[Crossposted at Daily Kos, MyDD, My Left Wing, and Booman Tribune.]
I wanted to share with y’all this fantastic and hilarious video that’s randomly popped up on the Internet, targeting two-term Republican Congressman Rick Renzi:
The video is posted on RejectRenzi.com, which seems to be made by the people who put up the famous Canoodle between Renzi and Rep. Katherine Harris:
This site isn’t affiliated with the Caccioppoli campaign — in fact, I spoke with Mike last week and he said he has no idea who put this up — but I like what they have to say about the race:
Although this site is not affiliated with or authorized by any particular candidate or candidate’s committee, we (the webmasters of this site) personally think you should consider Mike Caccioppoli for Congress this November. While Rick Renzi might get all fuzzy inside about this website being made by Mike Caccioppoli or his paid staffers, we’ll unfortunately have to disappoint him. This site is 100% independent – we’re a bunch of people, just like you, that think Rick Renzi is the most corrupt, unethical, and immoral Congressman that CD-1 has seen!
Before you vote for Rick Renzi a third time, please consider the following facts:
FACT: Rick Renzi has voted with the embattled President and outgoing Republican leader Tom DeLay over 90% of the time, even when his vote was AGAINST the best interests of his constituents.
FACT: Rick Renzi has received over $610,000 in campaign contributions from special-interest political action committees (PACs) JUST THIS CAMPAIGN CYCLE, most of which represent big corporations in insurance, gambling, healthcare, financial services, and other paid lobbyists. These contributions make up nearly 2/3 of his total campaign budget – so, when Rick Renzi is voting in Congress, whose interests do you think he’ll have in mind?
FACT: Rick Renzi accepted nearly $30,000 in tainted campaign contributions from the corrupt former House leader, Tom DeLay. Thus far, Rick Renzi has REFUSED to return this tainted money. Why is he making such a fuss over a measly $30,000 when he has nearly $1 million in campaign contribution this cycle? We know why – because it would make him look guilty.
FACT: Four of the top five metro areas where Rick Renzi’s donors live are out-of-district, such as Phoenix/Mesa, Tucson, Washington, DC, and San Diego. Why are most of his contributions not coming from in-district? Because Rick Renzi, according to a Roll Call story last fall, says the people living in his District are too poor to support his campaign. Hmm.
FACT: Rick Renzi’s staffers in Washington, DC, have repeatedly attempted to alter his entry on Wikipedia.org in order to remove unflattering sections (i.e. the TRUTH!) about the Congressman. I guess Renzi and his staff must think they can re-write history to suit their purposes!
FACT: Rick Renzi has repeatedly and deliberately voted for legislation that had a direct benefit to a corporation, ManTech, where his father is a senior executive. He has also proposed a ridiculous plan called “Red Zone Defense” for border security along the Mexican border. Thing is, his father’s company would once again receive a majority of the contracts for his plan. I guess Rick Renzi has never heard of the term “conflict of interest!”
To put this in perspective, Renzi’s been elected twice in this swing Democratic district. The first time, he ran smear ads that his underfunded opponent, George Cordova, couldn’t match, and barely squeaked through by 3% of the vote. In 2004, he crushed opponent Paul Babbitt Jr., largely because Babbitt ran a terrible campaign (I know, I was there — Babbitt’s a wonderful man but a terrible campaigner, and his staff was a comedy of errors).
This year, Rahm Emanuel recruited State Indian Affairs director Jack Jackson, Jr., a fantastic candidate who inexplicably dropped out after raising $160,000. Granted, that’s not a lot against an opponent who’s raised over a million — but Mike Caccioppoli‘s raised far less, and look at what he’s doing already:
- Putting out cable TV ads (see them here)
- Penning hard-hitting press releases highlighting Renzi’s failures and how he’ll do better;
- Announcing a comprehensive plan to “Renew the Deal” (that’s the New Deal, for folks who’s memories aren’t that long), outlining proposals that include increasing education funding, providing universal healthcare for all Americans, complete withdrawal from Iraq, retooling of the Patriot Act to protect our civil rights, an improved Veterans’ Affairs program, and impeaching (yes, impeaching! I heard him say so in public) the President.
Never has Renzi, one of the thirteen most corrupt members of Congress, had such a spirited and hard-hitting challenge — and all from a guy who’s raised less than $100,000! Just think what Caccioppoli could do if he had a little more cash to sink into ad buys and hit Renzi hard where it counts, where people will watch.
Sometimes it pays to give to the underdog, particularly when he’s opening lines of attack on the frontrunner that will eventually destroy him like water in the fissures of a rock.
Disclaimer: I’m a volunteer for the Mike Caccioppoli for Congress campaign.
