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Defense policy analysis, commentary and discussion.Less than a month into the 112th Congress, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is going on the airwaves with ads aimed at 19 House Republicans it hopes to unseat in 2012.
The ads are considered tame by campaign standards and suggest the GOP’s economic plan would harm the nation’s recovery. But two ads are specifically tailored to highlight vulnerable freshmen who already have run into trouble.
The ads are part of the DCCC’s “Drive to 25” campaign, named for the 25 seats needed to win back the House majority. The campaign slogan is a slight tweak from what Democrats revealed at a retreat earlier this month, “Drive for 25.”
The DCCC said in a release that its economic message would be delivered via radio and Web ads, calls, and e-mails.
The ads accuse the GOP Members — all but two of whom were elected in 2010 — of supporting the Republican economic plan instead of President Barack Obama’s. They claim the GOP plan is partisan and “costs jobs.”
One ad tells constituents of Rep. Lou Barletta (R-Pa.) to “oppose the partisan plan to cut education and research by 40 percent. It will cost hundreds of thousands of jobs and make America less competitive.”
The DCCC also is targeting Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) for missing the Members’ swearing-in ceremony and Rep. David Rivera (R), who is facing a swirl of ethical questions tied to his previous service in the Florida Legislature.
The ads start Monday in the districts of the additional following Republicans: Charles Bass (N.H.), Ann Marie Buerkle (N.Y.), Steve Chabot (Ohio), Chip Cravaack (Minn.), Robert Dold (Ill.), Sean Duffy (Wis.), Blake Farenthold (Texas), Nan Hayworth (N.Y.), Joe Heck (Nev.), Robert Hurt (Va.), Thaddeus McCotter (Mich.), Patrick Meehan (Pa.), Dave Reichert (Wash.), Jon Runyan (N.J.), Joe Walsh (Ill.) and Allen West (Fla.).
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