It's Time to Stop Joking and Come Clean, Governors

What do scandal-embroiled Republican Governors Chris Christie and Pat McCrory have in common? Why, cracking jokes about their involvement in their respective scandals, of course. Back in December, Christie joked off his involvement in the BridgeGate lane closures, saying “I worked the cones. Unbeknownst to anyone, I was working the cones." Now, this week, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory said regarding scrutiny over the third largest coal ash spill in U.S. history, "“It’s as though I actually went there with a shovel. I’m waiting for that accusation." Enough is enough. It's time these GOP Governors stop joking and come clean with the truth about their involvement in these scandals.

Minimum Wage Increase-Opponent Rauner Counts Himself Part of the "0.01%"

Illinois gubernatorial candidate and multi-millionaire Bruce Rauner - who has said he "adamantly" opposes increasing the minimum wage - recently proclaimed himself a member of the "0.01%" wealthiest Americans in an interview with the Chicago Sun Times. Rauner owns nine homes and made $53 million last year. But that didn't stop him from saying at a gubernatorial candidate forum last fall that he is "adamantly against" increasing the minimum wage, a policy intended to help hardworking Americans better support their families and achieve a higher quality of life. Check out Rauner's out-of-touch comments against the minimum wage, which American Bridge caught on tape:

Inside the war room: Meet the Democrats who are watching every move the GOP makes

Take a peek inside American Bridge's war room on the first day of CPAC 2014 with American Bridge President Brad Woodhouse and ABC's Jeff Zeleny. Watch the video here.

Inside the war room: Meet the Democrats who are watching every move the GOP makes By Jeff Zeleny and Jordyn Phelps With one of the biggest Republican gatherings of the year in full swing at the Conservative Political Action Conference, a group of Democratic operatives in Washington is fighting back -- waging a full-out public relations war to counter CPAC. “We are kind of the central apparatus for tracking and research, really, on the progressive side. And so at an event like CPAC, we put our resources to work,” said American Bridge PAC president Brad Woodhouse, speaking to “The Fine Print” during a rare tour of the Democratic group’s so-called war room. The room is filled with rows of desks equipped with double-monitor computer screens, which a group of about 40 Democratic operatives are using to monitor and fact-check speeches at CPAC as they happen, issue rapid responses, and monitor the media and social networking sites.

Rick Scott's Real State of the State

Rick Scott has a history of election year pandering, and it was on full display during his State of the State speech today. Whether Scott's touting his dubious 700,000 jobs creation promise, flip flopping on his pledge to protect educating funding, or refusing to discuss raising the minimum wage (which he's said makes him "cringe"), billionaire Scott has shown time and again he's committed to putting his re-election prospects and self interested ahead of what's best for Florida's middle class. American Bridge took a close look at Scott's speech today, check out our new series of videos to get the truth on some of Scott's most dubious promises and claims:

Rick Scott's Real State of the State: On Jobs

Proof: Scott Walker Knew About Staff's Secret Email Network

For someone who has repeatedly denied he knew about the secret email network his staff used to conduct campaign business during government work hours, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker sure received a lot of emails sent from this network. American Bridge and our team of more than two dozen researchers reviewed all of the 27,000 pages of emails released from the Walker "John Doe" investigation recently. As reported in today's Washington Post, American Bridge discovered that Walker "was copied on 960 e-mails sent to the private e-mail addresses of public employees during work hours." That's right. Nearly one thousand emails sent to Walker on his staff's secret email network during work hours. Walker's days of culpable deniability are long gone.

American Bridge Launches BridgeGateTapes.com

Twenty-six hours of audio tapes of emergency worker dispatch calls from the four day span of BridgeGate were released at 8:30 AM today by the police department of Fort Lee, New Jersey. American Bridge was first in line to receive the tapes, and has posted them on our new website: BridgeGateTapes.com. The audio from these tapes may provide a window into the burden local law enforcement and emergency response workers shouldered while Christie's administration sought to penalize a political foe of the Governor. Christie has repeatedly claimed he knew nothing of the lane closures while they were happening, yet his public statements about this timeline have been inconsistent and imprecise, and official investigations continue into what he knew about this scandal and when.

