Bernie Sanders supporter Randy Bryce, an ironworker from Wisconsin, drew lots of social media attention with an online ad announcing his run for GOP House Speaker Paul Ryan's congressional seat.
But the ad, which features Bryce's mother talking about a chronic illness she has and the high cost of her medications, includes a video clip of Ryan that makes it sound as if Ryan says people with serious and expensive medical conditions cannot expect to get all the coverage they hope for.
The ad opens with the White House South Lawn ceremony in which President Donald Trump congratulates Ryan and other House Republicans for passing their version of the American Health Care Act on May 4.
It then transitions to Ryan, in an interview with "Face The Nation" host John Dickerson where two clips are shown of Ryan saying, "This is repealing and replacing Obamacare," and, "Everybody doesn't get what they want."
Bryce's mother then is shown sitting on a couch with her son describing her condition as "like hot knives going through, and you can't talk, you can't swallow."
She explains she is taking 20 drugs, adding, "And, if I don't take the one that costs them thousands of dollars, I don't know what would happen."
Bryce concludes the ad telling Ryan: "Let's trade places, Paul Ryan. You can come work the iron, and I'll go to D.C. We can do so much better together, as a community."
Bryce's video leaves out key parts of Ryan's interview. In the interview with Dickerson, Ryan said some members of his own party had qualms about the bill as it was being crafted.
"Look, when you're a governing party getting consensus among your wide, big-tent party, everybody doesn't get what they want, but we're getting much better policy here," Ryan told Dickerson in the full interview, which can be seen on CBS's website.
Ryan continues:
"Let me put it this way: Obamacare is collapsing. If we just did nothing, washed our hands of this situation, we would see a further collapse of the health insurance markets. So we feel an obligation to step in front of that collapse and replace this law with one that works that has more freedom. Some people would like for it to be done a little bit differently. And the point here, though, is: We have an obligation. We made a promise to the people who elected us we would repeal and replace this law. And we basically said this is what we would replace it with. And now, we're keeping our word."
Story continues below the video.
Bryce's hopes to unseat Ryan would first require him to win the Democratic nomination over David Yankovich, who also was a Bernie Sanders supporter. Beyond that, Ryan is popular in the district, which also went for Donald Trump as president in November.
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