From the Perriello for Governor campaign – great ad, IMHO, both in terms of content and also timing:
Tom Perriello Crushes Ambulance in New Ad to Show How Republican Leaders Would Devastate Affordable Health Care for Millions
Ad Released Minutes After House Republicans Passed Repeal Bill Also Decries Income Stagnation in Virginia
Perriello: ‘I Voted for Obamacare Because It Was Wrong That a Million Virginians Weren’t Covered, While Insurance Companies Held All the Power’
Minutes after congressional Republicans voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act and replace it with a law that could lead to millions of Americans losing insurance coverage, Tom Perriello, Democratic candidate for governor of Virginia, is releasing a powerful new TV ad vowing to protect Virginians from the crushing agenda of President Trump and Republicans in Washington and Richmond.
Speaking over the loud sounds of an ambulance being crushed in a junkyard crusher, Tom points at the destruction of the ambulance and declares, “Republican leaders are trying to do this to affordable health care.” As the crusher continues to destroy the ambulance, Tom goes on to explain how he voted for Obamacare “because it was wrong that a million Virginians weren’t covered, while insurance companies held all the power.”
Perriello then explains that he’s running for governor “because it’s wrong that most Virginia incomes haven’t gone up in 20 years.” “Together,” he adds, “we can stop Donald Trump, raise wages and build an economy that works for everyone.” Pointing at the crushed ambulance, Tom concludes, “And we’ll make sure this never happens in Virginia.”
Fixing our broken health care system was central to Tom’s tenure in Congress. He held more marathon town halls than any Member of Congress—more than 20—to discuss health care reform with his constituents before voting for Obamacare, which made coverage available to more than 34,000 residents of his district, led to a 30 percent decrease in Virginia’s uninsured rate, and went on to help insure more than 20 million Americans. As governor, Tom will keep fighting to increase access to health care by pushing to expand Medicaid in Virginia, which could help insure 400,000 more Virginians. Currently, in addition to leaving hundreds of thousands of Virginians without care and jobs on the table, Republicans’ partisan opposition to Medicaid expansion is costing Virginia $4.6 million a day, or $2.6 billion per year, and preventing upwards of 30,000 jobs from being created in Virginia.
While his conviction to reform our broken health care system drove Tom in Congress, the ad also reveals what is now animating Tom’s candidacy for governor: making Virginia’s economy work for everyone. Median household income in Virginia is currentlyessentially the same as it was in 1996. That’s why Tom has proposed the most progressive agenda to support working families to grow our economy in modern Virginia history—including raising wages, making two years of community college free, guaranteeing paid family and medical leave, and ensuring pre-K is universal. He has also put forward a sensible plan to fix Virginia’s tax system to generate the revenues to fund this growth-oriented investment in the working and middle class.
The ad, titled “Ambulance,” was filmed in one live take. It will begin running next week.
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