Give John Boehner the Boot

Written by: Linsey P on Feb 7, 2012 1:10 PM EST

We’re two months into the new year and political punditry is clashing with ordinary Americans.   If you were one of 111.3 million Americans who tuned in to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday, two ads managed to stir up political controversy - Chrysler's ad highlighting the Auto industry’s revival narrated by Clint Eastwood and GOP candidate Pete Hoekstra xenophobic ad promoting blatant racism.

If these ads tell you anything about 2012 it’s that the stakes are high for both parties.  One thing remains perfectly clear - the winner of November’s election will be a direct result of the parties’ efforts to turn out their base.  Progressives - 2012 is not a year to sit on the sidelines. 

This weekend many headlines were made.  First, Mitt Romney won two consecutive GOP primaries with his strong showing in Nevada - essentially cinching up the Republican nomination.  But everywhere else the news remained poor for Mitt - the more Republican-identified voters see of Mitt, the less inclined they are to vote for him. Ladies and Gentlemen - it’s only February - potential voters have 9 more months left of the election cycle.  This is a clear indication of the frustration republicans face.  If the Republicans have difficulty turning out their base for the name at the top of the ticket - it is clear that every candidate below will have a hard time riding the coattails of a losing presidential nominee.  

Other positive news from this weekend includes the jobs report numbers that came out on Friday - pointing out that the economic struggles might lessen  and strong polling numbers that indicate President Obama has a clear lead over Mitt Romney.  President Obama even declared that he “deserves a second term.”  The reason? President Obama stated;

“When you and I sat down, we were losing 750,000 jobs a month. . . now we’re creating 250,000 jobs,” Obama said, referring to Friday’s job report which showed unemployment falling from 8.5 percent to 8.3 percent. “We’ve made progress. The key now is to make sure we don’t start turning in the wrong direction.”

If stronger economic prosperity isn’t enough to get you to commit to voting for a progressive ticket in November - then maybe this will help change your mind: The Republicans are concerned their control over the House could be lost.  Aaron Blake from the Washington Post states, “Given that we’ve seen three straight election cycles with at least 24 seats changing parties, is it really that outlandish to think a 25-seat GOP majority isn’t safe?”  

The answer - no, nothing this year is safe and that is why this election will come down to progressives like you.  If you can’t find motivation it vote this November, DFA has hundreds of progressive candidates to motivate liberal voters to turn out on November 6th.  While all the attention is being shown to the candidates at the top of the ticket - the true power players in Washington - Congress need to be shaken up.  And that’s just what these candidates will do.

Imagine - candidates who represent the 99 percent and have stood alongside the occupy movement.  It seems incredible that voters in California can vote for an American Hero and Astronaut to join the ranks of the Congress.  And, progressive candidates of every shape, size, gender, race, and religion all are asking for your help - by voting them into the top 10 for DFA’s sixth annual Grassroots All-Star.

DFA's Grassroots All-Star contest is simple, fun and promotes non-incumbent endorsements for the U.S. House of Representatives. The goal is to identify the progressive challenger with the most broad-based support from our members nationwide. The winner earns the title of Grassroots All-Star, bringing media exposure and increased grassroots resources to the campaign. This fast-track endorsement is chosen directly by DFA members and others in the progressive grassroots community through two rounds of voting.

This week is the final full week of voting with the first round ending on Tuesday, February 14th.  

Democracy for America is calling on you - get involved by voting to elect the best slate of progressive candidates we’ve seen in years.  It is time to elect true progressives to seats all across the country and instill honest progressive voices back into the House of Representatives. Lets give John Boehner the boot - vote for the next Grassroots All-Star today. 

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