The Big Three Questions for Scott Walker

Scott Walker on Monday called it a "slippery slope" to answer specifics about the more than 27,000 pages of emails from the "John Doe" scandal released last week because as he claims, "once you start on one thing, then there's hundreds of questions on each of those." Then on Tuesday, when he finally took questions from Wisconsin reporters, Walker continued to dodge the key question surrounding this scandal: did he know about the secret email network his staff used to conduct campaign business on government time? The evidence from the 27,000 pages of emails released last week makes a compelling case that Walker must have known. Given the volume of emails he received and responded to on it, and his directive to staff to stop using the laptops the morning before a search warrant was executed, it's nearly impossible for Walker's previous claims of ignorance to hold water. While Walker continues to deliver evasive responses to questions about his involvement in the John Doe scandal, three big questions remain unanswered: 1. Did Scott Walker know his government staff was breaking Wisconsin law by using a secret email network to conduct campaign business on government time? 2. How can Walker claim he didn't know about the secret email network when he exchanged numerous emails with then deputy chief of staff Kelly Rindfleisch’s "secret" email account during work hours? 3. Did Walker deliberately use his campaign email account to bypass public records laws, or were his campaign emails discussing county work made available to Milwaukee County’s public records officer? -Brad Woodhouse President, American Bridge 21st Century

Take the Quiz: Walker or Christie?

When Republicans bragged about their governors taking the lead for the party, the growing parallel scandals surrounding Chris Christie and Scott Walker probably weren't what they had in mind. Take American Bridge's new quiz and see just how hard it's getting to tell these two scandals apart - WalkerOrChristie.com

"Old News," Governor Walker? You wish.

Statement From American Bridge President Brad Woodhouse:

"Scott Walker says the revelations this week from the John Doe investigation are old news. Nothing could be further from the truth. "It's not old news that Scott Walker's most trusted and seniors aides traded in gross, anti-women, anti-gay, anti-Semitic, racist emails. It's not old news that Scott Walker ordered an employee fired for no other reason than she had been an underwear model. And it wasn't old news that Scott Walker ordered daily coordination between his campaign and the County Executive's office, that he knew about the secret and illegal email system used there on his behalf, or that he ordered it shutdown once the crap was getting ready to hit the fan. No, none of this was old news. "What has gotten old is Scott Walker's refusal to answer questions, his refusal to come clean with the public and his insistence on putting his personal ambition over the interests of his constituents. Another thing certainly is showing some age - his prospects for reelection and his hopes for higher office."

Walker's Front Page Troubles

It may not have happened in the NYC media market but a quick perusal of the news in WI this morning shows that the reporters on the ground who know Walker best think his knowledge of illegal staff email use is a big, and front page, story. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (that endorsed Walker) sums it up best:

"Throughout the secret investigation, as the Journal Sentinel reported, Walker maintained that he had zero tolerance for government employees doing campaign work while on the taxpayer clock. But the records detail almost daily interactions between his top county and campaign staffers...The longer he dodges questions, the more he undercuts his reputation as a straight-shooter. There are questions that need answering that only the governor can answer. The people of Wisconsin deserve those answers."

Wisconsin State Journal - FRONT PAGE - Emails show how Scott Walker blurred lines between campaign and county business Appleton Post Crescent - FRONT PAGE - Emails reveal mix of campaign, county time Oshkosh Northwestern - FRONT PAGE - Probe ties Walker to private wireless system Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - FRONT PAGE - [American Bridge] pours over emails as it targets Walker Fond du Lac Reporter - FRONT PAGE - Democrats compare Walker to Christie Janesville Gazette - FRONT PAGE - Democrats compare Walker to Christie Herald Times Reporter - FRONT PAGE - Democrats compare Walker inquiry to NJ Governor