National Democrats, pro-Obamacare group hammer Mike Coffman for vote supporting tax bill

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Save My Care, an organization opposed to repealing the Affordable Care Act, are targeting U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman with digital ads criticizing his support for Republican-sponsored tax reform legislation, the groups said Monday.
The DCCC is unleashing ads on vulnerable GOP incumbents, including Coffman, who voted for the House version of sweeping tax legislation Republicans have vowed to get on the president’s desk by the end of the year.
The ad aimed at Coffman features what the Democratic group terms a “bruising editorial from Coffman’s hometown paper” – the Aurora Sentinel – that takes the five-term incumbent to task for backing “huge tax cuts to the rich and big corporations paid for by tax increases on middle-class families.”
Coffman fired back with an opinion article the Sentinel published online Monday challenging the Sentinel editorial board’s conclusion the bill will balloon the nation’s debt by more than $1 trillion, pointing to an analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation projecting the bill will boost economic growth and virtually pay for itself.
Proudly embracing his support for the legislation, dubbed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Coffman says he voted for it “because this bill – while not perfect- is, overall, a pro-growth, pro-family, bill that will help millions of Americans…. Not, as the Sentinel insinuates, one to cynically heap riches on plutocrats.”
DCCC spokeswoman Rachel Irwin predicted Coffman’s vote will come back to haunt him in the battleground 6th Congressional District.
“Congressman Coffman has pulled the wool over the eyes of his constituents for too long – and his vote exposes his true colors and track record of voting with President Trump 94 percent of the time,” she said in a statement. “This digital ad blitz will inform voters in Colorado’s 6th District about the morally bankrupt Republican Tax Scam that Rep. Coffman will own next November.”
The ad campaign is scheduled to run on social media sites through November. In addition, the DCCC has bought up URLs the Republicans might use to promote the plan, including TaxCutsAndJobsAct.com, which lists criticism of the legislation and encourages people to upload videos explaining why they oppose the plan.
The National Republican Congressional Committee shot back at the attacks, calling them “debunked lies” and pointing to a Washington Post Fact Checker article that said claims by Senate Democrats that the GOP legislation would raise taxes for most middle class Americans were incorrect. The Post gave the charges “Four Pinocchios,” the highest rating for the real “whoppers.”
The Save My Care video ad campaign – aimed at 14 Republicans nationwide – lashes Coffman for supporting the tax bill and sounds the alarm over rumored GOP attempts to slip a provision repealing Obamacare’s individual mandate into the legislation.
“This sneaky repeal of the individual mandate would rip coverage away from 13 million people, raise premiums by double digits, force a $25 billion cut to Medicare and raise taxes on people with costly medical expenses – all to pay for tax breaks for the wealthiest and corporations,” the organization said in a statement.
Coffman is facing a primary challenge from Republican Roger Edwards, and three Democrats – Jason Crow, Levi Tillemann and David Aarestad – are running for the nomination in the suburban swing district.
Here’s the Save My Care ad aimed at Coffman:
