,” and said Republicans were being hypocritical because the law was based on conservative principles put forth by the Heritage Foundation and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R).