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WisPolitics coverage of news from the nation's capital.

Wisconsin's Congressional Delegation

SENATE HOUSE
· Herb Kohl (D)
· Russ Feingold (D)
· 1st CD: Paul Ryan (R)
· 2nd CD:Tammy Baldwin (D)
· 3rd CD: Ron Kind (D)
· 4th CD: Gwen Moore (D)
· 5th CD: F. James Sensenbrenner (R)
· 6th CD: Tom Petri (R)
· 7th CD: Dave Obey (D)
· 8th CD: Steve Kagen (D)

Friday, November 13, 2009

 1:36 PM  DNC targeting Petri, Ryan over health care votes

The Democratic National Committee's Organizing for America program is asking supporters to visit the local offices of Republicans from districts won by Barack Obama last fall to ask why the congressmen "decided to go against their constituents, stand with the health insurance industry and support the status quo on health care."

The 32 targeted House Republicans include Tom Petri of Fond du Lac and Paul Ryan of Janesville. Every Republican but one, Louisiana's Anh Cao, voted against the House health care reform bill last weekend. It passed 220-215.

"This effort is just the most recent by OFA and the DNC to ensure that Republicans are held accountable for both their positions and their false claims on the issue," according to a statement from OFA. "Today, the DNC announced that House Republicans would be the latest target of its 'Call 'em Out' campaign, calling out House Republicans for their continued use of debunked claims and outright lies to distort the health insurance reform debate and block reform."

Petri blasted the bill as a "budgetary train wreck" before voting against it Saturday, while Ryan has been one of the GOP's most outspoken critics of the Dem bill.

DPW Executive Director Mike Tate singled out Petri and Ryan earlier this week for their votes, noting that both the 6th and 1st districts went to Obama in his decisive Wisconsin victory last year.

"Petri and Ryan have made it clear that they will tow the party line instead of doing what is best for their constituents and the rest of Wisconsin," Tate said in a statement.

UPDATE: The DNC has gone up on the air with a pair of 30-second radio spots in both the 1st and 6th CDs, saying that Ryan and Petri "stood with the insurance industry, not the people (they were) elected to represent."

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