Congressman Dave Obey is a Wisconsin original. Active in Wisconsin politics since his college days in the late 1950’s, Obey speaks to voters in an unvarnished style that originated before the ascendancy of professional political consultants and spin doctors. The name of his campaign committee says it all: A Lot of People for Dave Obey. First elected to Congress in a 1969 Special Election, Dave Obey has become overwhelmingly popular in a competitive district that stretches from his hometown of Wasau all the way to the Minnesota border and Wisconsin’s beautiful Northwoods; no Republican even bothered to run against him in 2004. Dave is also a mean bluegrass-harmonica player.

Obey is never afraid to speak the truth about the corruption and incompetence of his House Republican colleagues. He’s in a position to be a great reformer as the Chairman-In-Waiting of the powerful House Appropriations Committee if Democrats can recapture the House in 2006. Now Obey is barnstorming the country with Democrats like Iowa 1st Congressional District nominee Bruce Braley, stumping for a hike in the federal minimum wage without sham Republican tax cuts added on.

House Republicans, especially those on the Appropriations Committee, have turned the important process of funding government programs into a means of self-enrichment and influence peddling. Dave Obey would be an Appropriations Chairman Americans can be proud of. Just another reason its time for a change this November.

By: Alex Madorsky