Republican leadership doesn't have a plan to replace Obamacare, but they have loads of money to spend bullying rank-and-file Republicans to toe the line on repealing the law. In Spanish, too.
The American Action Network, founded by veteran GOP fundraisers to support Ryan (R-Wis.), will begin airing the new ad Tuesday. The Spanish-language campaign is in addition to a $1.4 million ad campaign launched by the group last week.
Over the next two weeks, the ad is set to air during newscasts, soap operas and weekend sports programming on Univision and Telemundo affiliates in districts represented by Reps. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) (the Sacramento TV market), David Valadao (R-Calif.) (the Fresno market), Mike Coffman (R-Colo.) (Denver), Will Hurd (R-Tex.) (San Antonio) and Barbara Comstock (R-Va.) (the Washington, D.C., market). Digital versions of the ad will air across the Miami-area district of Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.), which is one of the most expensive Spanish-language media markets in the country. […]
The new AAN ad tells viewers that the new Republican plan would provide “more choices and better care” at lower prices. But the 30-second spot includes no specifics — just broad generalities and an invitation to visit a website where viewers can sign up for email updates.
Some of these Republicans whose districts who have large Latino populations might just be tempted to stray from leadership, so it makes sense that Ryan's allies are extending the ads there. A side benefit might be convincing some voters that they actually do know what they're doing and that this mythical plan will indeed materialize—and maybe even work.
They've got a lot of convincing to do. Because according to the latest polling from NBC and The Wall Street Journal, Obamacare is more popular than ever before, and "50 percent say they have either 'very little' or no confidence with the GOP" to replace the law.