Snip from Roll Call, courtesy of Plunderbund:
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, hoping to influence this year’s House and Senate races, is launching what the group calls its largest and most expensive campaign effort ever.
The business group plans to fork over much more than $10 million to fund campaign ads and get-out-the-vote efforts, including a cross-country bus trip next month, the chamber’s national political director and vice president of Congressional affairs, Bill Miller, announced Wednesday.
http://www.rollcall.com/issues/52_13/news/14516-1.htmlToo bad they're spending it on terrible commercials for Mike DeWine, including the one with the phony 9-11 video.
Sherrod Brown Responds
http://www.sherrodbrown.com/press/releases/409/TO: Chamber of Commerce
FR: Brown Campaign Communications Department
RE: Thanking Mike DeWine
Today's news reports confirmed that the Chamber is launching an 8-figure campaign to reelect members of Congress who put the needs of big business before the needs of their constituents. You couldn't have picked a better Senator to thank than Mike DeWine. But you shouldn't have limited your "Thanks Mike" campaign to DeWine's support for the Medicare prescription drug benefit written by the drug and insurance companies.
Mike DeWine hasn't limited his support for special interests to only one industry. He has voted for in favor of special interests across the board - to support all those industries that have contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to his campaign coffers. With two polls released over the weekend showing DeWine eight points behind, we believe he's going to need some extra help.
We recommend the Chamber also thank DeWine for:
VOTING TO EXPORT OHIO JOBS. Even though Ohio has lost 246,500 manufacturing jobs since President Bush took office, Mike DeWine voted for the president's trade agreements that helped moved Ohio plants offshore and outsourced jobs. He voted against repealing tax incentives for domestic companies that move their manufacturing plants offshore, and against prohibiting American tax dollars from being used to ship jobs outside the country. DeWine also voted to keep tax breaks for companies that operate overseas, while he opposed tax cuts for domestic manufacturers.
VOTING TO BOOST OIL COMPANY PROFITS, RAISE GAS PRICES. One year ago this week, Mike DeWine voted for an energy bill that gave billions of dollars in subsidies to the energy industry. Today, gas prices and oil company profits are at record highs, and our dependence on foreign oil has not declined. The average price of a regular gallon of gasoline in Ohio was $2.23 in July 2005 when the energy bill passed. Today it is $2.97. DeWine has accepted $300,000 in contributions from the oil and gas industry.
VOTING AGAINST MINIMUM WAGE AND WORKER PROTECTIONS. Mike DeWine has opposed increasing the minimum wage at least 9 times. (Note to Chamber: As part of his election year makeover, in 2005 DeWine voted twice for an increase in the minimum wage . You may want to invest your money quickly to thank him for opposing an increase in the past! You wouldn't DeWine to pander to families struggling to pay their bills, would you?) DeWine also voted three times against overtime pay protection and six times against extending unemployment benefits to workers who lost their jobs.
VOTING TO HELP WALL STREET INSTEAD OF MAIN STREET. DeWine voted twice to create Health Savings Accounts, which would increase the cost of health care and swell the ranks of the uninsured. HSAs could raise as much as $75 billion for Wall Street special interests. DeWine voted to raid the Social Security Trust Fund for privatization and said he supported adding private accounts to Social Security, leaving Ohioans retirement security in the hands of Wall Street traders.
If the Chamber wants Mike DeWine to continue to support its special interest members despite all of the heat he's taking at home, you have to pay to play. It's time for the Chamber to ante up.
http://www.sherrodbrown.com/press/releases/409/
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