A quick addendum to our post this morning on the GOP’s misleading stimulus post-mortems. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) announced today that in the third phase of its “Putting Families First” campaign, the organization plans to run automated phone calls in 12 House Republican districts explaining the benefits of the stimulus bill rejected by the entire Republican caucus. Two Illinois members are among the targets: Reps. Mark Kirk and Judy Biggert.

What will residents hear?

Hello, I’m calling on behalf of House Democrats with an important message about the economy.

Did you know Congressman [NAME] voted against President Obama’s economic recovery plan, endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce? [NAMES]’s empty rhetoric can’t hide that [s]he voted to raise the AMT tax on 22 million middle class Americans and against the largest tax cut in history.

Of course, while the creeping Alternative Minimum Tax is certainly a problem, there’s a legitimate case to be made that it should have been cut from the stimulus package; it’s very costly and less stimulative than things like state aid or infrastructure spending.  That being said, taxes -- especially those aimed at the upper-middle class -- are a key issue for many suburban lawmakers. And this bill did more to protect those interests than almost anything else.

That Washington Democrats are targeting Kirk and Biggert should come as no surprise. Both of their districts swung heavily for Obama in November and each prides themselves on moderation and bi-partisanship. Furthermore, Kirk is considering a run for higher office next year.  And given that both used shoddy math and discredited reports to justify their no votes, they deserve all the scrutiny that's coming their way.