Wednesday, June 8, 2011

'Why I will defeat Paul Ryan' -- Rob Zerban

Rob Zerban, the Kenosha County supervisor running as a Democrat against Paul Ryan in 2012, gets some exposure on the Huffington Post Chicago link.  Bottom line:
I decided to run for Congress because I believe Ryan needs to take his "Hands off My Grandma." I'm choosing to run because I believe we should save and strengthen Medicare. I believe Ryan must be stopped. His plan to end Medicare to pay for tax cuts for the very rich on the backs of our seniors and our most vulnerable is just plain wrong. The people of Wisconsin deserve a representative who has spent time in the working world and whose values mirror their own.
Zerban got a warm reception from Wisconsin Democrats at their weekend convention in Milwaukee, which drew a huge turnout of delegates fired up by the fight to take back Wisconsin.

"My opponent not only endorses the plan to end Medicare. He wrote the plan. If you elect me, I will not look you in the eyes and tell you I'm reducing the deficit while sliding tax breaks under the table to millionaires and billionaires," Zerban told the enthusiastic crowd. "If you elect me to Congress I will never privatize Medicare. Privatizing Medicare essentially eliminates it."

Zerban announced early and is campaigning aggressively. He knows it is an uphill struggle against Ryan, who hasn't had a serious challenge for years and has been able to amass a $3-million warchest from special interest contributions. But Ryan's plan to end Medicare and replace it with a voucher system has already cost the GOP one House seat, and Dems are hopeful the author of the controversial program is vulnerable, too.

The Racine Journal Times reported on the convention and the race, and asked Ryan for a comment, but he didn't return calls.

"Congressman Ryan's focus right now is on doing his job representing his employers in Congress and preventing a national debt crisis, not on campaigning for the next election," Susan Jacobson, Ryan's campaign manager, said in a statement.
Seventeen months out and Ryan has a campaign manager? He clearly is taking Zerban very seriously, too.

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