House Republicans are attempting to nationalize the fall elections in hopes of winning back control of the chamber, with a new effort to raise money called Boehner for Speaker. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) has a lot at stake in November, and he’s going all-in.
Donors giving big bucks or helping to raise at least $100,000 for the National Republican Congressional Committee will get “meetings with Boehner, calls from senior aides with updates on the campaign and ‘VIP access to all events, including roundtables, briefings, breakout discussions and interactive panel discussions,” according to Politico, which obtained some materials Boehner’s office was shopping around for the new campaign.
Check out the documents here and here. Politico reports:
Boehner convened a meeting of top Republican lobbyists at the National Republican Congressional Committee last Thursday to enlist them in the cause and armed them with slick, presidential-level brochures and fundraising materials making the case for putting him in the speaker’s chair.
Here’s an image from the new Web site, which includes a link to “boot Nancy”:
You can buy a “Boehner for Speaker” mouse pad for $10 or coffee mug for $15.
The site claims the campaign’s purpose “is to help elect a new Republican Majority in Congress by contrasting our agenda of reform with the liberal, jobs-killing agenda of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats running for Congress as part of her team.”
The Republicans say that on Jan. 4 House members will choose their speaker and “the tone and direction of Congress for at least the next two years will be determined. We want Americans to know what’s at stake.”
The disclaimer:
Support provided to the NRCC through Boehner for Speaker will be used to assist the campaigns of Republican nominees for Congress with the exclusive goal of electing a Republican Majority in the United States House of Representatives in 2010.
The Boehner materials also tell his personal story. It’s a similar effort to what Pelosi (D-CA) and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee did in 2006 before they ousted Republicans from power. The Democrats used SpeakerPelosi.com to outline the Democratic agenda and Pelosi’s narrative as the Italian Catholic grandmother who would be the first female speaker of the House.
We told you about GOP efforts to sell the fall elections as a chance to “fire Pelosi,” and the party is hanging a bright red banner with those words above the entrance to the RNC and NRCC building on Capitol Hill. Boehner has been stepping up his own critique of President Obama and House Democrats, and putting his foot in his mouth at times.
As the DCCC’s executive director Jon Vogel told me in an interview over the weekend, the Democrats will say Republicans are getting excited over something that won’t happen.
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