* Howie Klein at the Huffington Post explains why we must support Democratic Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15th):
....Mary Jo Kilroy can win this race, and must win this race. For anyone who wasn't with Blue America in 2008 when we helped her defeat Stivers the first time, let me tell you a little about her. Mary Jo Kilroy is one of us. She is personally progressive and her freshman term was spent creating the strongest possible Wall Street reform law. As a freshman, she served on the conference committee for Wall Street reform and worked hard to fight Dodd and others on the committee who wanted to shove through a weak bill. One of her amendments which made it into the final legislation puts credit rating agencies on the hook for the ratings they put on mortgage backed securities. For the very first time, the credit rating agencies can't rubber stamp AAA ratings on junk assets and sell them to our mutual funds, which was one of the key reasons our economy imploded. She was a huge proponent of a strong Consumer Financial Protection Board. She was also the first freshman, and one of the first members of Congress to stick her neck out in support of Elizabeth Warren's appointment to head the CFPB. She didn't have to do that. She did it because she thought it was right. Nor did she have to step out on a limb and endorse Justin Coussoule against John Boenher. But she joined Alan Grayson, Raul Grijalva, Barney Frank, Henry Waxman, Bob Filner and Earl Blumenauer in doing that. The difference -- she's the first member of the Ohio delegation to endorse a challenger in an uphill race, something the DCCC tells incumbents to not do. Another good reason to donate to her campaign....
Then Klein goes on and explains why her Republican opponent, Stivers, a former bank lobbyist, is just plain wrong:
...Her opponent isn't just your run of the mill Republican either. He probably represents the worst of what we hate about elitist governance. He's a former banking lobbyist with a history of callously putting the desires of big special interests ahead of everyone else. One time, as a state Senator he registered his opposition to a bill to give consumers protection from predatory lending practices by saying, "You can't take away peoples' ability to screw up their own financial situation."
If that weren't enough, the man habitually twists and distorts the truth and has proven over and over again that he will say or do anything for a vote. In 2008 he ran as a "moderate," supporting the bank bailouts, economic stimulus, stem cell research and cap and trade. He has changed his views on each and every one of those issues and more. In 2008, at different times he came out for a national insurance exchange, insurance mandate, expanding high risk pools and tax breaks for small businesses to afford health care. Sound familiar? That's the health care reform bill. Today he is against it. In an attempt to curry favor with the tea party crowd, he filled out a questionnaire calling for the repeal of the 17th amendment, for the abolition of the (progressive) income tax in favor of a (regressive) flat tax and questioned the science behind man-made global warming. I'd love to believe he is a kook who really believes this stuff but I'm afraid the reality is darker. Steve Stivers has no principles; he's a liar and a Boehner minion who sold his soul for a shot at a congressional seat, and is dangerously close to winning it....
Stivers is "...a Boehner minion..." Those of us in Ohio's 15th district don't need the politics of Stivers and Boehner.
Support Kilroy (http://www.kilroyforcongress.com/home) and show her that you want her to continue her work in Congress.