American Bridge & Correct The Record Launch Joint Rapid Response Project Around Benghazi Select Committee Hearings

As first reported in Politico, American Bridge and Correct the Record today are launching a new joint rapid response project to prebut, fact check, and respond to the upcoming Benghazi Select Committee hearings. The new effort, modeled after a formal debate operation, will include a central online hub for research and rapid response - the Benghazi Research Center - accessible at BenghaziCommittee.com.

Get the Facts: Benghazi Research Center

The loss of life in Benghazi was a tragedy but the questions of what happened that night have already been asked and answered. President Obama & Secretary Clinton have taken responsibility, taken action to prevent it from happening again, and been transparent throughout this process. Republicans have no credibility on this issue and are wasting taxpayer dollars on these sham hearings to ask questions that have already been answered, all for political gain: both to drive up their base turnout in 2014 and to go after Secretary Clinton for 2016. Secretary Clinton has taken responsibility and action. She established a nonpartisan commission of Mike Mullen & Thomas Pickering, who made twenty-nine recommendations to improve security, and she began implementation of them all. She was transparent while doing so and made the report and recommendations public. By deciding to implement the 29 ARB recommendations, Secretary Clinton has done more to get to the bottom of Benghazi, and prevent it from happening again, than any of those who will attack her as part of these sham hearings. To learn more, visit the Benghazi Research Center at BenghaziCommittee.com.

Thom Tillis to Campaign with Fellow Education Raider, Chris Christie

The Thom Tillis campaign is in freefall. For months and months, conventional wisdom had pegged North Carolina as one of Republicans' best pickup opportunities in the Senate. But disarray in Raleigh under the House Speaker's leadership, a disastrous budget overhaul that gutted education spending to give massive cuts to the wealthy, and a sustained disrespect toward women have left Tillis in a decisive hole. Four separate polls came out this week showing Hagan up by an average of over 5 points, leading even a GOP pollster to say, "the race has unmistakably shifted towards Sen. Hagan in recent days." So Tillis is calling in some help to stop the bleeding, in the form of one-time GOP presidential frontrunner Chris Christie. Well the two should have plenty to talk about. They can talk about budget problems. They can talk about ethics questions. But most importantly, they can talk about how each of them took an axe to funding for education, hurting schools and angering constituents. Thom Tillis has a lot to learn about putting his constituents first. Chris Christie is the least qualified person to teach him.

New Video Shows Sen. Pat Roberts Taking Credit for Farm Bill He Voted Against

New tracking footage from American Bridge shows Pat Roberts discussing the importance of the Farm Bill with members of the produce industry at a United Fresh Conference last week. Roberts states plainly that "we passed the Farm Bill," before getting into details about the specifics of implementation. Only there's  one problem: "we" didn't pass the farm bill, per se. Pat Roberts in fact was one of only 32 senators who voted against the Farm Bill, which luckily for Kansas, passed easily without his help.

Headline Speaks for Itself: "Rand Paul Vows to Repeal Every Prior Executive Order If Elected President"

Here's what Rand Paul said to a crowd of Tea Party supporters in New Hampshire last night:

"I think the first executive order that I would issue would be to repeal all previous executive orders,” Paul replied to resounding cheers through the Manchester pub, named for the beer bearing the namesakes of American revolutionary Sam Adams."

Don't take our word for it, Paul's comment was reported by Breitbart.com - not exactly a left-leaning news source. Said Paul in the Breitbart article: “Signing statements, altering legislation by the president, are wrong and unconstitutional and shouldn’t happen. Executive orders shouldn’t either.” [Breitbart.com, 9/11/14] More than ten thousand executive orders have been issued over the course of the nation’s history to make progress on critical issues like civil rights, national security and more. Now that Paul has expressed his commitment to rescinding each and every one of these executive orders, we would like to hear more details from him on why he would like to reverse these landmark efforts, including:

• The Emancipation Proclamation, President Abraham Lincoln, 1863: The proclamation declared “that all persons held as slaves” within the rebellious states “are, and henceforward shall be free.”
• Executive Order 9981, President Harry Truman, 1948: Ended racial discrimination in the U.S. Armed Forces.
• Executive Order 10834, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1959: Established specifications for the design of the current United States flag.
• Executive Order 10925, President John F. Kennedy, 1961: Ensured equal employment opportunities in the federal government, barring discrimination based on “race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.”
• Executive Order 11063, President John F. Kennedy, 1962: Mandated an end to housing discrimination based on race.
• Executive Order 11905, President Gerald Ford, 1976: Banned political assassinations.
• Executive Order 11245, President Barack Obama, 2014: Prohibited workplace discrimination based on gender identity, in addition to sexual orientation in the federal government and within companies that contract with the federal government.

