Left launches ad against Emanuel on public option

The Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) is launching an ad campaign targeting White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel in his hometown.

The ad, airing in Chicago, slams Emanuel for "undermining" the public option.

"A lot of us back home hope that Rahm Emanuel is fighting for people like us as White House chief of staff," says the man appearing in the ad, after describing his own battle with insurance companies.

"But if he sides with the insurance companies and undermines the public option, well, he won't have many fans in Chicago." 

PCCC has also launched a petition campaign to save the public option.

Many liberal activists have always been wary of Emanuel's eagerness to cut a deal. Just Monday the White House drew outrage from the left by reportedly pressuring Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to appease Sen. Joe Lieberman's (I-Conn.) demand to drop the Medicare buy-in.

Adam Green, co-founder of PCCC, called Emanuel "saboteur-in-chief' on healthcare reform.

"The Barack Obama of 2008 would be ashamed of the small-thinking, ready-to-cave Rahm Emanuel of 2009," Green said. "Americans overwhelmingly want the public option, but instead of dispatching the president to Maine and Connecticut to fight for it, Emanuel has played the role of saboteur in chief behind the scenes — cutting deals with senators who are out-of-step their own constituents."

Green also warned Emanuel that if he ever wants to run for Congress again, "his actions these next couple weeks will absolutely be at the forefront of any campaign."

See the ad below: