What issues matter to you? National defense? The rights of working class Americans? Seniors issues? A woman's right to choose? The environment?

On all of these issues, New York Republicans are out of touch with America. Most Americans want a strong national defense, support the rights of working class Americans, women and seniors, and place a high value on the environemnt. New York Congressional Republicans have the wrong priorities on national defense, support Halliburton profits but not a minimum wage increase, want to privatise Social Security, place the rights of pollutors over the environment and the health of Americans, and oppose a woman's right to choose.

This truly is curious. As we noted yesterday, and Rochester Turning the day before, two wingnut Congressmen in New York are being targeted by an even wingnuttier organization, Freedoms Watch, with the goal of getting them to adhere rigidly to the White House line on Iraq. Heading up this group is Ari Fleischer, back in the day the chief salesman of the Iraq War.

Specifically, Walsh is the beneficiary of $144,955 in ad spend, while Kuhl has $187,235 directed at him. This is merely the first installment of an ad buy, presently at $5.8 million nationwide, that the group claims will eventually reach $15 million. The group is targeting 41 Members of Congress, 37 of which are republicans.

There's a delicious irony in having Bush loyalists - and both Kuhl and Walsh without question qualify for that dubious distinction - targeted with a massive ad buy to ensure that things stay that way. Pre-emption, it seems, is not out of style yet.

The beauty of it all is this: there will inevitably be a rift between republicans who hope to hold office after 2008 and the term-limited Bush White House. Now, Bush loyalists are spending $332,190 in New York to open that rift just a little bit wider. The post-Bush era is almost here; this campaign seeks to keep Kuhl and Walsh nicely mired in the present, at the expense of their future.

Hey, fine by me. See an ad after the flip.