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Koch Brothers Still Convinced They Can Kill "Obamacare"


By

Christopher Robbins

Published Jul 7, 2013

Modified Jul 7, 2013


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"I still have some questions about Obamacare...Like, uh, why are we still fighting Obamacare?"

 


By

Christopher Robbins

Published Jul 7, 2013

Modified Jul 7, 2013


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The Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare") has been law since 2010, and most of its larger provisions will be enacted by 2014. Attempts to repeal it have been doomed—but what does "doomed" really mean if you have billions of dollars to pay for an Alternate Reality? The Times reports that the Koch brothers' astroturfing organization, Americans for Prosperity, is spending over $1 million to place an anti-Obamacare ad in swing states like Ohio and Virginia.

Tim Phillips, the executive director for AFP, says the group is hoping to gain more traction with voters by using a woman in the ad, and by not insulting the president directly.

“Too often we fell into a broad-based ideological argument, and I think we failed to get at ‘Look at what they’re doing and how it impacts you,’ ” he said. “I think where we win is on the impact of a specific policy.”

Here's the spot:

Personally, we prefer AFP's moving vignette from 2012, The President Makes Our Silverware Louder.

The Campaign Media Analysis Group estimates that by 2015, $1 billion will have been spent to attack or defend the Affordable Care Act, which is great news for local TV stations in Ohio.

Tagged

affordable care act

Koch Brothers

obama care


Christopher Robbins

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Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.

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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


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