Lest you think this was merely a misspeak, we're here to remind you that just last month, in an interview with a local Kentucky NPR station, Senator Paul vowed that he would use executive orders "only to undo executive orders. There's thousands of them that can be undone."

The Cold Hard Truth About Doug Ducey's Cold Stone Legacy

The Wall Street Journal reported this week on the "10 worst franchise brands in terms of Small Business Administration loan defaults." Despite touting its rampant success as a reason he would make a good governor, Republican Doug Ducey's Cold Stone Creamery was found near the top of that list, with its franchisees "defaulting at more than double the rate for SBA borrowers who invested in" other chains, per the Journal's analysis. Like an ice cream cone in the summer heat, Cold Stone's business plan, for which Ducey has claimed credit, created a sticky mess for many franchise owners. Numerous franchisees have been quoted saying Cold Stone's business model was "defective" and pushed the cost of running a store so high that it was difficult for individuals owners to make a profit. Franchisees have called Ducey's business practices "deceptive," and said the company's business model pushed personal bankruptcies, cost savings, and homes. What does Doug Ducey have to say to Ken Gornall, who was left to fend for himself using his personal savings when his Cold Stone business was struggling - and eventually had to file for bankruptcy and lost his house? When asked by the press, Cold Stone declined to comment.

New Online Ad: Bruce Rauner: Adamantly Against What's Right for Illinois

Today, American Bridge is releasing a new online ad highlighting billionaire Bruce Rauner's attacks on minimum wage workers in Illinois.…

New Web Ad: Scott Walker's Ditch

American Bridge is releasing a new web ad today highlighting Scott Walker's failed economic record. The governor was once considered…

New Web Ad: Ducey Misleads On His Record At Coldstone

Former Cold Stone Creamery CEO Doug Ducey has repeatedly bragged about building his ice cream empire without any help from the…

Thom Tillis tries to mansplain away his contraceptives contradiction

In last week's North Carolina Senate debate, Speaker Thom Tillis declared his support for over the counter access to birth control, a statement that flies in the face of not only his earlier comments on contraceptives in particular, but his broader record on reproductive rights. Tillis' proclamation in last week's debate, no doubt a deliberate attempt to whitewash his position on these issues in the face of a significant gender gap in the race, rightfully earned the scorn of his hometown paper, the Charlotte Observer. The paper's Sunday editorial referred to Tillis' contraceptives comments as having the "pungent odor of politicking," considering his previous support for defunding Planned Parenthood and dangerous personhood amendments that could severely limit access to or even criminalize women's health services. The Observer notes that his support for over the counter birth control is "quite the turnaround," given that earlier this year, during his bid to secure the GOP nomination for Senate, Tillis agreed with his fellow GOP candidates that states should be able to ban contraceptives, according to a report from the Raleigh News & Observer.

Two More Months To Enjoy Scott Brown's Hilarious Campaign

Republicans have their candidate in the New Hampshire senate race. But he'll be the first to tell you, he's not from New Hampshire.

Beyond that obvious shortcoming, Scott Brown comes with plenty of non-carpet baggage as well. As he enters a new stage in his disastrous attempt to become a New Hampshirite and then become a New Hampshire senator, here are the top 10 lowlights from his haphazard campaign thus far:

1. He said, "I'm not going to create one job" as Senator of New Hampshire -- although he seemed more interested in job creation in Massachusetts. [VIDEO]
2. In an attempt to close a massive deficit among female voters, Brown awkwardly dished out "hero awards" to female supporters, at least one of whom was confused, embarrassed, and not even sure who she would vote for.
3. He woke up to this lovely headline about sitting on the board at Kadant: "Brown’s $270K income from Mass. company exporting jobs overseas belies campaign promises"
4. In his attempt to pander to the right during primary season, Brown made a fool of himself by denying that man-made climate change was scientifically proven -- in direct contradiction with his position from 2012.
5. He got clobbered for helping to tank Jeanne Shaheen's bipartisan energy bill -- which was supported by Kelly Ayotte -- just to try to strip her of an accomplishment to run on.
6. He abruptly resigned from an advisory role at obscure Florida-based company froom which he had received $1.3 million in stock after questions began to swirl over the business's practices and his involvement.