Are any democrats running ads (print/radio/tv) on their support of the healthcare law?

Okay, conservative talk show hosts and a plethora of right of center op-ed writers have been saying for months now that not a single democrat is running ads on their proud support of the health care reform law (you know, the big one).

For the democrats, is this true? Do you know of any democrat running ads either in print or on radio/TV in support of the healthcare law passed by democrats in the senate and house and signed by President Obama?

Feel free to think I'm troll, troll, trolling your boat, however, I'd hate for the right to be spreading lies that no democrats are proud of their support of passing this healthcare overhaul. I can think of one democrat running ads about how he voted against the healthcare law and how he's independent of the Obama and Pelosi agenda even though he votes with Pelosi 96% of the time. (Politicians honestly think the American public doesn't pay attention to their actions--- it's been like this for at least a decade).

Also, if you do want to bitch at me for posting this topic, feel free to do so. I relish it like superman loves the yellow sun. Plus, it's a pretty sad state of affairs that one of Obama's monumental pillars of legislation and priorities that no democrat in his supermajority across the house and senate is proud to say they supported. It's quite telling.

No, but there are a few democrats that didn't vote for it discussing that they didn't vote for it.

Quote from Hawk2007 : Okay, conservative talk show hosts and a plethora of right of center op-ed writers have been saying for months now that not a single democrat is running ads on their proud support of the health care reform law (you know, the big one). For the democrats, is this true? Do you know of any democrat running ads either in print or on radio/TV in support of the healthcare law passed by democrats in the senate and house and signed by President Obama? Feel free to think I'm troll, troll, trolling your boat, however, I'd hate for the right to be spreading lies that no democrats are proud of their support of passing this healthcare overhaul. I can think of one democrat running ads about how he voted against the healthcare law and how he's independent of the Obama and Pelosi agenda even though he votes with Pelosi 96% of the time. (Politicians honestly think the American public doesn't pay attention to their actions--- it's been like this for at least a decade). Also, if you do want to bitch at me for posting this topic, feel free to do so. I relish it like superman loves the yellow sun. Plus, it's a pretty sad state of affairs that one of Obama's monumental pillars of legislation and priorities that no democrat in his supermajority across the house and senate is proud to say they supported. It's quite telling.

You're right - one has to ponder - if the law was SO wonderful and SO needed as much as those that pushed it through congress said it would be, then why aren't they bragging about it? The only logical answer is that the law was neither of those and is such a monkey on their back that they shun even mentioning it.

Quote from Hawk2007 : I can think of one democrat running ads about how he voted against the healthcare law and how he's independent of the Obama and Pelosi agenda even though he votes with Pelosi 96% of the time. (Politicians honestly think the American public doesn't pay attention to their actions--- it's been like this for at least a decade).

I honestly think that the American public does not pay attention to their actions as well.

Quote from Dr. J : You're right - one has to ponder - if the law was SO wonderful and SO needed as much as those that pushed it through congress said it would be, then why aren't they bragging about it? The only logical answer is that the law was neither of those and is such a monkey on their back that they shun even mentioning it.

Haha, yep; that is the only logical answer.

http://www.politico.com/news/stor...42257.html

Pertinent article.

Since the beginning of Congress’s August recess, Democratic candidates have poured $930,000 into ads deriding the health overhaul but just $300,000 in pro-reform spots, according to Evan Tracey at Kantar Media.

Even Democratic candidates’ pro-reform ads can offer tepid support for the law. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) ran an ad last week that mentioned his support of health reform briefly, sandwiched between other legislative accomplishments.

I thought ad campaigns were all about smearing the other guy and throwing out some generic terms Americans are supposed to care about (lowering taxes, job creation, etc) that one is supposedly in favor of. Mentioning something specific you're in favor of or against means you'll have to explain yourself later when politics dictates you vote the other way.

