$100 million spent to fight health reform--after it passed

Daily Kos Staff

Friday October 29, 2010 · 7:16 PM PDT

2010/10/29 · 19:16

How much does corporate American and the GOP hate health reform?

So $100 million in ads tarring health reform have run since Obama signed the bill into law in March. And many ads on health care contain multiple falsehoods and distortions. Is this entirely to blame for making health reform a political liability for many Dems? No, of course not. Though majorities have steadily said they like individual provisions, the overall law was unpopular in the lead-up to passage. Dems have not done what they needed to do to change the public's mind at the rate they had hoped to.

But even if the massive post-passage ad campaign against the law is only part of the story, it's nonetheless significant. Clearly, those heavily invested in returning the majority to the GOP recognized that a concerted campaign to tar this major Dem achievement -- after it had been enshrined into law -- had to be a central feature of their strategy. It seems likely that this massive ad onslaught may have been one key factor in preventing public opinion from turning around quickly enough.

The various involved industries spent more than $600 million in lobbying and ads during the fight to get a bill they could live with--killing strong reform measures like a public option or drug reimportation--and now are investing in trying to buy a Republican Congress that will focus on undoing what did get accomplished.

And that's what they're gonna get, if the GOP has their way. Because it's perfectly fine by them for insurers to deny coverage for pre-existing conditions.

$100 million spent to fight health reform--after it passed

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