New Video Shows “Part-Time” Cuccinelli Neglecting AG Duties To Campaign

WASHINGTON -- Today, American Bridge 21st Century released a new video demonstrating Ken Cuccinelli’s inability to fulfill his duties as Virginia’s Attorney General while he runs for governor. Shunning nearly three decades of precedent, including that of his predecessor Bob McDonnell, Cuccinelli claimed that he was able to both campaign and serve as Attorney General. However, as this video shows, Cuccinelli missed a significant portion of an important meeting of the Governor’s Task Force on School & Campus Safety while he was campaigning.

American Bridge Wins Reed Awards For Best Direct Mail Piece, IE Campaign

Arlington, VA – Campaigns & Elections announced that American Bridge 21^st Century has been awarded multiple 2013 Reed Awards for excellence in the categories of Best Direct Mail Piece of 2012 and Independent Expenditure Campaign. The awards recognized American Bridge’s groundbreaking “talking” mailer titled “Todd Akin: We’ve Heard Enough.” After first discovering and disseminating Akin’s infamous “legitimate rape” comments, American Bridge utilized the talking mailer to educate Missouri voters about Todd Akin’s extreme positions on many issues. In addition to his views on rape, the mailer showed Akin’s out-of-the-mainstream stances on Medicare, Social Security and student loans.

Ken Cuccinelli: Part-time Attorney General

The past six Attorneys General of Virginia have resigned to run for Governor, including Governor Bob McDonnell, Jerry Kilgore and Jim Gilmore -- But Ken Cuccinelli says it "wouldn't be wise" for him to step down and focus on campaigning. Will Cucinnelli keep on as a part-time Attorney General? American Bridge will keep up the pressure.

Op-Ed: How Democratic Groups Beat The Republican Super PACs In 2012

American Bridge President Rodell Mollineau penned an op-ed featured in The Daily Beast today. Below is an excerpt.

Much has already been written about the influence of outside spending on this election cycle. One could make a compelling argument that in 2010 super PACs were undervalued, especially by Democrats. Conversely, one could argue that in 2012 the impact of these groups was overestimated, this time to the detriment of Republicans. So how much impact do they have? The truth is somewhere in the middle. Like it or not, these groups have an important role, but campaigns still begin and end with the candidate’s ability to communicate a compelling vision to voters. Over the last 18 months, I think super PACs did what should be expected of them. They played a supporting role, pushed narratives, gave cover to candidates, and in some cases nudged the needle a point or two in select states and races. It just so happened that Democratic groups did a better job of this than Republicans. Here’s why.

Read the piece in its entirety here.

American Bridge Statement On 2012 Election Results

WASHINGTON -- American Bridge 21st Century president Rodell Mollineau today released the following statement regarding the results of the 2012 elections: "Last night was a vindication of those who believe that better ideas, better candidates, and better campaigns still matter in electoral politics. American Bridge would like to congratulate President Obama  the Democratic Senate majority and Democratic House victors, who will work together to move our country forward. American Bridge entered the 2012 election cycle with the belief that a strategic operation focused on opposition research, candidate tracking, and earned media communications could play a part in helping Democrats compete with the Karl Roves and Koch brothers in the outside spending race. Working alongside Priorities USA, Majority PAC, House Majority PAC, labor and all of our allies in the progressive community, we may not have matched our conservative counterparts dollar-for-dollar, but we managed to compete where it counted: the ballot box. This election shows that even in the post-Citizens United landscape, progressive messaging and superior Democratic organizations are capable or triumphing over Tea Party ideology and conservative money."

VIDEO: The GOP War On Women

In 2012, the GOP has declared war on women. American Bridge made a video explaining the GOP record on women and how to hold them accountable.

Mitt Romney: A Mass. Failure

Bay Staters already know the consequences of putting Mitt Romney in the executive office - stunted job creation, massive debt, smaller investments in education, and bigger tax breaks for millionaires. Read more about Mitt Romney here. View supporting research after the jump.

Romnopoly

If Mitt Romney wins, the middle class loses.

Read more about Mitt Romney here.

Supporting research after the jump.

Romney Adviser: Income Inequality Doesn’t Matter Because The Poor Own Microwaves

WASHINGTON -- Romney economic adviser and American Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow Kevin Hassett wrote an op-ed in today’s Wall Street Journal criticizing those concerned with the growing gap between the rich and the poor because many low income households own basic appliances, such as microwaves. Hassett’s views echo those of Mitt Romney, who has criticized Americans concerned with inequality as being driven by “envy,” and said that discussions about the topic do not belong in public, but instead be reserved for “quiet rooms.” “Growing income inequality is a major issue in this election, and a major issue for our economy. What Mitt Romney doesn’t understand is that improving the fortunes of low income Americans would expand the middle class and serve as a booster shot for our economy.” said American Bridge president Rodell Mollineau. “Video has shown us that when Mitt Romney speaks about inequality in his ‘quiet rooms,’ he does it not to address the problem, but to mock and attack his fellow Americans who are struggling. That’s not just wrong -- that's straight up mean.”

