Michael Grimm's no good, very bad Monday
Michael Grimm is having a bad week, and it's only Monday. The Staten Island Congressman has been indicted on twenty criminal charges, including "mail and wire fraud, filing false tax returns, obstruction of justice and perjury," as reported by Politico. American Bridge has been tracking Grimm's shady past for quite some time and we have the full background on this growing scandal.
Tillis's Electricity Tax Omission from Tuesday Night Debate
At last night's Republican primary debate in the North Carolina Senate race, Thom Tillis credited low North Carolina electricity prices for growing the state's manufacturing sector. What Tillis failed to mention in his answer, however, is that he helped push through the legislature a tax package last year that raised the combined state sales tax on electricity to 7%.
At GOP Debate Tillis Credited Low NC Electricity Prices Growing Manufacturing Sector…
Video: Tillis Said That Electricity In North Carolina Was “Some Of The Cheapest In The Southeast United States.” During a GOP Senate primary debate, Tillis said: “North Carolina has some of the cheapest electricity in the southeast United States. It’s one of the reasons why our manufacturing sector’s coming back.” [TWC News Senate Debate, 4/22/14]…But Tillis Helped Through A Tax Plan That Increased Electricity Tax To 7%
Tax Reform Package Increased Combined Sales Tax On Electricity To 7%. According to the Raleigh News & Observer, “The plan would expand the 4.75 percent state sales tax to some service contracts and, movies and amusements. The sales tax on electricity would increase to a combined 7 percent.” [Raleigh News & Observer, 7/15/13]Santorum & Terri Lynn Land's War on Women
It's fitting that the same day Michigan Senate candidate Terri Lynn Land released an ad attempting to repair her image after weeks of negative press stemming from her comments on pay equity, Rick Santorum's PAC is announcing its endorsement of her. Santorum is well known for his opposition to the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and his extreme opposition to both birth control and abortion even in the case of rape. It's no surprise, then, that Santorum would support Land.
The Truth About GOP Opposition to Paycheck Fairness
As Senate Republicans today blocked passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act, supporting legislation to strengthen equal pay protections for women might seem like a no brainer for Republicans whose own party autopsy cited the need to improve outreach to female voters. But for the extreme conservative Republicans in the Senate - and the Republican candidates seeking to join them - no excuse for voting against this bill has been too low. Just yesterday, Mitch McConnell called the Paycheck Fairness Act a "bizarre obsession" of the left, while Marco Rubio said "I think we're just wasting time" holding a vote on this bill. These sad efforts to diminish the very real problem of pay inequality facing many American women are merely an attempt to distract from the fact that so many extreme Republicans, both current Senators and 2014 candidates, don’t support remedies to ensure women receive equal pay for equal work.
The Truth About Koch Industries in North Carolina
The Koch brothers, now infamous with nearly half of Americans for the trail of dark money they use to influence elections, are spending heavily in contested Senate races this year. In North Carolina in particular, the Kochs have targeted Senator Kay Hagan with $7 million in attack ads - more money than they've spent on any other race in the country. So what does the Koch agenda look like in the Tar Heel state? As recently as last year, a Koch subsidiary laid off 100 workers from a Wilmington, North Carolina, chemical plant. Other Koch subsidiaries have done the same in North Carolina, including one subsidiary that laid off over 500 workers from two local lumber plants, and one that laid of hundreds of workers from two industrial polyester plants. North Carolina voters should take a hard look at the Koch agenda - and their clear record in the state - before casting their ballots in this critical election.
Bridge President Brad Woodhouse on Koch Brothers: Dark Money Fueling a Dark Agenda
Nearly half of Americans are now familiar with the infamous conservative donors the Koch brothers. Their trail of dark money funds a broad and complex political network that has one goal in mind: driving a conservative agenda that enriches the wealthiest Americans at the expense of the middle and working class. This agenda is nothing new. Charles and David Koch's political activism and their attacks on programs that support and bolster the middle class date back to a failed 1980 vice presidential run by David Koch on the Libertarian ticket, running to the right of conservatives' now revered icon Ronald Reagan. The brothers' policy agenda -- attacking Social Security, Medicare and the minimum wage, and protecting corporate tax breaks -- has barely changed since. Its newest addition: efforts to take America back to the days of insurance companies making decisions about patient care. Americans for Prosperity, the centerpiece of the Koch machine, spent $122 million in 2012, as detailed in Bridge Project's recent report on "Conservative Transparency," including a whopping $33.5 million on their failed effort to defeat President Obama. This cycle, AFP has already spent more than $30 million in states with competitive Senate races. As the Kochs work to advance their self-serving agenda, voters should keep a keen eye on the true motives behind their attacks.
"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.