House Democrats are giving an early preview of their 2024 attacks, accusing Republicans of “holding the economy hostage” in negotiations over the debt ceiling.
House Majority Forward, the nonprofit offshoot of the Democratic-aligned House Majority PAC, is launching a six-figure ad campaign that seeks to paint House Republicans as eager to cut Social Security and Medicare benefits, despite GOP protests to the contrary. The ad buy indicates that Democrats are planning to focus much of their early 2024 messaging on the economy, hitting GOP lawmakers for suggesting budget cuts to address the debt ceiling crisis.
GOP TRIES TO NEUTRALIZE DEMOCRATS’ ATTACKS ON MEDICARE AND SOCIAL SECURITY
“The new majority in Congress has barely been sworn in, and they are already holding the economy hostage in order to destroy Social Security and Medicare,” House Majority Forward Executive Director Abby Curran Horrell said in a statement. “Americans don’t negotiate with hostage takers, and they must make their voices loud and clear to the new majority — don’t destroy Social Security and Medicare.”
The strategy follows similar moves by Democrats in the final stretch of the midterm cycle, in which the party heightened attacks against the GOP over the popular social programs.
The latest campaign spending will go toward billboards and digital ads depicting lawmakers’ faces and encouraging voters to tell them, “Don't hold our economy hostage to cut Social Security and Medicare." The ads specifically target 16 House Republicans in key swing districts, such as Reps. David Valadao (R-CA) and Zach Nunn (R-IA).
The ads will also target at least six New York freshman lawmakers whose victories were critical to the GOP winning control of the House during the 2022 midterm elections. Those include Reps. Nick LaLota, George Santos, Marc Molinaro, Anthony D’Esposito, Mike Lawler, and Brandon Williams.
The economic messaging comes after similar attacks from President Joe Biden, who has repeatedly accused Republicans of seeking to cut Medicare and Social Security benefits. The president has specifically pointed to Sen. Rick Scott’s (R-FL) proposed agenda for the party, which includes a provision that would sunset all federal legislation every five years unless Congress votes to renew it.
Facing blowback after Biden highlighted his plan during this year's State of the Union speech, Scott updated the proposal to exclude Medicare or Social Security, which he said was intended all along.
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Republicans have pushed back against assertions that they would cut the two programs, noting any plans to do so are “off the table.”
"I want to find a reasonable and a responsible way that we can lift the debt ceiling but take control of this runaway spending," House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) told CBS in January. "If you look at the last four years, the Democrats have increased spending by 30%, $400 billion. We’re at 120% of GDP. We haven’t been in this place to debt since World War II, so we can’t continue down this path."