As President Obama continues reaching out to congressional Republicans in hopes of winning bipartisan support on the economic stimulus bill, a coalition of labor and progressive groups is taking a harder-edged approach, bringing the fight to the home states of five Republican senators.
In their first major ad campaign of Obama's presidency, more than 30 left-leaning groups -- including MoveOn.org, the Service Employees International Union, and Americans United For Change -- are spending $500,000 to run ads around the country urging Congress to pass the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan. The ad will air nationally as well as in smaller buys targeting five Republican senators: Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Charles Grassley of Iowa. Grassley, Gregg, and Murkowski are all up for re-election in 2010.
Jeremy Funk, communications director for Americans United For Change, said the buy focused on Collins, Snowe, Gregg and Murkowski because they seem to be the "most persuadable and moderate," with "the best chance to do the right thing." As for the Iowa ad buy, Funk explained that Grassley was a "purely symbolic target, as he's the ranking member on the Finance Committee." Mark McCullough, an SEIU spokesman, said the ads are designed to "add some pressure to the Senate" ahead of their vote on the package.
"This is no doubt the most significant vote since the vote to authorize the war in Iraq," Funk said. "That's how big of a deal this is."
The coalition, which goes under the name the Campaign for Jobs and Economic Recovery, was launched in December after Obama announced plans for an economic stimulus. Participating organizations include a slew of unions, the Campaign for America's Future, the Sierra Club, and ACORN, the community group that became an issue during the presidential campaign.
Funk called Wednesday's party-line vote in the House "unfortunate," but said that, for now at least, the campaign was keeping its focus on the Senate. "Senate Republicans have the most power to roadblock change," Funk said. "So that's why we're going to keep up a steady drumbeat of grassroots pressure in these folks' districts."
That drumbeat is likely to be heard by more Republicans, and on more issues, in the coming months, as Obama's energized supporters throw their weight behind his legislative agenda. One group, American Rights At Work, is launching a new TV, print and online ad campaign this weekend advocating for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act, according to spokesman Josh Goldstein.
But while Republicans have yet to get on board with the president's stimulus proposals -- yet alone the Employee Free Choice Act -- left-leaning groups are optimistic that they can win on many key goals with Democrats in control of Congress and the White House. "It's as if this mountain has been lifted and this cloud of pessimism is gone," Funk said. "We're feeling extremely ecstatic about the possibilities ahead."
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