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Josh Mandel Wednesday, Dec 13 2017

FACT SHEET: American Bridge's Alabama Impact

Dec 13, 2017

“We engaged from the start because we knew that Roy Moore was a historic disgrace, and we knew we had a shot to win. We were aggressive from the beginning because we believe Democrats need to compete everywhere in a cycle like this one is shaping up to be. Count on progressives to keep fighting and keep winning up and down the ballot in 2018,” said American Bridge Chairman David Brock.

Since before Roy Moore won the primary, American Bridge was engaged in Alabama:

1. In the final days of the Senate race in Alabama, American Bridge launched a five-figure digital ad campaign, targeting persuadable Republican voters with two messages as we approached election day:

– Our write-in ad encouraged Alabamians to follow the example of Sen. Richard Shelby and write in a respected leader instead of voting for Roy Moore. Our push was covered in Sports IllustratedMcClatchyTalking Points MemoSB NationThe Washington Post, and Politico.  

– Our ad “Predator” highlighted Moore’s disturbing pattern as a judge of siding with rapists from the bench.

2. American Bridge began defining Moore before he even won the primary. We were the first group to attack Roy Moore after the primary, pointing the path for Democrats to attack 2018 Senate candidates around the country. 

– Our research report, released the day of the primary, on Moore’s past actions and statements was covered by NBC, and The New RepublicRoll Call, and MSNBC.

– Within 100 hours of Moore’s victory we deployed a tracker on the ground in Alabama.

– We launched ads against Sen. Dean Heller, Rep. Martha McSally, and Ohio State Treasurer Josh Mandel, which were covered by the Nevada Independent and HuffPo.

– Our continuing efforts to hold Senators accountable for Roy Moore’s behavior was covered by PoliticoAxiosHuffPo, and NBC News.

– When prominent Republican Senators, including Majority Whip John Cornyn, fundraised for Roy Moore in early November, American Bridge captured the footage and promised to use it against Republicans in the 2018 elections. Reporters who wrote about this included PoliticoNBC and the Washington Examiner.

3. Doug Jones’s ad attacking Roy Moore on early childhood education used research discovered by American Bridge.

– In the ad, Jones says, “Roy Moore compares preschool and early childhood education to Nazi indoctrination.” That comes from a HuffPost story based on comments Moore made first identified by American Bridge.

4. We dug through more than 20 years’ of Moore’s comments, unearthing some of his most inflammatory statements, which went viral and helped to mobilize Democrats around the country:

– Talking Points Memo: Roy Moore: Supreme Court Gay Marriage Ruling Was ‘Worse’ Than Upholding Slavery In Dred Scott
– Huffington Post: Roy Moore Once Compared Preschool To Nazi-Style Indoctrination
– Talking Points Memo: Roy Moore Once Compared Manson Family to Gay Marriage

5. When President Trump campaigned for Moore in Pensacola, FL, American Bridge trolled the rally with a mobile billboard of Ivanka Trump’s “special place in hell” comments.

– The billboard was covered by over a dozen outlets including The Washington PostNewsweekTampa Bay Times,HuffPostThe HillWashington ExaminerRaw StoryDaily Kos, and Bustle.

6. American Bridge uncovered previously “missing” evidence of Moore abusing his so-called charity. 

– American Bridge exclusively obtained a copy of Roy Moore’s foundation’s tax form from 2015, which AL.com had reported as “missing” in August, exposing likely self-dealing by the Moore family through their corrupt foundation.

– The form was reported in AL.com, and revealed that Moore had added another family member to the board of his foundation and was likely paying his daughter’s company to plan his speaking engagements.


Published: Dec 13, 2017 | Last Modified: Apr 21, 2021

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