Kentucky: Grimes FINALLY goes after McConnell re. healthcare...but not the ACA

In a new 60-second ad, Kentucky Senate candidate Alison Lundegran Grimes finally goes after opponent Mitch McConnell regarding his repeated attempts to damage/weaken Medicare. It isn't really connected to the Kynect = Obamacare = ACA issue, but it's in the ballpark, anyway:

The ad seems to have gotten under the skin of the McConnell campaign; they're actually attacking her grandfather for having a stroke:

.@Team_Mitch "Any1 who would use their grandfather's stroke" 2 reintroduce false ads "has run out of justification 4 their candidacy" #KYSen

— Phillip M. Bailey (@phillipmbailey) September 18, 2014

Now, I can already hear McConnell supporters defending the attack: "Hey, she chose to make her grandfather the focus of the ad, not McConnell, so it's fair game! Besides, it's a sign of desperation to try and win the sympathy vote!!" and so forth.

Here's the thing, though: Yes, if the subject of the ad was anything other than the rising cost of medical treatment, I'd agree that the fact that Alison Lundergan Grimes grandfather once had a stroke wouldn't be particularly relevant, and mentioning that in a campaign ad would sound pretty shameless.

However, the entire point of the ad is that medical costs can devastate middle-class people, and Medicare is extremely important and vital to a huge segment of Americans. Grimes could have used the sob story of any number of middle-class and/or elderly Kentuckians who had a similar experience. The fact that it was her own grandfather just makes the story hit even closer to home, which is kind of the point.