Quote from trancepire : I thought ad campaigns were all about smearing the other guy and throwing out some generic terms Americans are supposed to care about (lowering taxes, job creation, etc) that one is supposedly in favor of. Mentioning something specific you're in favor of or against means you'll have to explain yourself later when politics dictates you vote the other way.

Sure, politicians play middle-of-the-road positions all the time.

But on something as consequential and in dire need of repair as healthcare? The great thing about the healthcare vote was that this piece of legislation is solidly owned by Democrats.

Maybe in a few years, I'll be eating crow and taking my words back as the law works better than anyone could have possibly imagined. I give every left of center poster free reign to laugh me out of here when the Patient Protection and Affordability Act is a blessing on America.

Quote from Xygonn : Even Democratic candidates’ pro-reform ads can offer tepid support for the law. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) ran an ad last week that mentioned his support of health reform briefly, sandwiched between other legislative accomplishments.

That's a bit of a stretch, but the closest thing to support I've heard of thus far. Thank you.

Like you mentioned earlier in your post, a number of dems prominently outline their opposition to the healthcare reform bill. Though, the ones I've seen all are from lost or losing battlegrounds for democrat incumbents.

Why would you run ads saying you support something the majority of your constituents aren't all that thrilled about right now? When is this ever done? That sounds like terrible campaign strategy.

Quote from ASG : Why would you run ads saying you support something the majority of your constituents aren't all that thrilled about right now? When is this ever done? That sounds like terrible campaign strategy.

I'm not a commercial strategist, hell I hate most all commercials, but I think the strategy would be if everyone knows you voted for the thing, you shine the crap out of it with all the special effects and smiling children modern media allows you to. It would be more foolish to say you didn't know what you were doing when you voted for it or anything similar to it. I guess the typical strategy is to crowd out the unpopular decision with a bunch of popular ones you did?

Quote from ASG : Why would you run ads saying you support something the majority of your constituents aren't all that thrilled about right now? When is this ever done? That sounds like terrible campaign strategy.

This begs the question, "Why did you support (and literally cram through Congress w/o reading) something the majority of your constituents 'aren't all that thrilled about' in the first place?" Two possibilities exist.

1) You don't give a damn about your constituents or their opinions.
2) You're incompetent and didn't understand what you were voting for.

I think this is why Dems are avoiding the issue.

Quote from AlfredoGarcia : This begs the question, "Why did you support (and literally cram through Congress w/o reading) something the majority of your constituents 'aren't all that thrilled about' in the first place?" Two possibilities exist. 1) You don't give a damn about your constituents or their opinions. 2) You're incompetent and didn't understand what you were voting for. I think this is why Dems are avoiding the issue.

Should we poll each state/district on every vote up for debate and force representatives to vote based on what the majority of those polled want?

Quote from ASG : Should we poll each state/district on every vote up for debate and force representatives to vote based on what the majority of those polled want?

It's actually not a terrible idea for major issues. A competent representative probably has pollsters in their district and their vote ought to represent the voice of the people of their district. Obviously you can't do it for every vote, but it shouldn't be too difficult for major votes.

Quote from Xygonn : It's actually not a terrible idea for major issues. A competent representative probably has pollsters in their district and their vote ought to represent the voice of the people of their district. Obviously you can't do it for every vote, but it shouldn't be too difficult for major votes.

Of course, this brings up the question of whether or not we should even expect our reps to carry out 'the will of the people'. Do we elect people because we expect them to do exactly what we want them to do, or because we expect them to make good decisions?

Quote from yourlefthand : Of course, this brings up the question of whether or not we should even expect our reps to carry out 'the will of the people'. Do we elect people because we expect them to do exactly what we want them to do, or because we expect them to make good decisions?

Well the name representative is pretty indicative of their job. I think we elect the president to make good decisions. The reason for electing Senators is a little less clear (they ought to be in between the will of the people and making wise decisions). This is the way those parts of the government are intended to function.