Republicans and President Donald Trump took a massive defeat Friday when the American Healthcare Act legislation was pulled before the House of Republicans could take a vote on a bill that would replace Obamacare.
But if you had eschewed the news all day and turned on the TV simply to watch basketball Friday night, you might have had no idea. In fact, you might have thought Obamacare was gone and the AHCA was the new law of the land.
That’s because, according to Deadspin, previously-bought advertisements congratulating Republicans for passing new healthcare coverage were purchased by the American Action Network PAC and were rolled out on Friday night during NBA and NCAA tournament coverage, despite, you know, the AHCA dying a flaming death earlier in the day.
If you live in Republican districts around the country, this is what you might have seen (what’s also wild? As of Saturday morning, these videos were still available on YouTube via the PAC).
The American Action Network praising Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.).
The AAN praising Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Penn.).
The AAN praising Rod Blum (R-Iowa).
The AAN praising Will Hurd (R-Texas).
The AAN praising … OK, you get the idea.
Overall, there seems to be about a dozen of these congratulatory videos on YouTube (published on March 14, no less). And it’s a glimpse of what might have been had the AHCA been passed. Instead, the AAN wasted money on an irrelevant ad that continues to live on in embarrassment, because, unlike the AHCA, these videos are still alive and well.