What do Rick Scott and Mitt Romney have in common?
As billionaire Florida Governor Rick Scott prepares to campaign with fellow out-of-touch rich guy Mitt Romney this evening, Floridians should take a close look at what else Scott and Romney have in common: Rick Scott ran a company that paid a record fine for committing Medicare fraud, while Mitt Romney was director of a company that stole millions from Medicare. Rick Scott's record is bad for Florida seniors and bad for the middle class.
New American Bridge Web Ad Targets Koch Agenda
American Bridge is launching a new online ad campaign to fight back against the Koch-funded Americans For Prosperity attacks on Democrats running for Senate this year. Bridge's new web ad, available here, begins running today and targets online searches for the Koch brothers in five states where AFP's ads have been especially criticized or debunked: Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, and Michigan. As the New York Times has reported, the Kochs and AFP's real agenda is "convincing Americans that big government is bad government." Already this cycle the Koch's AFP has spent $30 million attacking Democrats in contested Senate races. Yet many of AFP's ads have received harsh criticism for using paid actors implying they are local residents, vastly exaggerating claims against the Affordable Care Act, and even featuring a woman whose health care costs would be lower under the new law. Bridge's new web campaign brings voters the truth behind these attacks. Check out American Bridge's new web ad: https://youtu.be/LZmhOT0LzFs
"God Bless the Koch Brothers" – David Vitter
American Bridge caught Senator David Vitter at a town hall in Blanchard, Louisiana earlier this week discussing his affinity for the Koch brothers. In Vitter's words, "they're fighting for our freedom." Watch the video here:
Meet Out-of-Touch Billionaire Bruce Rauner
Republican Bruce Rauner - owner of nine homes, earner of $53 million last year, and self proclaimed member of the ".01%" wealthiest Americans - eeked out a meager victory tonight to become the GOP nominee for Illinois governor. With his staunch opposition to raising the minimum wage, out-of-touch billionaire Rauner is the latest face in the "rebranded" Republican Party, which continues to appear anti-middle class, anti-woman, anti-immigrant, and anti-gay. American Bridge is on top of the real Bruce Rauner with our new video here.
VIDEO: Republican Rebrand: New Year, Same Old Party
From the Party that brought you "legitimate rape" and "forty seven percent" in 2012, what did you expect after its self-imposed autopsy of 2013? The new, improved GOP of the past 365 days has included such classics as Rep. Don Young reminiscing about hiring "wetbacks," Senator Saxby Chambliss blaming sexual assault on "hormones," Iowa Rep. Steve King...being Steve King, Michigan Republicans trying to ban insurance from covering abortion services for rape victims, and Rep. Steve Pearce claiming wives should "voluntarily submit" to their husbands. On the anniversary of this momentous shift in the GOP's strategy, American Bridge brings you the Republican Rebrand: New Year, Same Old Party.
Bridge President Brad Woodhouse on GOP Rebrand: New year, same old party
Following the shellacking Republicans took in 2012, the party conducted a much-hyped autopsy in the hopes of identifying the cause of the GOP’s recent demise. One year later, Republicans are congratulating themselves on the “progress” they’ve made. Who are they kidding? Back in reality, nothing has changed. The autopsy depicted a Republican Party whose policies and rhetoric were anti-gay, anti-woman, anti-immigrant, and anti-middle class. One year later, the Republican Party is still anti-gay, anti-woman, anti-immigrant, and anti-middle class. The lessons of the GOP autopsy remain unlearned, as the italicized quotes from the GOP "Growth & Opportunity Project" report from March 18, 2013 emphasize.
“Young voters are increasingly rolling their eyes at what the party represents.”
While the American people, and especially younger voters, have made great strides in accepting and promoting equality for LGBT Americans, Republican leaders have desperately clung to their record of intolerance and homophobic bigotry. In his first gubernatorial debate last summer, then-Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli called homosexuality a “personal challenge.” Instead of applauding the courts that have defended the constitutional rights of LGBT Americans to equal protection under the laws, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) said that these judges “need some basic plumbing lessons.” Perhaps Republicans could use a history lesson on our nation’s progress on civil rights.VIDEO: Rick Scott Categorically Denies Question on Record of Education Cuts
Rick Scott was asked yesterday at an event in South Florida about his track record of making cuts to education funding. Rather than dignifying the question with a response, Scott categorically denied the premise - saying "all that's incorrect" and immediately pivoting away from the question. Scott's rationale for denying and evading the question is obvious: he doesn't want to talk about the billions in education funding that were cut during his tenure as governor, especially not with his re-election prospects hanging in the balance.
Remember Scott Brown? We do…
Scott Brown's 2012 campaign for Senate in Massachusetts was a wealth of Wall Street-loving, Conan O'Brien-plagiarizing, Obamacare-hating, Tea Party-adoring, Romney joke-sharing, anti-environmental-protecting, anecdote-stealing hypocrisy. Now that he's looking to stick his toe back into the Senate waters of Massachuse... New Hampshire, American Bridge reminds you of the best of Brown's 2012 campaign.
Republican Candidates for Senate in Georgia at it Again
First, it was unemployment benefits. Each and every one of the Republican candidates for Senate in Georgia raised their hands when asked whether they oppose extending unemployment benefits for struggling Americans. Now, we've learned that the major candidates in this Republican primary have all declared their opposition to increasing the minimum wage. See for your self in this video from a candidate forum at the National Federation of Independent Businesses Georgia Small Business Day last month:
Christie Plays Politics with 9/11 Wreckage
Chris Christie's administration closed lanes onto the George Washington Bridge to punish the mayor of Fort Lee for refusing to endorse the governor, but it wasn't the first time his office used an aggressive carrot/stick approach on those with whom the governor sought to curry favor. As the New York Times reported yesterday, Christie gave pieces of wreckage from the World Trade Center attack on 9/11 as political favors to "20 carefully chosen New Jersey mayors who sat atop a list of 100 whose endorsements Gov. Chris Christie hoped to win." Check out American Bridge's new video on Christie's despicable use of these 9/11 artifacts as political gifts: