Conservative Group Launches Campaign to Encourage Rep. Johnson on Budget

The conservative group Americans For Prosperity says Illinois Congressman Tim Johnson needs to stay the course when it comes to balancing the federal budget.

Johnson can get the message by turning on his radio. A commercial running on Champaign-Urbana and Bloomington-Normal radio stations this month begins with the voice of the late Ronald Reagan: "You know, we could say they spend like drunken sailors. But that would be unfair to drunken sailors, because the sailors are spending their own money."

An announcer comes in to say that Reagan's words are still true today: "We cannot spend our way to prosperity. But big-government advocates are trying to convince Congressman Tim Johnson to go along with their high-tax, big-spending ways." The radio spot then goes on to urge listeners to call Congressman Johnson, and sign an online petition in favor of more federal spending cuts.

The Americans For Prosperity campaign is meant to convince Johnson, already known as a fiscal conservative, that he has the popular support to make difficult cuts in spending.

Joseph Calomino, AFP's Illinois State Director says Johnson has "voted right on many of the issues. Our theory is now, to provide those congressmen and women in the state of Illinois and throughout the country with the kind of support they need from the majority, to hear from the majority of their public to stand tall and cut spending now."

Americans For Prosperity announced their campaign Thursday at a Champaign news conference attended by representatives of other groups dedicated to lower government spending. They included Mary Lou Ferguson of the Decatur group, Citizens For Responsible Government. She says Americans largely support cuts in federal spending --- and will continue to do so when the choices get more difficult.

"That support we had last year for the election is not going away", says Ferguson. "That concern, that amount of energy and paying attention is going to grow. We just cannot sustain this. It has to be fixed."

A spokesman for Congressman Johnson says he's committed to cutting federal spending, and that the AFP campaign is "preaching to the choir". Press Secretary Phil Bloomer says Johnson has voted to reduce federal spending to 2008 levels, and voted against the latest continuing resolution to keep the federal government running --- because it didn't include sufficient spending cuts.

Meanwhile, Americans for Prosperity is launching similar campaigns in a few selected congressional districts across the country.