American Bridge 21st Century released the following statement on Blake Masters winning the Arizona Republican U.S. Senate primary after Big Tech billionaire Peter Thiel spent over $15 million to buy his employee the GOP nomination:
“From calling for the privatization of Social Security to advocating for cuts to Medicare to backing a total abortion ban, Blake Masters has repeatedly proven he cannot be trusted,” said American Bridge 21st Century spokesperson Aidan Johnson. “Masters is running to advance his own financial interests and those of his California Big Tech billionaire boss. If elected in November, he will quickly throw Arizonans under the bus for personal profit.”
During the course of his primary campaign, Masters repeatedly used his platform to shill for his own financial interests, as well as those of Peter Thiel — raising serious questions about whether he will be capable of separating himself from the interests of his former employer:
- Aired a campaign ad that promoted technology linked to his billionaire backer and former Big Tech boss:
- In an ad on immigration and the border, Masters included footage of a security system that appeared “to come from Anduril Industries, a company Thiel has invested in with hundreds of millions in government contracts.”
- Praised the two largest Thiel-backed corporations in interviews to kick off his candidacy:
- In an interview, Masters plugged Palantir and Anduril, saying he wouldn’t rule out advocating for the corporations as a senator.
- Hawked signed Peter Thiel books for $100 campaign donations:
- Masters used his campaign to promote Thiel’s book, even though the royalties appear to by default go straight to Thiel Capital, an entity that “compensates Masters hundreds of thousands of dollars for book sales.”
- Masters’ campaign has also held two NFT sweepstakes connected to the book, “both of which offer donors an array of Thiel-adjacent prizes, including hardcover copies signed and personalized by both co-authors.”
- Advertised private dinners with Peter Thiel for max dollar donors:
- As a part of a promotion for max dollar donations, the Masters’ campaign offered a number of Thiel-connected prizes, including a “private dinner in Los Angeles with Masters and Thiel (with $2,000 travel stipend).”
- Proselytized right-wing alternative video platforms and search engines backed by Peter Thiel:
- On the campaign trail, Masters has praised Rumble, a Thiel-backed platform, calling it a “really good company.”
- He has also bragged about an alternative search engine, Brave, saying he would “recommend the Brave browser and the Brave search engine.”
And when it comes to the issues, Masters has likewise shown he can’t be trusted to put Arizona families and workers first:
- Supports a plan to privatize Social Security and cut Medicare:
- Masters has said, “[W]e have to” cut Medicare and Social Security spending, arguing the government must “cut the knot at some point” and even endorsing Social Security privatization.
- Supports totally outlawing abortion — without any exceptions:
- Masters has repeatedly called for a federal personhood law outlawing all abortions nationally and supported Arizona’s near-total abortion ban.
- Blamed “black people, frankly” for gun violence in America:
- After shootings in Texas and Buffalo, Masters acknowledged that the United States has a gun violence problem but blamed the problem on “Black people, frankly.”
- Coopted the racist, white nationalist “great replacement” conspiracy theory:
- Masters has repeatedly used replacement theory rhetoric, warning voters of a made-up immigrant invasion that he threatens will “change the demographics of our country.” Masters even doubled down on his white nationalist creed mere hours after the Buffalo shooting.
- Backs the privatization of Arizona’s water resources:
- Masters has backed a proposal that would lead to private control of Arizona’s water supply. When asked “would you support transferring water resources to private ownership” Masters responded by saying “in general, yes” because “the state can’t do it and you don’t want the government doing a lot of this stuff.”
- Attacked Griswold v. Connecticut, the Supreme Court decision that protects contraception access:
- Masters called the Griswold decision “wrongfully decided,” attacking the decision and its underlying protections that prevent states from banning access to contraception.
- Opposes the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and its $7 billion+ for Copper State jobs, workers, and communities:
- Masters has slammed the bill as “complete crap” and “one of the worst deals […] I could imagine”;
- Supports repealing the ACA which would let insurance companies charge higher premiums to older Americans and people with pre-existing conditions:
- Masters called the law a “disaster,” despite the fact that repealing ACA would be devastating for Arizonans — gutting coverage protections for 1.1 million individuals with pre-existing conditions and spiking health costs across the board.
- Opposes marriage equality — and says he’d support letting states ban LGBTQ+ individuals from getting married.
- Masters has said same-sex marriage should be banned, even though he attended the same-sex wedding of his billionaire Big Tech backer Peter Thiel.
But don’t just take it from us — even Masters’ fellow Arizona Republicans say he can’t be trusted:
- Mark Brnovich attacked Masters for his out-of-state funding saying “California already has two Senators. Do they need a third?”
- Jim Lamon created an ad that featured a puppet Blake Masters. In it, Lamon accused Masters of being a Peter Thiel puppet and said voters should “not trust” him.
- Lamon also said that when voters “think about Blake make sure you think about Peter Thiel knocking on that Senate door, Blake, I want my 10 million dollar’s worth of my investment.”
- Lamon accused the Silicon Valley Californian of being a “true fake” who has “no business experience of his own, never created a job, [and] never served in the military” before he decided to run for Senate and “become a chameleon.”
- Brnovich attacked Masters on Big Tech, saying voters shouldn’t trust someone “that’s financed by big tech and made all their money in big tech.”
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Published: Aug 3, 2022 | Last Modified: Aug 15, 2022