Chris Frates On Power, People And Influence From Capitol Hill To K Street

What Tiny Hospital Gowns Have To Do With The Fiscal Cliff

Labor groups have employed (get it?) some interesting props in their call to protect entitlement funding: tiny hospital gowns, short walkers and one-lens eyeglasses.

AFSCME and SEIU have teamed up with the National Education Association on a six-figure ad buy that calls for Congress to leave Medicare, Medicaid and education funding intact as lawmakers negotiate how to avert the fiscal cliff. The ads show seniors given comically small hospital gowns and short walkers to represent cuts to entitlements.

The spots begin running today in Virginia, Missouri, Montana and Ohio. A source close to labor pits the buy as north of $500,000.


"Cutting hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicare and Medicaid will short change the people who need it the most," the ad states.

In particular, the spots ask viewers to call Democratic Sens. Mark Warner and Sen. Claire McCaskill and Republican Reps. Denny Rehberg and Pat Tiberi.


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Editor and Chief Contributor: Chris Frates
Deputy Editor: Michael Catalini
Reporter: Elahe Izadi
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