Seeking to capitalize on House Republicans’ unanimous
opposition to the economic stimulus bill, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is launching its third round of automated calls targeting 12
Republican congressmen Monday.
Touted as the third phase in its “Putting Families First”
campaign, the DCCC calls stress that the $787 billion economic stimulus package
would provide tax cuts for 95 percent of Americans and a reduction in those
affected by the Alternative Minimum Tax.
{mosads}“Hello, I’m calling on behalf of House Democrats with an
important message about the economy,” the text of a sample phone call reads.
“Did you know Congressman Thad McCotter (R-Mich.) voted against President
Obama’s economic recovery plan, endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce? McCotter’s empty rhetoric can’t hide that he voted to raise the AMT
tax on 22 million middle-class Americans and against the largest tax
cut in history.”
The DCCC said this phase of campaign will include calls,
e-mails and text messages targeted directly at the Republicans’ constituents. It
will also launch RecoveryForAmerica.com, a website that, the DCCC said, is
intended to provide detailed information on how the stimulus package will
impact local communities.
Notably, the Republican lawmakers targeted in this round
differ almost entirely from the last round of calls. Only first-term Rep.
Blaine Luetkemeyer was targeted in both rounds. In addition to Luetkemeyer (Mo.) and
McCotter, the Republican representatives targeted Monday include Judy Biggert (Ill.),
Ken Calvert (Calif.), Michael Castle (Del.), Charlie Dent (Pa.), Jim Gerlach
(Pa.), Mark Kirk (Ill.), Dan Lungren (Calif.), Adam Putnam (Fla.), Dave
Reichert (Wash.) and Pete Sessions (Texas).
“These are serious times; hard working families are
worried about keeping their jobs, healthcare and homes,” Rep. Chris Van
Hollen, the chairman of the DCCC, said in a statement. “Americans want action
on middle-class tax cuts and economic recovery, not House Republicans’ ‘just
say no’ approach. House Republicans can’t have it both ways – they can’t claim
to be in favor of tax cuts and then vote against the largest tax cut in
American history.”
A spokeswoman for the DCCC declined to comment on how
much the three-pronged campaign costs.
The calls are the latest in the continued political
battle following the passage of the economic stimulus bill. House Republicans,
led by Minority Whip Eric Cantor (Va.), all but declared victory following
their unanimous opposition to the measure. Democrats, on the other hand, have
sought to paint Republicans as obstructing action that they say would help the
country though the economic recession.
In particular, Democrats point to recent polling that
shows more voters prefer Democrats’ handling of the economy over Republicans’ approach.
An Associated Press/GfK poll conducted last week found that a plurality, 49
percent, of respondents approved of how congressional Democrats are handling
the economy while a majority, 59 percent, disapprove of how congressional
Republicans are handling it. The poll also found that 64 percent said
Republicans are not doing enough to cooperate with President Obama on economic
issues.
There was a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent
in that poll, which sampled 1,001 adults.