Ayotte steps into a “mostly false” on women’s healthcare
Kelly Ayotte is rehashing an outdated conservative bill in a recent op-ed that would make birth control up to 600 bucks more expensive per year and cost women around the country more than $480 million. One big problem for Ayotte – it's the same bill that Cory Gardner sponsored last year when his argument that it would make birth control "cheaper and easier for you" was deemed “mostly false." No surprise that the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and Planned Parenthood oppose Ayotte's bill.
MEMO: Scott Walker Refusing to Answer Questions after Doubling Down on Extreme Positions
As Scott Walker gets closer and closer to announcing his run for president, he’s doubling down on extreme positions that are taking him closer and closer to the right wing conservative base. On top of that, he’s avoiding answering press questions on these positions because he only wants to talk about them to extreme audiences who share his views. In just the past couple weeks, he avoided answering press questions at CPAC in late February, after a speech to the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce last week, at the Iowa Ag Summit this past weekend, and after signing his disastrous right-to-work bill in Wisconsin yesterday. Since Scott Walker won’t talk about his positions, we’re happy to fill the void. Here’s what Walker has been up to lately:
- He insulted working families across the country when he compared union protesters to ISIS terrorists;
- He’s falsely claimed that President Reagan firing air traffic controllers made the Soviet Union take him more seriously;
- He’s attacking working families again by pushing through new right-to-work legislation after promising he wouldn’t;
MEMO: Congratulations to Koch-crony Joni
To: Interested Parties From: Brad Woodhouse, President of American Bridge 21st Century Re: Congratulations to Koch-crony Joni Date: Wednesday, June 4, 2014 Congratulations to Joni Ernst. Last night she captured the Tea Party Senate nomination in Iowa, and all she had to do was oppose the minimum wage, “philosophically” oppose renewable fuel standards, and flatter the billionaire, out-of-state Koch brothers. Ernst faced a slew of conservative candidates in the Republican primary, but ultimately, her extreme record prevailed. You can't question her Tea Party bona fides--in addition to opposing a federal minimum wage altogether, she thinks shifting a greater tax burden onto the middle class is "a great way to go." She has made the case for privatizing Social Security, supported Paul Ryan's budget to gut Medicaid and voucherize Medicare, and called for the elimination of Renewable Fuel Standards along with all other taxpayer subsidies. Her position on every one of those issues is in lockstep with the Koch agenda, and she even co-sponsored a personhood amendment, which would make some forms of contraception illegal and take away a woman's right-to-choose even in the case of rape or incest. What more could a Tea Partier ask for? Now, general election voters in Iowa can enjoy five months of getting to know Koch-crony Joni and her anti-middle class agenda.
MEMO: Thom Tillis? Bring it On
North Carolina Senate candidate Thom Tillis, foe of working families and wannabe Tea Party hero, managed to drag his feet across the finish line in today's Republican primary thanks to $2.5 million in support from establishment GOP groups like Crossroads. Now that Tillis has sufficiently touted his extreme conservative positions and record to advance from this far right primary, he is well on his way to defeat in November. Don't take my word for it - take a look at Tillis's abysmal track record in the state house and his extreme rhetoric on the campaign trail. In the state legislature, Tillis has cut education funding by nearly $500 million, bragged about rejecting federal funds for Medicaid expansion, raised taxes on 80% of North Carolinians, made it harder for North Carolinians to exercise their right to vote, and slashed funding for women's health clinics. As he scurried to the right in this bruising primary, Tillis's extreme rhetoric has been on full display. Tillis has said he would consider eliminating the minimum wage, recently claimed that climate change is not a proven fact, has said he thinks states should have the right to ban birth control, supports personhood, and joined national Tea Party leaders in supporting last fall's government shutdown. Couple Tillis's extreme views with his well documented ethical lapses and history of pay-to-play and you have a recipe for his defeat in the Tar Heel state.