A super PAC with ties to Speaker Nancy Pelosi is up on the air with two new cable TV ad that calls GOP congressional candidate Tom Kean, Jr. vile and sleezy because he took campaign contributions from New Jersey’s pharmaceutical industry.
The House Majority PAC is spending almost $1.5 million on the two ads in a bid to help freshman Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-Ringoes) win a second term in New Jersey’s 7th district against Kean, the minority leader of the New Jersey State Senate.
One ad, “Pure,” shows grainy video clips and photos of Kean while quoting from a Star-Ledger opinion piece written by Tom Moran, who is rabidly anti-Kean.
Script: “He’s not very slick. But Tom Kean Jr.’s actions? Pure Washington. Called vile and sleezy, Kean’s taken nearly a million dollars from the pharmaceutical, health care and insurance industries. And in Trenton when efforts to lower premiums, stop surprise medical bills, even protect coverage for New Jersey families came up, Kean opposed all three. Vile. Sleezy. Tom Kean Jr.’s the worst of Trenton and DC. House Majority PAC is responsible for the content of this advertising.”
The second ad, “Clear,” uses similar grainy video overlaid with a trombone-sounding, Charlie Brownish “wah-wah” sound that slaps Kean for backing “big health.”
Script: “Tom Kean Jr’s trying hard to say the right words, hoping you don’t notice. He’s taken almost a million dollars from big drug, health and insurance industries. And that he sides with them, refusing to protect health coverage people rely on. Even opposed the law protecting people with pre-existing conditions, but won’t lower drug prices. Tom Kean Jr. sided with drug and insurance companies during a pandemic. New Jersey hears that loud and clear. House Majority PAC is responsible for the content of this advertising.
“It’s pretty rare that someone can embody the worst of Washington before they ever get elected to Congress, but Tom Kean’s actions show he is uniquely qualified to fit that bill,” said House Majority PAC executive director Abby Curran Horrell. “Tom Kean Jr’s actions have been called ‘vile and sleazy’ because they are vile and sleazy. It’s indefensible to fight efforts to lower insurance premiums and stop surprise medical bills, then take nearly a million dollars from the pharmaceutical, insurance and healthcare industries, but that’s who Tom Kean would work for in Washington.”
The Kean campaign challenged the content of the Pelosi super PAC ad.
“Tom Malinowski’s PAC money machine and his liberal columnist friend can call Tom Kean all the names they want. That won’t change the fact that he has a strong record of finding bipartisan solutions to lower the cost of prescription drugs and standing up to insurance companies for better coverage,” said Theresa Winegar, Kean’s campaign manager. “That is the kind of leader Washington needs right now.”
The Malinowski campaign issued a statement on Tuesday morning disputing Kean’s record of bi-partisanship on health care issues, saying he backed a lawsuit filed by Gov. Chris Christie in 2010 to overturn the Affordable Care Act.
At a League of Women Voters debate on Saturday, Malinowski directly challenged Kean’s claim that he supports protections for pre-existing conditions.
“Republicans like Senator Kean like to say, ‘Oh, we’re for pre-existing conditions,’ but they’re not for the law that protects them,” Malinowski said.
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