Rep. Lou Barletta, Pennsylvania’s Republican candidate for Senate, criticized Democratic challenger Sen. Bob Casey on Sunday for running a “hurtful” and “insensitive” attack ad using sick children while Barletta’s own grandchild is undergoing chemotherapy.
“Bob Casey just released an insensitive and personal attack ad accusing Lou Barletta of wanting to rip away health care from twin children with cancer, after Lou personally told Casey of his 18-month-old twin grandson currently undergoing chemo for cancer,” Barletta tweeted, with a video response included.
Bob Casey just released an insensitive and personal attack ad accusing Lou Barletta of wanting to rip away health care from twin children with cancer, after Lou personally told Casey of his 18-month-old twin grandson currently undergoing chemo for cancer. Here is Lou’s response: pic.twitter.com/CXgMq1f4YA
— Lou Barletta (@louforsenate) October 14, 2018
Casey used twin children with cancer in the ad to serve as a proxy for his stance on health care policy. The ad comes in light of Barletta’s vote in favor of the American Health Care Act. (RELATED: Trump Endorses Lou Barletta For Senate)
“What Casey did with that commercial is one of the most hurtful, insensitive things I’ve ever experienced in my entire political career,” Barletta said. “To want to win an election that bad, that you would go that far to hurt my family — my daughter, my wife, my other daughters, myself — is something that I can’t even think that anybody would go there.”
WATCH:
Barletta reportedly confided to Casey about his grandson’s diagnosis when they both attended the Flight 93 Remembrance event on Sept. 11, according to a source close to Barletta’s campaign.
“He should take that commercial down and he should be ashamed of himself,” Barletta continued. “He should be ashamed of himself that he wants to win an election that bad that he would hurt a family — does he know what it’s like to have an 18-month-old grandchild who’s being treated as we speak with chemotherapy?”
“The commercial should come down,” Barletta said. “Shame on him.”
Casey’s office did not immediately respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The original version of this story stated that individuals with pre-existing conditions could be denied insurance coverage under the American Health Care Act, but has been updated to say insurers are required to cover pre-existing conditions but allow for those policies to be charged more per year for their insurance coverage.
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