Shaheen Attacked for ‘Lie of the Year’

A political group promoting fiscal responsibility in federal budgeting is spending more than $40,000 on an ad buy this week criticizing U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, and her promotion of the Affordable Care Act.

The ad, entitled, “Like Your Senator,” is airing all this week on WMUR-TV, and shows Shaheen advocating for the ACA from the Senate floor and quotes her saying that people could keep their plans if the law was approved.

"You can keep your insurance if you like it, it will increase choices for families, it will promote competition,” she said.

The ad also mentioned newspaper stories revealing the lack of competition in New Hampshire’s healthcare market as well as the 20,000 residents who will be losing their insurance, due to cancelled coverage in the wake of the implementation of the law. It also offered a graphic showing that the statement that people could keep their insurance was called the "Lie of the Year" by Politifact.com, the fact checking outfit at the Tampa Bay Times.

“So, next November, if you like your Senator, you can keep her … if you don't, you know what to do,” the ad stated at the end.

The group behind the ad, Ending Spending, is a 501(c)4 Super PAC that describes itself as “an independent organization that proudly supports candidates regardless of party affiliation who favor enhancing free enterprise, reducing the size of government, and balancing our nation's budget” that also strongly opposes those who don’t support those policies.

The group was created by Joe Ricketts, the former CEO of TD Ameritrade, according to opensecrets.org, and spent more than $13.2 million on political advertising in 2012. The group is currently led by Brian Baker, a former adviser to Bob Dole and Richard Shelby.

The New Hampshire Democratic Party called the group “Wall Street cronies” for former Mass. Sen. Scott Brown, who is rumored to be interested in challenging Shaheen next year.

"The attack ads from Scott Brown’s Wall Street cronies are just the latest in their shameless campaign to get him to run for the Senate, not from his home state of Massachusetts, but from our state of New Hampshire,” said Raymond Buckley, chairman of the party. “Scott Brown and his out-of-state attack dogs don’t understand that here in New Hampshire, people want their holidays filled with family and friends, not phony, negative attacks from shadowy outside interest groups representing Wall Street, investment bankers, and corporate special interests.”

The ad buy on WMUR-TV runs through Sunday.