In a press release Tuesday, Republican David Young’s campaign refuted multiple claims that appear in a Congresswoman Cindy Axne’s new reelection campaign TV ad. The Young campaign took issue with three claims in the ad they claim is fulled with “mistruths and inaccuracies.”
The ad by Axne criticizes Young on the topic of protecting individuals with pre-existing health conditions. Later in the ad, Axne cites her opposition to free computers to a member of congress as proof of her willingness to stand up to her party.
In a statement provided to Iowa Field Report, Young’s Campaign Manager Andy Swanson said, “Cindy Axne and her campaign are entitled to their own opinions but not their own facts. Axne is rehashing the same distortions and mistruths she did in the last election, while not being honest about her own record on standing up to her own party.”
Below are the claims made in the Axne ad and the facts refuting them Sourced from the Young campaign press release:
Claim: David Young failed to protect people with pre-existing conditions
Fact: It’s not surprising to see the Axne campaign touting the same distortions and mistruths about David’s record as they did in 2018. David Young has fought to protect people with pre-existing conditions. David’s recent ad “Alli” highlights one story of David going to bat on behalf of an Iowan with pre-existing condition being denied coverage. The American Health Care Act included four layers of protection for those with pre-existing conditions which David was responsible for getting in the bill. It is also notable the Axne campaign didn’t use this Des Moines Register piece they are fond of sharing that verifies his work on protecting those with pre-existing conditions. Instead their “source” for this claim is the Des Moines Register’s endorsement of her – not exactly a neutral article.
Claim: David Young changed his vote when GOP party leaders pulled their support of his campaign.
Fact: Cindy Axne is still obsessed with this conspiracy theory. She apparently doesn’t remember the fact when the AHCA came up for a vote, Iowa had already lost Aetna and Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield from the individual market and Medica was considering pulling out as well. This would have left 70,000 Iowans in 94 counties without health care. That horrifying fact, and that David’s objection to the bill’s lack of protections for those with pre-existing conditions was fixed with his amendment adding those four layers of protections, gave him the comfort to vote for the bill. Cindy Axne’s claim that David Young caved is simply false – the fact is David was looking out for his constituents the whole time.
Claim: Cindy Axne stood up to her party.
Fact: Cindy Axne has voted 95% of the time with Nancy Pelosi. While she may have broken with her party on $5 million for computers, she was OK with Democrats using the CARES Act, whose purpose was to provide relief for small businesses, for their partisan wish list. This included $25 million for the Kennedy Center, $1.2 billion to require airlines to use a more expensive fuel to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, $600 million to the National Endowment of the Arts and the Humanities, and $500 million to the Institute of Museum and Library Science.
