Harry Reid

Dems, GOP Demand: If You're Gonna Slash Medicare, Raise Taxes, Can You At Least Do So In Public?!

Brian Beutler | August 10, 2011, 6:00AM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) appointed three Democrats to a 12-member deficit Super Committee Tuesday, giving observers and advocates an early indication of how the committee will function as it seeks over a trillion dollars in further deficit cuts by the end of the year.

Just as important as who serves on the panel, though, is the question of whether it will function like most Congressional committees do -- open to press and voters, with conflicts of interest disclosed publicly, if not always swiftly or conveniently.

So often, high-stakes negotiations like these are conducted in private, where members feel free from accountability, and, to a lesser extent, from special interest influence. And because the debt ceiling statute that created the panel included no significant transparency requirements, the expectation has been that it will operate away from public scrutiny.

But there is growing pressure on Congressional leaders to pull back the curtain on the panel, including from influential members of their own parties. And now it seems as likely as not that the proceedings will take place in a way that makes it difficult for members to hide deal-making from the public.

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Health Care

Pro Health Care Group Targets GOP Freshmen For Repeal Vote (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | January 20, 2011, 9:30AM

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and President Barack Obama

That didn't take long.

Moments after House Republicans (and three Democrats) voted to repeal President Obama's health care law, TV ads went live in the districts of three GOP freshmen in contested districts to knock them for that vote.

The ads target Reps. Jim Renacci (R-OH), who ousted John Boccieri in November, Jon Runyan (R-NJ) who knocked off John Adler, and Tim Walberg (R-MI), who defeated Mark Schauer.

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AFSCME

AFSCME Hammers Republicans In New Set Of Ads (VIDEO)

Marc Kilstein | October 21, 2010, 3:03PM

American Federal of State, County & Municipal Employees ad, "Real People"

The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) has rolled out a new series of ads, taking on Republican candidates from Colorado, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

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OH-16

Ohio GOPer Claims Union Defamed Him In Suit

Evan McMorris-Santoro | August 20, 2010, 10:14AM

Congressional candidate Jim Renacci (R-OH)

Republican Congressional candidate Jim Renacci has taken the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees to court, claiming the union defamed him by claiming in ads that he lied on his taxes. The ads were aimed at helping his Democratic opponent, incumbent Rep. John Boccieri (D-OH).

The battle pits the GOP against a powerful union trying to protect a freshman Democratic pickup from 2008. Prognosticators say Boccieri's 16th District seat carries advantages for the Democrats, but could go either way. Let's put it this way: It's the kind of place that Republicans say they can win this year.

It's likely Renacci suit against a major name in organized labor won't hurt his goal of rallying Republican voters for November. According to local news site CantonRep.com, Renacci says in his suit that "the union's advertising contains false and defamatory statements that Renacci tried to cheat on his taxes."

"[T]the people of our district have been witness to a new low in the level of political discourse, as John Boccieri and the union bosses at AFSCME have engaged in some of the most reprehensible and ethically bankrupt conduct this district has ever seen," Renacci told reporters in a press conference outside court house steps yesterday.

AFSCME sees things a little differently.

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OH-16

Boccieri's Potential GOP Challenger Fought $1M+ Tax Assessment

Ben Frumin | April 14, 2010, 12:02PM

Congressional candidate Jim Renacci (R-OH)

Rep. John Boccieri's (D-OH) likely Republican opponent was "assessed nearly $1.4 million in unpaid state taxes, interest and fees in 2006" -- which he fought fiercely before finally paying, the Associated Press reports.

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