A political advertisement that started airing on television this week in Arkansas' 4th Congressional District has both Democrats and Republicans defending state Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Hot Springs, the House majority leader.
The Republican president pro tempore of the state Senate and the top-ranking Democrat in the House both say the spot is misleading.
The ad sponsored by Hot Springs Republican Tommy Moll's campaign claims that Moll's stance on the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, referred to as Obamacare in the ad, is different than that of his rival for the U.S. House nomination, Westerman.
Westerman's campaign and several legislators have taken to social media to challenge the truthfulness of the commercial.
During the 30-second advertisement, an announcer says: "Bruce Westerman sponsored not just one, but two bills, to implement Obamacare in Arkansas."
And later he says, "Only one candidate has always challenged Obamacare, Tommy Moll."
Westerman voted against efforts to expand Medicaid in 2013 and 2014, despite being listed as a sponsor briefly in 2013.
The Moll campaign has created a website -- westermanobamacareplan.com -- where visitors can view the video, a timeline and information about the two bills.
The ad refers to the original bill that created the state's private-option Medicaid expansion plan in the 2013 session, House Bill 1143. The plan, which uses federal dollars to allow low-income residents to purchase private health-insurance plans on a state-run exchange, is a result of the Affordable Care Act.
The commercial also refers to House Bill 1965 of 2013, titled "Healthcare Reform Act of 2013," which was Westerman's attempt at creating an alternative to the private option that would allow any programs to "remain within the purview of the state of Arkansas and not with Washington, D.C."
Peter Somerville, a spokesman for Moll, said the ad is carefully worded and very truthful. He declined to talk specifically about how much the ad cost and how long it will run.
"The commercial makes some very specific claims and gives some very specific information," Somerville said. "These were bills that would implement Obamacare in Arkansas, and there are two parts to that. They would have taken federal taxpayer money earmarked by the Obamacare bill. They would then use that money to expand subsidized health care for 250,000 Arkansans, a group specifically defined by Obamacare."
Westerman's name appeared on HB1143 for about a week in April 2013, according to legislative records. The two sides disagree on the importance of those dates.
Somerville said Westerman co-sponsored the bill after actuarial studies and important information from the federal government was released. Westerman said Friday that he removed his name from the bill before it was discussed in committee.
"This ad is not even close to accurate," Westerman said. "I don't think anyone has ever written or recorded that I was in favor of the private option. I was working with other legislators as a team to reform Medicaid in Arkansas. There were several reforms we discussed, and several that we passed that his campaign is ignoring. It took time to review all of the financial information and the studies we had received, but the private option was one reform I couldn't support."
Both Republican and Democratic legislators say the ad's representation of the facts is unfair, and they took to Twitter and Facebook to say that it's not truthful.
"I like Tommy Moll, but that ad does not represent the history of what happened," said Sen. Michael Lamoureux, R-Russellville, the president pro tempore of the Senate during the debate over the private option and one of the architects of the program.
"We were trying to recruit Bruce's support because we thought it was critical. But when you talk to someone, you know when you're making a successful pitch and when you're not. Bruce was always polite, but as we continued to talk, his questions became more critical and his body language became less friendly. He left a meeting one day, and I told everybody, 'We're never going to have his support.'"
House Minority Leader Rep. Greg Leding, D-Fayetteville, said the ad "isn't a fair assessment."
"I wasn't privy to the Republican inner workings of their caucus, and my understanding was he was a key player in the [Medicaid reform] discussions when the idea began being discussed," Leding said. "But to claim he supported it or tried to get it passed is disingenuous at best. He was a clear, loud and vocal opponent pretty much throughout the entire process."
Somerville stood by the accuracy of the commercial, despite criticism. He said he's received support as well as criticism since the ad started running.
"I invite people to look at the text of those two bills that he sponsored," Somerville said.
Metro on 05/10/2014