GOP group jabs at health law

As the Democratic convention began, a Republican-leaning non-profit organization unveiled a new advertisement criticizing the health law. Meanwhile, national health issues are picking up steam in House and Senate races.

The New York Times' The Caucus: Ad Takes Aim At Obama Health Overhaul
The Republican-leaning non-profit group Americans for Prosperity is debuting a new commercial at the start of the Democratic National Convention, suggesting that President Obama's health care overhaul would leave the United States with a system much like Canada's, one in which costly delays in treatment would threaten people's lives (Mullany, 9/4).

Politico Pro: Heller Ups The Ante On Medicare 'Raid' Charge
Republican Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada is going beyond the usual GOP attacks on Medicare -- he's accusing his Democratic opponent of voting to cut $1 trillion from Medicare. That's right: not just $700 billion. $1 trillion. In a new ad, Heller accuses Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley of voting to raid Medicare of $1 trillion to help fund other government programs. The allegation is remarkable if only because most Republican attempts to vilify Democrats over Medicare has centered on Affordable Care Act's $716 billion in Medicare cuts over 10 years. But Heller takes it further, adding in other votes to reach the higher number -- including one from 2007. Heller charges that his rival has voted for three bills -- including the ACA -- that would take a combined $1.03 trillion out of Medicare (Cheney, 9/4).

Politico: Targeted On Health Law, Some Dems Skip Charlotte
They are 10 Democrats running for Congress whom the National Republican Campaign Committee has identified as particularly vulnerable on President Barack Obama's health care reform law. So vulnerable that they opted to stay home and campaign this week rather than come to their party's convention. So vulnerable that most of them wouldn't even talk about the health care law by phone. One of the Democrats -- California Rep. John Garamendi -- was at least willing to speak up for the law long-distance. "I'm not backing away from it. This is an issue I want to talk about, and do talk about," he said by telephone from his northern California district (Kenen, 9/4).

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Thompson Was Key Supporter Of Obamacare, Top White House Adviser Says
A top White House adviser Tuesday put a new twist on an old charge -- that Tommy Thompson supported Obamacare before he opposed it. Nancy-Ann DeParle, President Barack Obama's top adviser on health care, was present for a high-profile meeting two years ago on implementing the federal health care law that included Thompson, who is now focusing much of his campaign for U.S. Senate on his opposition to the law. But in an interview Tuesday with the Journal Sentinel at the Democratic National Convention, DeParle said that the point of inviting Thompson to the meeting was that he was a supporter of the law known as the Affordable Care Act and -- unlike many Republicans -- Thompson at that time wanted to see it implemented rather than obstructed (Stein, 9/4).