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"Republicans are trying to do this to affordable health care," Perriello says to the camera as, behind him, a car compacter begins to do its work on an ambulance.

Perriello goes on to note that he voted for the Affordable Care Act during his time in Congress and pledges to ensure that "this" -- the ambulance being steadily flattened by the compacter -- "never happens in Virginia"

It's a very good ad. Part of that is because Perriello is a good communicator. (There's a reason he held, albeit briefly, a Republican-leaning district in the Old Dominion.) But, the bigger part of the ad's effectiveness is in the image -- an ambulance getting crushed -- married with the notion that Republicans, left to their druthers, are in the process of doing just that to Virginians' health care.

Now, it's important to note that Perriello is running this ad in the context of a Democratic primary, not a general election. (He faces off with sitting Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam on June 13.)

Why? Because it encapsulates the problem that Republicans have, politically speaking, in this bill: As it currently reads, the legislation takes away things that are either a) popular b) relied upon or c) both.

From scrapping the mandate banning insurance companies from discriminating against those with pre-existing conditions to the proposed freeze of Medicaid expansion funds in 2020, the bill's impact will primarily be on the negative side in the near term for many people.

When people have something -- even if they don't love it -- they don't want it taken away. The fear of losing something you need is a very powerful motivator.

It remains to be seen whether the ad catapults Perriello to the Democratic nomination. (He started the race late and behind Northam.) If he does win -- and moves on to the general election -- I'd expect to see more of this sort of ad from his side. And if Perriello winds up winning the governorship on the back of an anti-AHCA/anti-Trump message, you can bet every Democratic campaign in the country will produce some version of the ad above.

Democrats and Republicans are watching this race very closely. This ad should add -- ahem! -- to that focus.

Read more:
This TV ad should scare every Republican who voted for the House health care bill - CNN