Liberals target moderate Democrats on budget

WATCH AD HERE:  watch?v=ar4FTclpVkg

Liberal interest group, Americans United for Change, is launching a TV ad blitz today in 12 states to push moderate Democrats and Republicans to support President Obama's budget.

The new spot, "Blueprint," doesn't name the names of specific legislators but asks citizens in target markets to call Congress and "tell them you support President Obama's budget. Let's all get to work rebuilding America."

The ad buy, which will total more than $700K, is going up in the home states of a number of key moderate Democratic Senators including Evan Bayh (IN), Ben Nelson (NE), Mary Landrieu (LA) and Mark Warner (VA) as well as Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (ND)-who has been somewhat critical of the budget of late. The spot will also air in Maine, the home to two moderate Republican Senators, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins.

"For eight years, the Bush Administration turned our economy into a house of cards," an announcer says. "Now President Obama has drawn up a budget blue print that will rebuild our economy on a solid foundation. Jobs, health care, education, clean energy - reform. On this foundation we can build real, long term economic prosperity - for all Americans."

The spot will also appear on national cable in AR, AK, PA, NC, AZ and NH.

"The work that begins this week on President Obama's budget is by far the most significant in shaping the President's transformational commitments to healthcare reform, education and clean energy - investments that will rebuild and renew America's economy and lay a solid foundation for long-term prosperity," said Tom McMahon, Acting Executive Director of Americans United for Change. "This ad is designed to engage the American people in the process of bringing about the transformational change they voted for in November by contacting their elected representatives and asking for their help in putting our country on the road to prosperity. It is our hope that Congress gets the boost it needs to stand up to the special interests that will do anything to maintain the failed policies of the last eight years that were entirely stacked in their favor and that turned our economy into a house of cards."

The spot is the latest ad by AUC, which most rescently launched ads arguing that Republicans in Congress were following the lead of talk show host Rush Limbaugh in saying " no" to every Democratic proposal.