Expect lots of ads from the 60 Plus Association (now Koch-funded) in support of the Ryan budget

[highplainsdem]

Lawrence O'Donnell talked about the dishonest but slick advertising tonight, but not about the group's funding.

Which is officially secret, though years ago 60 Plus was funded by Big Pharma. The last couple of years the group's increased spending has shown they have donors with very deep pockets, though the drug industry reportedly is no longer funding them.

According to a Politico article last October, the Kochs are now funding 60 Plus:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1010/43666_Page4.html

The 60 Plus Association, a Virginia-based conservative advocacy group, has spent close to $600,000 on such television spots, accusing Boccieri of flip-flopping and choosing Pelosi over the district’s seniors. The ads are part of a greatly expanded national role for the group this election cycle after benefiting from what Republican sources describe as an influx of funds from the billionaire brothers, David and Charles Koch, strong opponents of Obama’s policies.

After their ads targeted Alan Grayson last fall, he referred to them in an email quoted in a DU topic as a front for PhRMA:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9168335

But apparently that was incorrect by then.

The amount of money 60 Plus spent suddenly increased last year. They spent millions targeting Democrats -- nearly $6 million in ads against 16 Democratic Representatives (including more than $140,000 in ad buys against Gabrielle Giffords), according to Dave Weigel at Slate:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/weigel/archive/2010/09/22/Where-is-60-plus-getting-money.aspx

60 Plus had never spent that kind of money before. According to FactCheck.org -- http://www.factcheck.org/2010/10/60-plus-association/ -- the group's 990 forms filed with the IRS showed gross receipts of under $2 million a year in recent years, through June 2009.

After which they suddenly received much more funding, at about the same time the Kochs began pouring money into other front groups.

So I believe Politico's report that the Kochs are behind the recent advertising blitz from 60 Plus.

Last year 60 Plus ran ads against Democrats claiming that Democrats would fund health care reform by cutting Medicare.

Now, with the House Republicans having passed the Ryan budget that will totally destroy Medicare, 60 Plus is touting it as "protecting and preserving" Medicare.

Link to a new Politico article about the group's advertising:

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0411/60_Plus_pivots.html?showall

Ben Smith
April 21, 2011
60 Plus pivots


The 60 Plus Association, which advertises on senior issues and doesn't disclose donors, hit the health care overhaul hard on the threat to Medicare.

-snip-

With Paul Ryan planning to save far more money by shifting Medicare to vouchers, though, the reliably Republican 60 Plus has pivoted rather hard.

-snip-

The word "voucher" somehow didn't quite make the cut — though to be fair, 60 Plus's key audience would be held harmless, with the dramatic shifts to Medicare affecting only younger people.

Ben Smith is being entirely too fair to 60 Plus there, since the quote from the ad right above that paragraph leaves the impression that the program will stay unchanged: "No changes for seniors on Medicare now or those who will soon go on it. Control costs by targeting waste, fraud and abuse — so current and future seniors receive the quality care they have earned."

Link to the ad on the 60 Plus site:

http://60plus.org/seniors-thank-west-medicare-radio/

This is a HUGE ad buy across the country. If you go to Google News -- http://news.google.com/ -- and search for

"60 plus association"

you'll turn up local story after local story about the ads thanking House Republicans in their own districts.

According to The Hill -- http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/house-races/157139-conservative-group-launches-ad-campaign-touting-ryan-budget -- 60 Plus "is spending more than $800,000 on a combination of radio ads, direct mail and automated calls in 39 congressional districts. ... The lion's share of the spending comes in districts represented by Republican freshmen, many of whom Democrats have already pegged as top targets in 2012."

[sasha031]

1. thank you so much for posting and putting this together

they're on twitter also with their socket puppets promoting this crap.

it never ends....

[highplainsdem]

4. You're welcome! These front groups need to be exposed for what they are.

[Bozita]

2. Good post. Thank you. Recommended.

[gateley]

3. We've seen some footage of Town Halls where people were getting in their

faces about this, AND the tax breaks for the uber wealthy. Have they finally heard something we've been yammering about?

I'm hopeful that they are paying attention and won't fall for this shit. The anti Obama Health Care campaign was easier -- they were against
him anyway/ Randi Rhodes said a ways back, when they go to fuck with their Medicare, it'll be the end of them. I Hope they keep paying attention.

Good thing is, it won't pass the Senate anyway.

[a kennedy]

5. this is very informative.....

thank you and will be passing it on to many others. :fistbump: