Republican Lt. Gov. candidate Rebecca Kleefisch premiered a new ad Wednesday discussing her cancer treatment and condemning what she called a ""government takeover"" of health care.
Kleefisch was diagnosed and treated for a cancerous tumor just weeks before the Sept. 14 primary. She first announced her trial with the disease in late September, and has since been open about discussing her experience.
""Thanks to the highest-quality health care system in the world, I won my battle with cancer,"" she said in the new ad, titled ""Takeover."" ""I can watch my little girls grow up.""
""Tom Barrett supports a government takeover of our health care,"" she added. ""A plan that would increase costs, lower quality and put government in charge of our health care choices.""
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett criticized the advertisement in a statement.
""Cancer is a terrible disease that takes an terrible toll, and we wish Rebecca and her family well in confronting any health care challenges,"" he said. ""It is distressing, however, that she and County Executive [Scott] Walker would deprive others with terrible diseases and illnesses the same hope and treatment that was available for her.""
Barrett also took the opportunity to call Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker hypocritical for talking about the quality of health care without supporting the life saving technologies developed from stem cell research. Kleefisch insisted in her ad, however, that the federal healthcare reform is not right for Wisconsin.
""As a mother, as a cancer survivor, that's unacceptable,"" she said in the ad.
