The Hill: Sen. Lugar calls for 'fair tax' in web video
On June 2, 2011, The Hill reported:
Indiana Sen. Dick Lugar (R) said outlined his support for the so-called fair tax in a web video released to supporters on Thursday. Lugar said he'd support tax reforms that abolish the IRS and replace the federal income tax with a national retail sales tax. There is currently legislation based on the fair tax plan pending in Congress, but observers say it has little chance of becoming law.
POLITICO: Akin invokes Joplin tornado to attack McCaskill
On June 2, 2011, POLITICO reported:
You'd think of all things, the Joplin, Mo. tornado that took 134 lives might be spared from partisan politics. But Rep. Todd Akin is invoking the historic twister in a fundraising email against Democrat Claire McCaskill -- a eye-raising move that is making even some Republicans uncomfortable as the clean-up continues in southwest Missouri.
Boston Globe: Small-scale donations dwindling for Brown
On may 31, 2011, the Boston Globe reported:
The torrent of small campaign contributions from around the country that flooded GOP Senator Scott Brown’s campaign coffers ahead of his special election last year has all but dried up, as the excitement generated by his campaign has faded and some of his votes have disillusioned rank-and-file conservatives.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Todd Akin votes in Town and Country, but does he live there?
On May 31, 2011, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported: Akin's office says he lives in Wildwood. Tax documents show Akin…
POLITICO: Iraq, Iran…
On May 26, 2011, POLITICO reported:
A trail goof for Pawlenty, who fielded a question on Iran policy with an answer on Iraq policy in a video sent over by the new Democratic group American Bridge, in what seems to be its first tracking hit:Transcript after the jump.
POLITICO: American Bridge: Democrats' new oppo shop
If you’re wondering where all the footage for Democratic attack ads will come from, look no further. For 2012, American Bridge will be the Democrats’ unofficial opposition research wing.
PolitiFact: 'Full Flop' for Scott Brown
On May 23, 2011, Politifact reported:
Did Scott Brown flip-flop on supporting Paul Ryan's budget plan?
Bloomberg: Democratic Groups Pool Money Efforts to Take On Rove, Republicans in 2012
Three Democratic political groups will team up with a new organization founded by former White House aides to try to keep President Barack Obama in office and win House and Senate seats in 2012, parroting a strategy deployed successfully by Republicans last year.
Mother Jones: Inside the Democrats' Outside Money Machine
The last piece of the equation is American Bridge 21st Century, the brainchild of media guru David Brock. Brock is the founder of Media Matters for America, the liberal media watchdog that, in seven years, Brock has grown from a three-person shop to a $10-million-plus operation employing upwards of 90 researchers, trackers, and more. Now, Brock is looking to replicate that success in the arena of electoral politics. American Bridge will serve as a clearinghouse of opposition research and candidate tracking that will feed information to the other three independent expenditure groups for use in TV ads, mailers, or other advertisements. It won't look like your typical oppo research shop, said a Bridge official who requested anonymity to discuss early planning. Traditionally, an outside research firm would dig up everything it can find on a candidate and then hand over a thousand-page tome stuffed into a three-ring binder. Bridge officials, however, want "to make it a living, breathing operation," says the official. That could mean publishing the group's research and tracking on a standalone website, and maintaining constantly updated profiles of GOP candidates available to the public.
AP: Snowe, facing primary fight, shifts to right on votes
On May 7, 2011, the Associated Press reported:
Maine’s Olympia Snowe has long thrived as one of the Senate’s leading GOP moderates, but she has recently sided with Tea Party movement activists on high-profile votes as she braces for a primary challenge from the right. Such votes could help Snowe fend off conservatives who mock her as a RINO — Republican In Name Only — and hope to sink her bid for a fourth term next year. Snowe insisted she has been true to her moderate roots. “I am who I am,’’ Snowe said. “I haven’t changed.’’