WASHINGTON -- Americans for Prosperity launched a six-figure ad campaign in New Hampshire Monday starring two women who lost their health care plans due to Obamacare. But the conservative political advocacy group left out one minor detail: Both women are local Republican activists and donors.
The Koch-brothers backed group claimed the ads, which target two Democratic members of Congress up for reelection in November, told the "personal stories" of Donna Marzullo of Deering and Helen DePrima of Bedford, N.H. Both women say they were "shocked" to learn that their existing insurance plans would be terminated because they failed to meet the health care law's coverage requirements.
Marzullo is married to the vice chairman of the New Hampshire GOP, J.P. Marzullo, and is herself the vice chair of the Contoocook Valley Republican Committee. She was also a member of former Rep. Charlie Bass' (R-N.H.) Women's Coalition.
Watch Donna Marzullo's ad above.
DePrima has participated in events for Republican activists in New Hampshire as well, and she even called for Obamacare's repeal shortly after the Supreme Court upheld it in June 2012. "By exposing it as a tax, [Supreme Court Chief Justice John] Roberts made it easier to limit or repeal. Brilliant," DePrima wrote on Facebook at the time. In August 2013, she attended a fundraiser for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who is perhaps the most vocal critic of the health care law in Washington.
DePrima was an active participant in the 2012 election season, serving as a member of a campaign committee for Ovide Lamontagne, a Republican who ran for governor of New Hampshire, and attending an event for Republican activists with 2012 presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty.
Watch Helen DePrima's ad below:
When reached for comment on the women's backgrounds, Americans for Prosperity spokesman Adam Nicholson said, "I have no doubt that a few desperate shills for ObamaCare will try to discredit Donna and Helen for their political views, but their negative views of the law are a direct result of the negative impact ObamaCare has had on their health care."
Americans for Prosperity told the Union Leader it spent "considerably more" than $500,000 on the ad buy, which targets Reps. Carol Shea-Porter and Ann Kuster. The group has run similar anti-Obamacare ads against other Democrats facing reelection in 2014.
An ad AFP ran in Michigan came under fire last week because it told a misleading story about leukemia patient Julie Boonstra, who said her plan was canceled under Obamacare and she could no longer afford her health care costs. A fact-check revealed that Boonstra's costs would actually be lower under the health care law.
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