Congressional Democrats in swing states and vulnerable seats have continued to feel the pressure of Obamacare's pathetic poll numbers. In Louisiana, North Carolina, and Arkansas, Senate Dems are having their feet held to the fire by conservative PACs.
"I'm fixing it and that's what my bill does, and I've urged the president to fix it," [Louisiana Sen.] Landrieu says of the health care law in the ad. It ends with a screen that reads: "The result: People now allowed to keep health care plans." The three-term lawmaker aired the ad after a televised attack by Americans for Prosperity, a group funded by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch that has spent more than $25 million on similarly themed commercials in several races. Americans for Prosperity has also attacked in Arkansas, where Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor faces a tough race. The incumbent ran an ad late last year that did not mention the Affordable Care Act by name. It said he was working for "more doctor visits, free preventive care and lower prescription costs," references to elements of the legislation he voted for.
Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire has been attacked by a different group, Ending Spending, which mocked Obama's now-discredited statement that Americans could keep their health care if they liked it. "Next November, if you like your senator, you can keep her. If you don't, you know what to do," says the announcer.
Conservatives are in full-on attack mode, smelling blood in the water. Landrieu (La.), Pryor (Ark.), and Hagan (N.C.) are widely seen, by pundits and pollsters, to be the most vulnerable Democrats, and the biggest targets for Republicans looking to take back the Senate.