A series of new ads released Monday blames Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and more than two dozen Republicans for cutting funding to programs that could have stopped the Ebola outbreak and prevented thousands of deaths worldwide.
The ads, Republican Cuts Kill,’ mixes images of body bags, hazmat suits, and corpses with clips of Republicans in some of the most competitive races around the country demanding more spending cuts and testimony from top healthcare officials detailing how cuts hampered their ability to address the crisis.
The Ebola has killed thousands in West Africa. A Liberian man died in Texas from the disease and a healthcare worked has now been infected.
“Our goal is for every single American citizen to understand the role Republican anti-government fanatics played in the Ebola panic and in the death of literally thousands of people around the world,” said Erica Payne, producer of ‘Republican Cuts Kill. “Republicans are like rabid dogs in a butcher shop. Their militant hatred of our government has consumed any common sense they might have once possessed. It is a sad day when people who are supposed to represent the public good deliberately gut programs that could protect our country from killers like the Ebola virus. CDC, NIH, and USAID have seen their budgets slashed by Republicans. Thousands of people have died as a result.”
In a recent statements, U.S. health officials have said budget cuts have impacted healthcare.
In his Senate testimony Director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci added: “[Budget cuts have] both in an acute and a chronic, insidious way eroded our ability to respond in the way that I and my colleagues would like to see us be able to respond to these emerging threats. And in my institute particularly, [proper funds are] responsible for responding on the dime to an emerging infectious disease threat, [so these cuts are] is particularly damaging."
The ad was produced by the Agenda Project Action Fund, the same people who created Rep. Paul Ryan throwing “Granny Off the Cliff” and “Romney Girl.” The group plans ad buys in Kentucky, North Carolina, South Dakota and Kansas in the coming weeks.
The ads target McConnell and Sen. Pat Roberts as well as candidates for Senate -- Cory Gardner of Coloroda, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Rob Maness of Louisiana, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Steve Daines of Montana and House members: David Valadao, Mike Coffman, Michael Grimm, Steve Southerland, Tom Latham, Lee Terry, Dan Benishek, Jon Runyan, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and Kay Granger.