Ad from health care group hits Paulsen

With less than a month to go in one of the country’s hottest congressional contests, outside groups — other than the major parties’ congressional campaign committees — are rolling out ads in Minnesota’s 3rd district. One that’s new is from Health Care for America Now, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit coalition, asserting that Republican Erik Paulsen is “Not on Your Side for Health Care.”

Video and more after the jump. 

It’s part of a campaign, WhichSideAreTheyOn.com, that doesn’t echo the name of an old labor anthem by chance. Health Care for America Now’s member organizations include a number of unions (AFL-CIO, AFSCME, SEIU, UFCW), alongside professional organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics and progressive groups like MoveOn.org. 

Here’s the ad, with narration by a woman who says she’ll fight cancer and Paulsen, because he’d back insurance companies who won’t cover cancer as a pre-existing condition.

Paulsen needn’t take the message too personally though. The same ad is out in versions attacking seven other Republicans: Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), Sen. John Sununu (N.H.), Rep. Rick Keller (Fla.), Rep. Tim Wallberg (Mich.), Rep. Randy Kuhl (N.Y.), and candidates Marty Ozinga and Blaine Luetkemeyer, who are running for U.S. House seats in Illinois and Missouri, respectively.

The New York Times reports the group spent $4 million on this round of ads — a tenth of its overall planned spending.