Political Ad Knocks Capps’s Medicare Votes

We’re still a year-and-a-half away from the next Congressional election, but a new advertisement has popped up on television sets around the 23rd Congressional district going after Rep. Lois Capps and her votes on Medicare.

The ad — paid for by the National Republican Congressional Committee — is similar to those showing in districts around the country. It says that Capps voted for the “most extreme” plan, and says Capps is “putting partisan politics ahead of what’s best for seniors.”

Capps campaign spokesman Randolph Harrison, in a statement from Capps’s campaign Tuesday morning, pointed out the Washington Post’s Fact Checker blog gave the commercial a “four Pinocchios” rating in terms of true facts. He said that “false ads like this one from Washington political groups pushing partisan agendas are part of the problem in politics today.”

Said Harrison: “The people of the Central Coast know that Congresswoman Capps has been a champion for protecting Medicare in Congress. She voted against the Republican plan to turn Medicare into a voucher program because she knows how important guaranteed access to health care is for seniors and their plan would end that guarantee. She’s also worked hard to strengthen Medicare by helping pass the Health Care law that will close the ‘donut hole,’ end co-pays for preventive care, and extend the solvency of the program — advances that the Republican plan would roll back. And she is going to keep up that fight on behalf of her constituents.”