Now The Republicans Think Grimm Is Vulnerable, Too

After Congressman Michael Grimm defeated the lackluster Mark Murphy in the congressional elections last year by a mere seven points, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) swung towards the 11th Congressional District like the Eye of Sauron on some brave hobbits. They chose Councilman Domenic Recchia as a top-tier candidate who could possibly unseat Grimm, a proposition bolstered by the fact that Barack Obama, a Democrat, handily won the district of Grimm, a Republican.

Cue the money. The DCCC has been aiding the Recchia campaign with fundraising and communications, including a number of attacks on the sitting congressman that question everything from his fundraising to his friends to his intelligence.

Now the Republicans are doing the same for Grimm, adding him to a list of “vulnerable” candidates in what they call the “Patriot program.” As the DCCC does for Recchia, the National Republican Congressional Committee will do for Grimm.

CQ Roll Call reports:

The Patriot program provides fundraising and communications support to incumbents who meet certain NRCC benchmarks in their re-election campaigns. The nine Patriot program additions join 11 House Republicans whom the NRCC already deemed vulnerable.

… Rep. Michael G. Grimm in New York’s 11th District. Grimm is one of a few Republican House members who represents a district Obama carried in 2012. He won re-election by 7 points last year, defeating a lackluster Democratic nominee. But this cycle, Democrats are running New York City Councilmember Domenic Recchia, whom they have billed as a top recruit this cycle.

Presumably, the NRCC is responsible for the tone deaf advertisement released earlier this month, comparing Recchia to Hollywood villains including Star Wars‘ The Emperor and Back to the Future’s Biff.

Yeah, Biff.

This is going to be an entertaining campaign season (and a long one, since the election isn’t until November 2013). Thank goodness it’s all being coordinated on both sides by a bunch of hacks in D.C. rather than actual grassroots support.