Last week, Lisa reported Democrat Rob Zerban (pictured, left), who’s challenging incumbent Republican Rep. Paul Ryan in the 1st Congressional district, outraised Rep. Ryan by over $200,000 during the last fundraising quarter, which is certainly big news given Ryan’s prodigious fundraising efforts over the years.
Last week I had an opportunity to participate in a phone call with Rob Zerban, and he painted a stark contrast between himself and Rep. Ryan, starting with their respective commitment to the voters of the 1st Congressional district. “You know, while he can be on the ticket for both Vice Presidency and the congressional race, I said it before, this congressional race should not be a consolation prize for the winning the Vice-Presidency. Winning this race and representing the people of South East Wisconsin would be the greatest honor of my life,” Zerban said, adding that he believes representing the first Congressional district shouldn’t be a consolation prize.
Zerban said he believes he can beat Rep. Ryan because Ryan’s ideas are bad, stating, “We know that we can beat Paul Ryan because his ideas are old, and the ideas are bad. When it comes to a national stage with these horrible ideas we know he is out of his league. There’s no place for what I like to call: a Palin with a plan. Because he’s even more dangerous than [Palin].” Zerban added, “Paul Ryan has a lot to answer for: He put forth a budget that doesn’t make sense to anybody, any economist worth their salt says the numbers don’t add up. He called for killing Medicare, making it into a voucher program, making Medicaid into a block grant program which would take effect immediately which lots of seniors in the state of Wisconsin rely on if they’re in a nursing home… I think he should come back and have these debates and talk about the issues side by side so that the voters have a clear understanding of what it is they’re getting into again.”
In order to help Rob Zerban beat Paul Ryan in the 1st Congressional district, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) has raised over $122,000 for Zerban’s campaign, while their national Call Out The Vote program made a whopping 42,000 calls to the 1st Congressional district in one day.
While there’s no denying beating Paul Ryan is going to be tough, there’s absolutely no denying Rob Zerban has run a heck of a campaign, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see him beat Paul Ryan on election day.
Recent Comments