Spratt Targeted By GOP
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is running television ads targeting three veteran democratic lawmakers who voted in favor of President Barack Obama’s $1.2 trillion (some say $2.6 trillion) socialized medicine proposal – including S.C. Rep. John Spratt.
The other lawmakers targeted by the ads are Reps. Earl Pomeroy of North Dakota and Vic Snyder of Arkansas, according to a story published Wednesday by Congressional Quarterly.
From the CQ story:
Pomeroy, Snyder and Spratt all won re-election with relative ease in 2008 despite the fact that they each sit in districts that went for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in last year’s presidential contest. But as they look to spread the field ahead of what many expect to be a better environment for the GOP in 2010, the NRCC is putting pressure on several veteran Democrats.
It’s interesting that the NRCC has chosen three lawmakers to target – because that’s precisely the number of democrats who would have had to switch their votes in order to defeat the proposal, which passed the U.S. House earlier this month by a 220-215 tally.
The fourteen-term Congressman’s office confirmed to FITS Wednesday that he is “absolutely” seeking reelection – despite a popular revolt among independents in his district over his support of Obamacare and a controversial energy tax hike.
Meanwhile, sources in Washington tell FITS that Spratt was one of at least 60 democratic House members to request a pass on voting in favor of Obamacare, but that Speaker Nancy Pelosi rebuffed him. Specifically, Pelosi is alleged to have threatened Spratt with the loss of his position as Chairman of the House Budget Committee if he failed to support the health care proposal.
Spratt is being challenged in 2010 by S.C. Senator Mick Mulvaney (R-York), who has already received the support of the SCGOP.
Here’s the ad …
Comments
By RedBank Bar on November 19th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
“Popular revolt”? More like astroturf nut cases. Spratt will kick Mulvaney’s arse going away…
By laney on November 19th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
As long as 47 % of voters don’t pay taxes, the Dems are GUARANTEED power.
Dems give away “free stuff” to those who don’t work.
By GOP IS PISSING IN THE WIND on November 19th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
Once again the NRCC is wasting time and money. The NRCC needs to look at demographics and voting record of the 5th district and the state of SC. Sure, the state as whole does not vote for liberal national democrats, but they do vote for conservative, populist democrats, because 1)they actually bring their tax dollars home and 2)show that even as ineffective as the national government is, representatives like Congressman Spratt protect their interest. The NRCC feels that they have a chance because Congressman Spratt voted for this or that, but what they forget is when people need something, they always call John Spratt. The NRCC needs to understand the concept of “statemenship” and understand that the 5th district is John Spratt’s until he retires. Until the NRCC and RNC understand this, they will simply be pissing in the “wind” and as a constituent of the 5th, Mick can keeps his ideas, we dont need a Shamford in the 5th.
By Ynot on November 19th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
Spratt , overseeing the Congressional Budget Office is ripe for removal. He’s part of the problem not the solution.
By Anonymous on November 19th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Pisser:
So you support cap-and-trade, the bailouts, and nationalized health care? Doesn’t sound like you are the swing voter in the 5th.
Independents abandoned the Dems in Viriginia and New Jersey. They are abandoning Spratt in droves as well.
Good constituent service certainly does matter — until you start voting for trillions of dollars in debt and government overreaching in a basically conservative area. Go tell the farmers’ wives in Marlboro that the governmetn will be picking their OB/GYN for them (if they can even find one) and you’ll see how much goodwill that birthday card 5 years ago gets the Congressman.
Spratt is through.
By NRCC are a bunch of numbnuts on November 19th, 2009 at 7:08 pm
If you’re gonna attack someone, how about get the right picture. The dude in the ad ain’t even Spratt. Come on– WTF?
By Designated Driver on November 19th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
Except for the fact that he doesn’t act like a whore while in DC (as far as we know), there’s nothing conservative aboout Spratt. Nothing at all.
By OhNoNotAgain on November 20th, 2009 at 12:30 am
“Pomeroy, Snyder and Spratt all won re-election with relative ease in 2008 despite the fact that they each sit in districts that went for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in last year’s presidential contest.”
You see, the Republicans are guilty of the same kind of simpe examination of numbers that led them to spend a lot of money on Ralph Norman before pulling the rug out from under him in 2006.
Yes, the district went for McCain. Official politicos can probably break it down by individual precincts, which you have to do to fully analyze the fifth. Three, four of its counties are not completely in the district, but spiit out elsewhere.
But McCain won the district, by 51.5 percent.
Spratt didn’t just take the district. He made it his b—-, winning 61.6 percent of the vote.
So someone above mouting off about Spratt losing the important “swing” voters, umm, dude, show me polling that says `more than 10.1 percent of the voters in the district are those “swing” voters, and we might be able to have a conversation.
If there are that many, and Spratt/Mulvaney split them, then Spratt wins because the rest of the district is what it is.
It’s possible, if he LOST 10 percent of the votes he got in 2008, meaning they don’t show up, he could still win, if Mulvaney doesn’t really energize a whole, huge district and get out a lot of new voters.
It’s likely Spratt has lost his home county, which happened like once or twice to Larry Bigham. But those were close. No, he might lose big here. But 2006 election results show he could have lost 7,000 votes in York County, the GOP’s main bastion here, and still won that election comfortably.
By GOP IS PISSING IN THE WIND on November 20th, 2009 at 11:15 am
Anonymous,
You should apply for a job with the NRCC, because as foolish as your comments are, you would fit right in. I hate to tell ya, but in a democratic society the vote of the poor “farmer’s wives” in Malboro count just as much as someone like u who has their head shoved up ther a**. Trust me come November 2010, Congressman Spratt will be heading back to D.C. and your “tea baggin” comments will have been nothing more than simply “pissing in the wind”. Good luck with your new job at the NRCC and all the new conspiracy theories you are likely developing.