An upcoming vote to repeal the federal health care law is fueling a new round of political ads in a heated Sacramento County congressional race.
Wednesday's vote is seen largely as a maneuver to energize voters opposed to the law, as any effort to repeal the overhaul cannot pass the Democratic-controlled Senate.
But supporters of the law are also seeking to capitalize on the effort in the 7th Congressional District, where Democrat Ami Bera is challenging Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Gold River.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee launched robocalls to independent voters last week, alleging that Lungren "wants to put insurance companies back in charge of our health care" by getting rid of the law. It followed up with a paid Web ad on YouTube highlighting provisions for preventive care and pre-existing conditions that would go if the law is repealed.
Meanwhile, the American Action Network, a nonprofit advocacy group that does not have to disclose its donors, is sending voters in the district a mail piece urging Lungren to continue to fight for repeal. The group, which is spending $1.2 million on an "issue advocacy" campaign calling for repeal across the country, also ran an ad in Sunday's edition of The Bee.
– Torey Van Oot
BY THE NUMBERS
The number of California state workers retiring for the first half of 2012 is down from last year, according to CalPERS data. Through the middle of June this year, 5,612 CalPERS members had retired, compared to 5,903 during the same period last year.
– Hannah Madans
WORTH REPEATING
"Are there more lawyers or reporters in Dept 31 in Sacramento Superior Court this a.m.? My count says the lawyers."
JON COUPAL, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, via Twitter, describing the courtroom scene Monday in the Jerry Brown/Molly Munger ballot order case.
© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.
• Read more articles by Bee staff
What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com
Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)
Here are some rules of the road:
• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "Report Abuse" link to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand.
• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.
• Don't flag other users' comments just because you don't agree with their point of view. Please only flag comments that violate these guidelines.
You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "Report Abuse" link to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them.
Order Reprint
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "Report Abuse" link below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.