The Associated Press

OMAHA -- Sen. Ben Nelson is being targeted in a mailing and Internet ad campaign asking people to withhold their political contributions to him and other members of Congress.

The campaign takes issue with the Nebraska Democrat’s opposition to President Barack Obama’s proposed public health-insurance option. That option would create a government insurance plan to compete with private plans.

The campaign begun Thursday is run by Change Congress, an organization started last year that advocates publicly funding campaigns for federal elections. The idea is to lessen the influence of special-interest money in campaigns.

The group said Nelson has accepted some $2 million from health-care and health-insurance interests in his federal campaigns since the mid-1990s.

“Nebraskans see Ben Nelson getting $2 million from health-care interests, mostly out of state, and being the only Democrat on record as saying he might oppose this public option, which would drive down health-care costs,” said Adam Green, CEO of Change Congress. “That strikes most people ... as being a direct link between money and politics, and we’re asking him to break that link.”

Nelson’s office takes issue with the campaign, calling it a “misleading fundraising gimmick by a special-interest group.”

Nelson did not directly address the campaign, but his spokesman, Jake Thompson, issued a written statement on Thursday saying Nelson hasn’t supported or rejected the president’s plan, because the president “hasn’t offered a specific plan yet.”

“There’s no doubt Senator Nelson understands the insurance industry’s important role providing health care for millions of Americans,” Thompson wrote. “After all, he’s been an insurance executive, an insurance industry regulator, a governor who created a children’s health-insurance program, and today he represents Nebraska, arguably the insurance capital of the world.”

Some 3,000 of Change Congress’ mailings have gone to Democratic donors across the state, mostly in urban areas, Green said. The ads feature Lincoln resident Allen Schreiber, who describes himself as a lifelong Republican who voted for Nelson. Schreiber said he wants Nelson to support the public health-care option.

“I had to shut down my small business and let go five employees after health insurers wouldn’t cover me, and one hospital trip cost me $20,000,” Schreiber says in the ad.

The 47-year-old Schreiber said Thursday that he was unable to get adequate health-insurance coverage even through an employer because he has a pre-existing condition: high blood pressure. He’s unemployed and has been “been living off of physician samples” of blood-pressure medication for five years.

Ads also appear on Internet sites, featuring a picture of Nelson and posing the question, “Will Ben Nelson sell out Nebraska for $2 million?” The ads include a link to the Change Congress Web site.

“These people have a political agenda that has nothing remotely to do with helping Nebraskans get and keep affordable, high-quality health care,” Thompson said. “Nebraskans are far too smart to fall for just another special-interest group grabbing a hot issue and misrepresenting both the president and Senator Nelson to raise money to lobby Congress.”