Democrats, allies launch ads touting relief bill, attacking Republicans

Screen shot from Protect Our Care digital commercial.

Democrats and their allies are launching a pair of advertising campaigns Friday pouring sunshine onto themselves and the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act that President Joe Biden signed Thursday — and thunder against Republicans for opposing it.

Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar of Miami are among 10 Republicans blasted in digital ads launched Friday by the Protect Our Care committee.

That organization announced it is launching 30 different internet-based digital ads in 19 states, including the ones attacking Rubio and Salazar, holding them accountable for their votes against the COVID-19 relief bill. Nationally, some of the ads will praise Democrats for voting yes and some attack Republicans for voting no.

Also Friday, the Democratic National Committee announced it will be launching a 60-second TV commercial called “Help is Here,” featuring video of Biden praising the act and the relief it is intended to offer.

The DNC said “Help Is Here” will air in the Miami media market starting on Monday. It also will be running in Washington and in other battleground states.

Democrats are counting on Americans’ support for the package, as shown by polls.

“Facing this pandemic, no one who voted against the American Rescue Plan can hide from their vote, and no one who voted for it should be shy about screaming it from the rooftops,” Protect Our Care Florida State Director William Miller stated in a news release announcing the Rubio and Salazar attack ads. “The American Rescue Plan is absolutely critical in pulling our country out of this pandemic and getting it under control.”

“When President Biden took office, he promised the American people that help was on the way — and now, thanks to his leadership and a united Democratic Party, help is here,” DNC Chair Jaime Harrison stated in a news release announcing the DNC ad.

The TV commercials hitting Rubio and Salazar are essentially the same, except for the points where they are specifically shown and named.

“Americans are fighting every day against this pandemic. Small businesses, jobs, time with family, lives, all lost,” a narrator begins, as familiar images show the heartache of the coronavirus crisis.

Then comes a picture of Rubio drinking a bottle of water, as the narrator says, “But Sen. Rubio just voted against the American Rescue Plan; said no to $1,400 in direct relief for families; said no to a surge in vaccine distribution; said no to lowering health insurance premiums and expanding care. Americans want to get control of this virus. Sen. Rubio voted to prolong it.”

“Democrats are delivering lower health care costs, expanding coverage and addressing racial disparities so people can get the health care they need to defeat this pandemic,” Miller added. “Protect Our Care is making sure people know which of their elected officials voted for shots in arms, cash in the pockets of Americans, and reducing health care costs — and which ones voted to prolong the pandemic and leave their constituents without the relief they need.”