A new television ad is poking fun at Sen. Joe Lieberman.
The ad, created by a liberal advocacy group, accuses Lieberman of turning his back on constituents by opposing a public option for health insurance, according to several news reports, including the New York Times.
The Senate is debating the plan, which is also in the legislation passed in the House of Representatives and now being debated in the Senate. Many Democrats support
Lieberman's opposition to the public option might mean a lengthy debate and changes in the bill in the Senate before a final vote is taken.
The ad itself is produced by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and mocks Lieberman, who lost the Democratic primary in his last campaign for re-election in 2006, only to run and win back his seat as an independent.
John Mertens, the chairman of the Connecticut for Lieberman Party, a group that supported him in 2006, narrates the ad. He and his group broke ranks and Mertens has since announced his own run for Senate in 2010 to take the seat held by Sen. Chris Dodd, one of the leading architects of the health care bill, the Times reports.
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The ad criticizes Lieberman for claiming to listen to his constituents. It then cites some polls that say that Connecticut residents support the public option.
“Joe never forgets who he ran to represent,” Mertens says in the spot. “Himself.”
He continues “It’s not about you. It’s all about Joe.”
“Joe Lieberman promised Connecticut voters in 2006 that he would be there on core Democratic issues like health care reform,” group co-founder Adam Green told the New York Times. “This tongue-in-cheek ad holds Lieberman accountable for putting his own thirst for the spotlight ahead of the overwhelming will of Connecticut voters who demand a public health insurance option.”
You can watch the ad here.
