Steve Israel promised to take on Congressional Republicans over their push to tighten abortion laws. Now, the DCCC chair is making good on that pledge.
With the 2012 elections well over a year away, Democrats are already up with paid advertising aimed at five Republican members of Congress they hope to defeat in 2012. The program is part of a larger targeted web, radio and email ad program taking on 19 Republicans Democrats say are vulnerable next year.
The message will be aimed at GOP Reps. Ann Marie Buerkle (NY), Bob Dold (IL), Nan Hayworth (NY), John Runyan (NJ) and Steve Stivers (OH). Democrats say that by informing voters in those districts of the details of the Republican plan to defund federal family planning programs — part of a wider war on Planned Parenthood and federal abortion coverage — they’ll drive a wedge between moderate voters in the districts in question and their Republican members of Congress.
A sample of the Democratic message being aimed at the members this week, from an automated phone call script provided to reporters by the DCCC:
[Member name] voted with the extremists to deny women access to lifesaving healthcare services and restrict their reproductive freedoms. [name] voted to block access to vital healthcare services for millions of women, like breast exams and vaccines.
That’s right, [name] did nothing to stop sending our tax dollars to Big Oil and instead chose to side with extremists who want to restrict women’s access to legal and lifesaving health care services.
