Leaps of faith, unanswered questions
The press conference today and accompanying report supposedly exonerating Chris Christie of any wrongdoing in the Bridgegate scandal make quite a few leaps of faith when it comes to accepting Christie's self defense at face value, and leaves even more questions unanswered. Given that no original documents were released along with the report, and despite the $1 million price tag for New Jersey taxpayers of this investigation, we're left with few answers and only more questions about Chris Christie's involvement in this scandal. Here are our top five: 1) Attorney Randy Mastro asserted that Christie had no reason to remember discussions of bridge lane closings and resulting traffic with David Wildstein on September 11, 2013, but he also started that "people lie, documents don't." Why is Chris Christie any less likely to lie than David Wildstein? 2) Port Authority Chairman David Samson did not cooperate with this internal Bridgegate investigation. Will Chris Christie hold him accountable for refusing to follow Christie's own directive that members of his administration would cooperate? 3) Why were questions about the Christie/Samson meeting in August 2013 ignored by Attorney Randy Mastro? When asked, Mastro responded, “If you give me your name and number, I’ll get back to you.” 4) Christie attorney Randy Mastro claimed he examined Christie's phone logs and text messages, but he never discussed whether any messages from August and September 2013 were recovered. Does this mean there is evidence that Christie selectively deleted portions of his text message history? 5) When will the Christie administration publicly release all of the documentation they handed over to their attorneys for this sham investigation? Will the evidence provided for this investigation be turned over to the legislative committee investigating Bridegate?
Rick Scott's Latino Outreach: March Edition
It's no secret that Rick Scott, like many Republicans, is struggling to reach out to young and Latino voters. Last month, Scott attempted to up his Latino outreach with what appeared to be an awfully convenient election-year change of heart to "consider" giving in-state tuition to DREAMers. Now? Mike Fernandez, Scott's finance co-chair, has quit and emails from Fernandez have surfaced claiming that "his Hispanic business partner was subjected to “cultural insensitivity” by campaign aides on their way to a Mexican restaurant." Check out American Bridge's new video on the Scott Campaign's Latino Outreach - March Edition: https://youtu.be/BFaA1XAIzDE
What You Need to Know Before Chris Christie "Clears" Himself
To: Interested Parties From: Brad Woodhouse, President of American Bridge Subject: What You Need to Know Before Chris Christie "Clears" Himself Date: Thursday, March 27, 2014 Governor Chris Christie's taxpayer-funded attorneys today will release a report that supposedly "clears" Christie of any wrongdoing in the scandal known as Bridgegate. This report, which was conducted by a firm with close ties to Christie, involved analysis of documents the Christie administration failed to provide to the state legislative committee investigating the scandal. In other words, Christie's defense team gave themselves a first look at everything - and now, they are continuing to keep those documents shielded from public view. The firm that conducted the investigation has close ties to Christie. One of their attorneys even received a lucrative contract from Christie’s office as U.S. Attorney as part of a deferred prosecution agreement. Christie’s use of deferred prosecution agreements has come under fire in the past as a tool he used to reward allies. What's more, this self-investigation failed to interview key players whom we know to be involved the scandal – Bridget Anne Kelly, Bill Stepien, and David Wildstein. Without those interviews, any exoneration is suspect. But the most egregious piece of Christie's bogus self-exoneration is that it has come at a cost of $1 million of taxpayer money. The Star Ledger has called on Christie to return the taxpayer funds that were used for this farce, and I think most New Jerseyans would agree that their hard earned money could be put to much better use than "clearing" Christie in a scandal created by his own administration.
Ed Gillespie & Mitt Romney's 47% Problem
As Ed Gillespie prepares to campaign with Mitt Romney in New York City this evening, Virginia voters should take a look at Gillespie's record as a surrogate for Romney's losing presidential campaign in 2012. When Romney's infamous "47 percent" comments came to light, disparaging millions of Americans like seniors who rely on Social Security and veterans who receive benefits from their service to the country, Ed Gillespie came to Romney's defense. Gillespie backed up Romney's comments when asked about it during an appearance on the Today Show, saying: "that's political analysis, that's not a governing philosophy."
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.