WHY 2012

Campaign rhetoric can be feisty. But when a member of the U.S. House of Representatives – like Joe Walsh - makes personal attacks on his opponent or other public figures, it’s inexcusable. His attacks have been baseless, vile, and completely unrelated to issues in the campaign. Rep. Joe Walsh does not have the content or character or someone who should be representing the people of Illinois – or anyone in the United States.

Here’s a look at some of his most objectionable and recent attacks.

When Sean Hannity is begging and pleading for you to end your Senate campaign – as he just did, two days in a row with Congressman Todd Akin – then surely you’re in dire straits.

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I’m as big a fan of funny internet parodies and tongue-in-cheek memes as anyone: @JillBidenVeep, @feministhulk, @LOLGOP, @FakeAPStyleBook, McKayla Maroney is NOT Impressed, Honest Toddler, Ryan Gosling’s Hey Girl, Hey Girl, It's Paul Ryan...the list goes on.

But when you have to resort to sexist and disgusting rhetoric to make a point, you’re not only not funny, but you’ve gone too far.

“We’ve been saying it for months – and we just keep proving it – 2012 is shaping up to be an historic year for Democratic women.” – Stephanie Schriock, EMILY’s List President

Last summer, 17-year-old Savannah Dietrich was sexually assaulted by two teenage boys. Not only did they attack her, they also took photographs of the incident and shared with others. The two teenage boys recently accepted what Dietrich found to be a lenient plea bargain and have yet to be sentenced. In the meantime, court rules legally prevented Dietrich from ever speaking publicly about her attack and its perpetrators.

CBS News Chief White House correspondent Norah O’Donnell recently invited EMILY’s List president Stephanie Schriock and leading political strategists Leslie Sanchez, Michelle Bernard, and Maria Cardona to a Google+ Hangout. The issue du jour? The war on women and the importance of women voters in the upcoming election.

This year, more than ever before, EMILY’s List will be outspent by conservative super PACs and shadow organizations that are flooding our races with anonymous, special-interest money. But EMILY’s List isn’t backing down. Since Speaker Boehner and his Tea Party allies took over the House of Representatives, our membership has grown from 400,000 members to over 1.5 million — and people are noticing.

EMILY’s List candidate Tammy Duckworth (IL-08) piloted a Black Hawk helicopter when it was hit with a rocket-propelled grenade in Iraq. She lost both her legs and part of her arm in the blast, but she landed the helicopter successfully. Val Demings (FL-08) was the daughter of a janitor who grew up to be Orlando’s first-ever female Chief of Police. While she was chief, the city’s violent crime rate dropped by 40 percent.