Public Campaign Action Fund names Sen. Richard Burr as its final 'Insurance Puppet'

Online advertising campaign in North Carolina and Washington, D.C. asks if health insurers are pulling the strings

Public Campaign Action Fund, a national campaign finance watchdog group, named Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) its final "Insurance Puppet" in an online advertising campaign targeting North Carolina and Washington, D.C.

"Time and time again, Sen. Burr has made misleading or false statements regarding health care legislation in Congress," said David Donnelly, national campaigns director for Public Campaign Action Fund. "With more than $270,000 in campaign contributions from the health care industry, one has to wonder who he's really representing in Washington, D.C."

The campaign finance watchdog group has released an "Insurance Puppet" each day at InsurancePuppets.com since Tuesday this week in an effort to educate the public about the impact of the health insurance industry's campaign contributions on the health care debate. The industry has donated $17.7 million in campaign contributions to the Senators taking part in the current debate, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.

The online campaign uses both context words and search terms to deliver flash and text advertising to web users in the home state of each Senator and in Washington, D.C. Sen. Burr is the last Senator to be named in the campaign. Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) were the others named as "Insurance Puppets." The ads have been viewed by millions of website visitors in Washington, D.C. and in the Senators' home states.

"As the Senate comes to the end of its first week of the health care debate, the influence of campaign cash in our political process has never been clearer," said Donnelly. "It's time to change the way campaigns are financed in this country and pass the Fair Elections Now Act."

Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) introduced the Fair Elections Now Act in order to reduce the pressures of fundraising on federal candidates. It provides qualified candidates the option to run for office with a mixture of small donations and public funds.

To learn more about Sen. Burr's insurance money and the Fair Elections Now Act, visit http://www.insurancepuppets.com.