Mitt Romney's Five-Point Plan

Energy Independence

Romney’s Five Point Plan Included North American Energy Independence. According to The Los Angeles Times, “Achieve North American energy independence by increasing access to domestic fossil fuels, streamlining regulations and the permitting process, drilling offshore and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and approving the Keystone oil pipeline from Canada. ‘No. 1, we’re going to take advantage of our energy, and that’s going to create millions of jobs.’” [The Los Angeles Times, 9/15/12]

Romney Supports Ideas Similar To President Obama

Romney And Obama Had Similar Energy Plans Favoring Expanding Drilling And Natural Gas Development. According to The Washington Post, “Here are some of the highlights of the energy positions of Mitt Romney and President Obama. There are similarities. Both candidates favor expanded oil and gas drilling and support the development of natural gas resources, even with the use of controversial hydraulic fracturing techniques. Obama says he favors an ‘all of the above’ strategy and wants to further reduce U.S. reliance on foreign oil. Romney says he would aim for ‘North American energy independence,’ leaning heavily on increased imports from Canada and higher U.S. output.” [The Washington Post, 9/11/12]

Romney Supports Ideas Benefitting Wealthy Oil Companies

Central Part Of Romney’s Energy Plan Is Deregulating Oil And Gas Industry. According to Huffington Post, “A central part of the plan is taking the power to permit and license new onshore drilling on federal lands out of the hands of the federal government and putting it into the hands of the states. That means that states like Alaska or North Dakota, which is enjoying a massive oil boom under the current regulatory regime, would be able to allow drilling on federal lands with no oversight from Washington. North Dakota stands out, in particular, as it is where Romney’s top energy adviser, oil billionaire Harold Hamm, is making his fortune. Hamm, whose stump speech is only three words, ‘Beat Barack Obama,’ has given $985,000 to Restore Our Future and raised money for the Romney campaign. He would profit greatly from this change in policy as his company, Continental Resources, would be freed to drill beyond the Bakken fields in North Dakota using techniques including hydraulic fracking and horizontal drilling.” [Huffington Post, 8/24/12]

Improve Education

Romney’s Five Point Plan Included Improving Education Through School Choice And Changing Teacher Hiring. According to The Los Angeles Times, “Improve education and job training, in part by increasing school choice and changing the way teachers are hired and evaluated. ‘We’ve got fix our schools.... It’s time for us to put the kids and the parents and the teachers first, and the teachers union behind.’” [The Los Angeles Times, 9/15/12]

Romney Deferred Education Funds To States For Private School Vouchers

Romney’s Education Policy Gave Federal Funds To States But Did Not Force Or Encourage Them To Expand School Choice. According to a Time op-ed, “Romney and other Republicans know they’re using a great talking point when they complain that the President is against allowing poor kids in Washington’s beleaguered public schools to attend better schools, especially when Obama’s own kids attend a highly-regarded private school in the city. But as policy, Romney’s blueprint is pretty weak soup because it doesn’t force — or even do much to encourage — states to expand choice. It merely says that federal dollars will defer to states and cities that decide to allow private-school vouchers.” [Time, Op-Ed, 6/14/12] Romney’s Education Policy Was Similar To “Pro-Voucher” Report From The Hoover Institution. According to The New York Times, “Mr. Romney’s policy seems closely inspired by a pro-voucher report issued in February by the conservative Hoover Institution. Five of eight members of a task force that produced the report are among the 19 education advisers the Romney campaign named last month. Once thought to be moribund, the voucher movement was revived by gains Republicans made in the 2010 midterm elections. Fourteen states since then have introduced or expanded private school vouchers, according to the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice.” [The New York Times, 6/11/12]

Romney’s Open-Enrollment Mandate For School Districts Were More Burdensome Than No Child Left Behind

Romney’s Open-Enrollment Requirement Had “Massive” Loophole Because Transfer Student Capacity Could Not Be Easily Verified. According to a Time op-ed, “There’s a massive loophole that lets everyone off the hook. The one tantalizing part of Romney’s proposal is his requirement for states to adopt open-enrollment policies that disregard school-district boundaries for public schools. That would be a big deal for poor parents. Open enrollment in theory would give inner-city kids and other kids stuck with lousy school options the chance to attend better public schools elsewhere. But there are two problems. First, as my former colleague, Erin Dillon, showed in a 2008 Education Sector analysis, there are just not enough good schools within a reasonable distance for these kids to commute to. Romney’s proposal also leaves a loophole wide enough to render the open-enrollment provision meaningless because it hinges on schools having sufficient ‘capacity’ to accept transfer students. That’s the same hazard that doomed No Child Left Behind’s public-school choice provisions. Don’t want students transferring in? Then make sure you have no capacity, a metric that is difficult to verify.” [Time, Op-Ed, 6/14/12] Romney’s Open-Enrollment Policy Would Require A “More Invasive Mandate” On States Than No Child Left Behind. According to a Time op-ed, “And in case you slept through the last several years, Republicans are against heavy-handed federal intervention in schools right now. They want to scrap the 10-year-old No Child law, which merely required states to come up with school accountability systems. It’s politically inconceivable that a President Romney would replace that law with a much more invasive mandate on states to essentially scrap school district boundaries and have a federal hand in deciding which students get to attend which schools.” [Time, Op-Ed, 6/14/12] Read the full report after the jump.