See Rick Scott Run
Rick Scott is running for reelection, but he's better at running from questions. Time and time again reporters have asked Scott where he stands on key issues, only to have Scott duck and run. Maybe that's because he knows his positions are detrimental to middle-class families in the Sunshine State. His failure to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act has left over 700,000 Floridians without health care. Just thinking about raising the minimum wage so working families can make ends meet causes him to "cringe." For Rick Scott, maybe running is better than telling the truth.
Marco Rubio, Climate Scientist
Sen. Marco Rubio made headlines this weekend with an eyebrow-raising rebuke of science. Here's what the 2016 presidential hopeful told ABC's Jonathan Karl:
"I don't agree with the notion that some are putting out there, including scientists, that somehow there are actions we can take today that would actually have an impact on what's happening in our climate. Our climate is always changing. And what they have chosen to do is take a handful of decades of research and say that this is now evidence of a longer-term trend that's directly and almost solely attributable to manmade activity, I do not agree with that."It's unclear when Sen. Rubio became a connoisseur of climate science with the authority to chide the 97% of climate scientists who agree that humans are contributing to climate change. Perhaps it has something to do with his courting of the far right and their deep-pocketed, Koch-funded outside groups like Americans for Prosperity, which promises to spend $125 million this year to buoy candidates that embrace their extreme agenda. AFP's president, Tim Phillips, hasn't parsed words in bragging about their role in pushing Republican candidates to deny climate science:
"We’ve made great headway. What it means for candidates on the Republican side is, if you … buy into green energy or you play footsie on this issue, you do so at your political peril. The vast majority of people who are involved in the [Republican] nominating process—the conventions and the primaries—are suspect of the science. And that’s our influence. Groups like Americans for Prosperity have done it."So there you have it. Marco Rubio was born and raised in Miami, a city that is severely threatened by rising sea levels associated with climate change. He has an opportunity as a Senator to take action on climate change, stand up for his constituents, and help protect his home state. But he'd rather protect his political aspirations, spewing the mythical rhetoric that the Koch brothers and their allies have made mainstream in today's GOP. At least we know where his priorities lie.
Newsweek: Political First Responders
Newsweek is out today with a must read profile of American Bridge, describing Bridge's beginnings and featuring some of our best successes from our first two cycles thus far. In 2012, American Bridge was quick to point out Mitt Romney's missteps and hypocrisy:
When GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney said illegal immigrants come to the U.S. for a “free deal,” Bridge recorded the comment and gave it to super PACs and unions, which used it in Spanish-language ads across the country.When Romney said “I get speaker’s fees from time to time, but not very much,” Bridge quickly circulated a video showing “not very much” was actually $374,327.62, sparking a media firestorm.This cycle, American Bridge is holding House, Senate and Gubernatorial candidates accountable for their words and actions.
Christie Slaps NJ Taxpayers with $1.1M Self-Exoneration Bill
Figures released yesterday confirm it: New Jersey taxpayers are footing a nearly $1.1 million bill for Chris Christie's Bridgegate self-exoneration. What did they get for this hefty sum, which could have been put to better use funding any number of actual policy priorities? A whitewashed, discredited report that takes at face value Christie's denials of knowing about the scandal. While Christie is fundraising out of state today, perhaps he should look at raising some money to pay back New Jerseyans forced to pay to clean up his image after his administration's wrongdoing.
MEMO: Thom Tillis? Bring it On
North Carolina Senate candidate Thom Tillis, foe of working families and wannabe Tea Party hero, managed to drag his feet across the finish line in today's Republican primary thanks to $2.5 million in support from establishment GOP groups like Crossroads. Now that Tillis has sufficiently touted his extreme conservative positions and record to advance from this far right primary, he is well on his way to defeat in November. Don't take my word for it - take a look at Tillis's abysmal track record in the state house and his extreme rhetoric on the campaign trail. In the state legislature, Tillis has cut education funding by nearly $500 million, bragged about rejecting federal funds for Medicaid expansion, raised taxes on 80% of North Carolinians, made it harder for North Carolinians to exercise their right to vote, and slashed funding for women's health clinics. As he scurried to the right in this bruising primary, Tillis's extreme rhetoric has been on full display. Tillis has said he would consider eliminating the minimum wage, recently claimed that climate change is not a proven fact, has said he thinks states should have the right to ban birth control, supports personhood, and joined national Tea Party leaders in supporting last fall's government shutdown. Couple Tillis's extreme views with his well documented ethical lapses and history of pay-to-play and you have a recipe for his defeat in the Tar Heel state.
Scott Walker's Other Message to Teachers
Scott Walker was quick to use National Thank a Teacher Day today as an excuse for some election year pandering to educators. But Walker's other messages to Wisconsin teachers have been far from affectionate. Did Wisconsin teachers feel appreciated when Scott Walker signed into effect the largest education cuts in the state's history? What about when Walker limited their collective bargaining rights and forced them to pay more for their retirement and health care? Walker has even been called out for demonizing teachers.
Rick Scott "Cringes" Just Thinking About Raising the Minimum Wage
Senate Republicans blocked a vote to raise the minimum wage yesterday, and locally in Florida the state legislature hasn't done much better this session. Could Rick Scott's comment that talk of raising the minimum wage makes him "cringe" have anything to do with the legislature's failure to even vote on two minimum wage bills this session?
Meet the Republicans who are WRONG on the minimum wage
As today's Senate vote approaches, Republicans in Congress seem dead set against giving hardworking Americans earning the minimum wage a small raise to $10.10/hour. But Congressional Republicans aren't alone in their opposition to this commonsense proposal, even though a December 2013 poll found that two-thirds of the American people support increasing the minimum wage. Republican candidates around the country - from Bruce Rauner in Illinois to Rick Scott in Florida to Thom Tillis in North Carolina - have at some point expressed their opposition to raising the minimum wage. Meet the Republicans who are WRONG on the minimum wage in American Bridge's new video and check out Bridge Project's January report for details on the Congressional Republicans who previously supported raising the minimum wage.
Rick Scott's REAL Record on Immigration
As the Florida Senate finally agreed in the last days of session to hear a bill to allow in-state tuition for DREAMers, Florida voters should remember Rick Scott's real record on immigration. Whether promising to bring an Arizona-style anti-immigration law to the state, vetoing a bill to allow the children of undocumented immigrants to access temporary driver's licenses, or using in-state tuition as an election year pandering trick, Rick Scott is the wrong choice for Latino Floridians. American Bridge has the recap of Scott's real record on immigration above.
Billionaire Koch Brothers Oppose Increasing the Minimum Wage
From President Brad Woodhouse: Not exactly a newsflash – but here it is - from the Koch funded AFP – a note to Senators urging a vote against increasing the minimum wage. Two dudes worth a combined over $80 billion opposing an increase in the minimum wage for people who work fulltime but still live in poverty. Unbelievable.