Republican lieutenant governor candidate Rebecca Kleefisch is using her bout with cancer in a new TV ad attacking government health care.
The ad makes no mention that her husband's state health insurance plan paid for her treatment.
Kleefisch recently announced she'd had successful surgery to treat colon cancer. In her new ad she credits what she calls the "highest quality health care system in the world", and accuses Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Barrett of supporting a government takeover of health care.
Kleefisch's campaign points to Barrett's co-sponsorship in Congress of President Clinton's failed health care bill.
Scot Ross with the liberal group, One Wisconsin Now, says the ad is hypocritical because Kleefisch and running mate Scott Walker both benefit from government health insurance --Walker in his role as Milwaukee County Executive and Kleefisch through her husband State Rep. Joel Kleefisch.
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Ross says Walker and Kleefisch "are able to not worry about the cost of health care because they have taxpayer financed health care."
At the same time, Ross says the Walker campaign is talking about reducing eligibility for BadgerCare, Wisconsin's medical assistance program for the poor.
"What would happen to the mom, who gets kicked off, the working mom who gets kicked off BadgerCare as a result of Scott Walker and Rebecca Kleefisch's plan?" he asks.
Kleefisch is also using her story in a new fundraising letter to supporters.
