Colorado Politics

Billboards targeting Republicans taken down after NRCC defamation threat

A vendor in charge of displaying House Democrats’ billboards accusing vulnerable Republicans of voting to cut Medicaid and give tax breaks to Elon Musk took them down after House Republicans’ campaign arm sent a cease-and-desist letter on Wednesday.

The House Majority Forward launched six billboards in vulnerable Republican districts — those of Reps. Gabe Evans (R-CO), Don Bacon (R-NE), Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA), Monica De La Cruz (R-TX), Jen Kiggans (R-VA), and Rob Wittman (R-VA), on Tuesday.

“​​Medicaid has not been cut by the Federal government,” NRCC’s letter, obtained exclusively by the Washington Examiner, stated. “No Member of Congress has voted for cuts to Medicaid. House Majority Forward can only point to wishful speculation that cuts could occur sometime somewhere in the future— they cannot point to any cuts that have already taken place.”

“House Majority Forward’s message willfully ignores the fact that their Republican targets have publicly voiced their support for Medicaid and perpetuates false claims to the contrary,” the letter added.

Wendi Loup, Lamar Advertising Company’s assistant general counsel, said in a response letter reviewed by the Washington Examiner that its national sales campaign specialist confirmed the billboards are “no longer running.”

The billboards claimed the Republicans “voted to cut Medicaid to give billionaires like him tax cuts,” referring to Musk, who was featured on the billboard next to the lawmaker.

“Tell Jen Kiggans to oppose Medicaid cuts,” the billboard for Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District reads.

The NRCC letter listed all six districts under Lamar’s umbrella.

House Majority Forward told the Washington Examiner that two of the six, one targeting Bacon and another targeting Evans, are still up and running as they are operated by a different vendor. The PAC did not provide the name of the second vendor but sent the Washington Examiner photos of Bacon and Evans’s billboards still standing as of Thursday morning.

“This proves what we’ve been saying all along: Democrats have no winning message so they resort to lies and fear-mongering in a disgusting effort to distract voters,” NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “The American people aren’t buying it, and House Democrats should be ashamed of themselves.”

Accusing Republicans of wanting to cut Medicaid and Social Security has been the rallying call for Democratic lawmakers and progressive opposition groups since President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20.

“This is very much an ongoing legal back and forth,” a spokesperson for House Majority Forward told the Washington Examiner of the battle with the billboards under Lamar’s umbrella, pointing to research backing up the billboards’ claims.

Democrats have argued Republicans are planning to cut Medicaid after the Congressional Budget Office released a memo, which noted the $880 billion in proposed Energy and Commerce Committee cuts run right through the healthcare beneficiary program. All six Republicans targeted in the billboards voted for the budget resolution, which unlocks reconciliation and calls for nearly $2 trillion in cuts.

GOP leadership has brushed off Democrats’ claims that Medicaid is on the chopping block as “hysteria,” pointing to the language of the budget resolution and arguing the bill’s text does not specifically mention Medicaid, Social Security or Medicare.

“The fact is that ads across the country, including other ads paid for by HMF, have been run about the GOP Medicaid cut — and the claims being made have been verified by both the CBO and Republicans including Rep. Don Bacon,” House Majority Forward communications director CJ Warnke told the Washington Examiner. “This is a desperate attempt by the babies over at the NRCC to silence free speech and facts because they know they’re losing on this issue.”

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