Paulsen’s new TV ad, website attacks ‘big spender’ Meffert

Republican U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen’s new ad, released Wednesday, targets his opponent Jim Meffert. The ad calls Meffert a “big spender” and says that he wants to cut Medicare by $500 million. The ad is similar to one Paulsen released last week and is accompanied by a new website, TheRealMeffert.com.

Paulsen’s Medicare charge against Meffert comes from the Democrat’s backing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as health care reform. According to the Washington Post article cited in Paulsen’s ad, health care reform will trim $500 million from Medicare Advantage, a privately-run portion of the Medicare program. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will freeze the subsidies offered to health insurance companies for participating in the program at 2010 levels in 2011, and then reduce those subsidies by 12 percent each year.

Here’s Paulsen’s new ad: