Right Wing to Lobbyists: "Don’t Support Grayson"

This is so weird that I can barely believe it myself, but it's true. Right-wingers are contacting lobbyists – yes, lobbyists! – and directing them not to support my reelection campaign. Which is why I need your support before our year-end deadline today.

Lobbyists and I are not, shall we say, the best of friends, but I am on speaking terms with a few of them. In the past few weeks, three of them have contacted me, and told me that they have received lots of calls and e-mails from right-wing groups, urging the lobbyists to withhold their contributions from our campaign. From what we've been able to discern, these lobbyists are just three out of many who have been contacted. Evidently, this is an organized, nationwide campaign.

This bizarre ploy appears to be orchestrated by Ben Shapiro, the Editor-In-Chief of a psycho right-wing website grandiosely named "TruthRevolt" (presumably, because its readers find the truth to be revolting). The irony of that website name is palpable, because Shapiro seems to lack even a nodding acquaintance with the truth. On the contrary, Shapiro seems to be allergic to the truth. Shapiro has called President Obama a Muslim, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton a lesbian, Obama Chief-of-Staff Rahm Emanuel a "kapo" (that was the name for Jews who collaborated with Nazis in the concentration camps), and Adolf Hitler a "left-winger." Just for fun, Shapiro added that Arabs like to "live in open sewage." Also, that Defense Secretary Hagel accepted campaign contributions from a group called "Friends of Hamas," which – like so many things in Shapiro's head -- actually doesn't exist.

Shapiro's website says that its "mission" is to "devastate the funding bases" of "leftists." Which is exactly what he is trying to do to us.

After launching vicious, lying attacks against President Obama, Secretary Clinton, Secretary Hagel and Chief of Staff Emanuel, now, Shapiro and his Tea Party wing-nut pals are coming after me.

But in the strangest way that I can think of – by lining up lobbyists not to support our campaign. Come to think of it, though, if I were a Republican, that would put a real hurt on me. If I were a corporate Democrat, that would put a real hurt on me. In fact, if I were one of the 434 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives - out of a total of 435 - who had received most of his contributions in the last election from lobbyists, corporate PACs, millionaires, billionaires and other big donors, then that would put a real hurt on me.

But I'm not. Instead, I'm the only Member of the U.S. House of Representatives – THE ONLY ONE – who raised most of the money for his last House campaign from contributors who gave $200 or less.

And now I need your help – today, before our year-end Federal Election Commission deadline. Because if you don't help, then who will? Surely not the lobbyists.

Isn't it nice to have at least one Member of Congress who is unbossed, and unbought?

Well, if that's the way you like it, then you're going to have to show your support – today. Because if the other side is literally lining up the lobbyists against me, a year before the election, then you can be sure that as soon as it's 2014, all hell will break lose.

I would like to give these right-wing creeps the one-finger salute. I'd like to shoot them the bird. I'd like to throw the unicorn at them. I'd like to flip them all off. I want them to understand that they can whine to their lobbyist pals all day long, but the real power behind this campaign is not lobbyists, it's you.

It's you.

So please contribute to our campaign before the year-end deadline, and contribute generously. Or just accept that our government is now of the lobbyists, by the lobbyists, and for the lobbyists.

The decision is yours.

Courage,

Rep. Alan Grayson