Congressman John "Boehnhead" Boehner represents Ohio’s 8th congressional district, a cobbled-together super-Republican district that covers bits and pieces of the Dayton outskirts and sort of forms a hook around it (Love that GOP gerrymandering!). It delivered the vote up for John McCain 61-38 (plus about a half dozen votes for Alan Keyes). Is it winnable by a Democrat? That’s really iffy.
http://www.coussouleforcongress.com/
But Justin Coussoule is young and energetic, and apparently fearless. An attorney and employee at Cincinnati’s Proctor and Gamble, and West Point graduate married to a fellow West Point graduate, 35-year-old Justin is ready to follow the orange glow around the district and take the fight to Boehner. As he puts it, ""I think that Mr. Boehner’s service as a representative is political malpractice. I think he misrepresents the interest of the constituents here in the district."
http://www.progressohio.org/...
Now, you’re probably thinking "Blue Dog." I’m not so sure. Yes, I imagine he’s probably the sort of guy the NRA likes. But he also says this in expressing his support for health-care reform: " "I agree with those people that come down and say this is a moral issue. Health care ought not to be a privilege. It’s a right." And he’s pretty blunt about criticizing Republican obstruction of banking regulations and extending unemployment benefits. I especially enjoyed the post entitled "Boehner’s Two-Week Toxic Streak Continues."
http://www.coussouleforcongress.com/...
As the linked article from ProgressOhio indicates, Coussoule will need money — it says Boehner’s 2008 opponent Nicholas von Stein had only $15,000, a clear case of not bothering to try, understandably. (As much as I was following all the statewide races that year, I don’t recall hearing his name. Still, he got 32% of the vote).
And it will still be an uphill race, although Coussoule says he’ll be taking a leave of absence from his job to campaign and that he’s in it to win. But making Boehner sweat and taking his attention (and resources) away from other races is a good tit-for-tat for the Republican Party convincing wealthy car dealer Tom Ganley to leave to Senate primary race against Rob Portman and instead challenge progressive Betty Sutton (who ironically wrote the Cash for Clunkers legislation that poured tax dollars into Ganley’s own pocket) in Oh-13.
Coussoule has a website and will gladly accept your donations. Maybe you could pledge to give $10 every time you hear Boehner saying something incredibly stupid. No, make that $5. We don’t want anyone going broke.
http://www.coussouleforcongress.com/