Alaskans watching television over the Thanksgiving holiday may have seen an ad targeting Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and encouraging Alaskans to call and write the senator and encourage her to vote against the GOP tax bill.
“Call her and tell her not to lose her way,” the ad says.
The ad, “Not One Penny” is the product of liberal groups associated with MoveOn.org and the similarly fashioned Indivisible organization, and it’s modeled after an ad that targeted Maine Sen. Susan Collins. The group’s campaign is expanding to include eight Republican senators seen key to the vote that may be taken in the Senate next week on a tax overhaul bill.
Murkowski, a moderate Republican, has not indicated how she will vote on the overhaul of the tax code, but she penned an opinion column last week saying she favored doing away with Obamacare’s individual mandate, which requires all Americans to have health insurance, even if it means they have to pay over $10,000 a year for it, as many Alaskans do. The elimination of the mandate is a provision in the tax reform bill.
Earlier this year, the same liberal groups ran similar ads targeting several Republican House members, including ads that were Spanish only, targeting the congressional districts of Reps. Martha McSally of Arizona and Will Hurd of Texas.
The sample script that the Democrat-linked organization is pushing Alaskans to use in calling Murkowski:
Sample Call Script: Alaska (Senator Murkowski)
Caller: Hello! My name is [NAME] and I live in [PART OF STATE]. I’m calling to let Senator Murkowski know that I strongly oppose the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The bill has NOT gone through regular order, and it will cause tens of thousands of Alaskans to lose their health insurance coverage and drive up premiums for everyone else.
Staffer: Senator Murkowski is undecided on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. She thinks it is important that we reform our broken, complex tax code so that middle-class families can benefit.
Caller: This tax bill won’t do anything to simplify the tax code, or make it better for middle class families. Health insurance premiums in Alaska will go up by $2,900 if this tax bill passes, and over 18,000 Alaska families will see a tax increase! Senator Murkowski bravely stood up against the Republicans’ ill-advised attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act through a faulty process; she should do it again this time.
Staffer: I’ll pass your thoughts along to the Senator.
Caller: Yes please do, and please take down my contact information so you can let me know what the Senator decides to do.
Well I’m glad that at least Moveon cares about individual premiums going up. Murkowski doesn’t seem to care.
https://www.cbo.gov/budget-options/2016/52232
Question: Does a comment maker have to include his/her name? Apparently not, given the prior comment.
Just for the record, when I make a comment every reader knows who make that comment which allows them to form an opinion as to the validity/credibility of the person making the comment.
Having the person disclose their name also tempers the propensity to criticize and/or disparage others who make comments.
Food for thought.
Dan Coffey
Dan, I moderate the comments and if they are too nasty, I just don’t allow them through. I can’t force people to use their real names. Cheers! – Suzanne
Ed, I do check these comments and I don’t think I recall getting a call from you, and I’ve edited out your phone number here for your privacy. I’ll try to call next week.
So you want people who can’t afford a healthcare insurance program – to pay for someone else’s insurance? How dumb is that?
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