Democrats seek funds to air Medicare ad in Boehner's district

Democrats are seeking funds to air a 30-second spot on Republicans' Medicare plans in House Speaker John Boehner's (R-Ohio) district.

Rep. Steve Israel (N.Y.), the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), wrote supporters to solicit enough funds by midnight on Wednesday to air the tongue-in-cheek ad in Boehner's southwestern Ohio district.

"We just cut a creative new ad to break through the clutter and take the fight directly to Republican Speaker John Boehner," Israel wrote to the DCCC email list. "But we must raise $25,000 by midnight tonight so we can run it in Boehner’s home district."

The DCCC released the 30-second ad on Tuesday as a Web video. Seizing on the House-passed 2012 budget, it humorously depicts seniors having to work mowing lawns or even as strippers to fund their healthcare in retirement.

Democrats have been particularly active in attacking the 2012 budget's provisions on Medicare and Medicaid, which would be reshaped substantially from their current forms.

Boehner's suburban Cincinnati district is considered strongly Republican, and the Speaker probably isn't at risk of losing reelection no matter how much the DCCC spends there. The neighboring 1st congressional district, however, is a key battleground district represented by Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), who reclaimed the seat in 2010 from Rep. Steve Driehaus (D), who won it in 2008.

Here's the ad Democrats are hoping to get on the air in Boehner's backyard:

---