John Boehner Blamed For Shutdown In New ‘Temper Tantrum’ Ad To Air During Sunday Football

October 4, 2013

WASHINGTON — Many football fans tuning in for Sunday’s game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the New England Patriots will see a new ad blaming House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) for the government shutdown.

The spot by House Majority PAC, a Democratic super PAC, features a close-up of a baby crying, with a narrator saying, “Speaker John Boehner didn’t get his way on shutting down health care reform. So, he’s shut down the government and hurt the economy.”

The ad will be airing in Boehner’s district, which includes rural and suburban areas around Cincinnati.

“Speaker Boehner didn’t get his way and so, like a child, he threw a Tea Party-inspired temper tantrum and shut down the federal government,” said Andy Stone, communications director of House Majority PAC. “The American people are sick and tired of the intransigence and manufactured crises that have become all too common from Speaker Boehner and the House Republicans. Speaker Boehner should stop playing politics, end the nonsense and finally focus on the real-life consequences his government shutdown has caused Americans.”

The group has launched a six-figure ad campaign in the districts of the nine Republican members it’s targeting in the 2014 elections: Gary Miller (Calif.), Mike Coffman (Colo.), Rodney Davis (Ill.), Mike Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Michael Grimm (N.Y.), Joe Heck (Nev.), Dave Joyce (Ohio), John Kline (Minn.) and Steve Southerland (Fla).

Meanwhile, the Revive America PAC, a conservative group, has been running an ad on cable news attempting to spark a grassroots campaign to “fire” Boehner. But more established conservative groups, such as the Senate Conservatives Fund, Club for Growth and Heritage Action Fund, are standing by Boehner and his strategy.