True Life: The Kochs Started My Trajectory; Now I'm Giving The GOP State Of The Union Response
It has just been announced that Sen. Joni Ernst will deliver the Republican Party's State Of The Union response next week -- and what a revealing choice it is. In case you aren't familiar with Ernst from her recent Senate run, let us give you a quick primer, and we'll start right from the beginning. As Joni Ernst put it herself at the Koch brothers' secretive billionaires retreat last summer, the Koch network "really started my trajectory." And boy, they couldn't be prouder with the politician she grew into. Staying true to the Koch agenda, Ernst has stood behind eliminating the Department of Education and gutting the EPA argued against having any federal minimum wage, and she seems eager to privatize Social Security and student loans. And believe it or not, Ernst's extreme views go far beyond her ultra-conservative policy platform.
Resources for Reporters: GOP Following Steve King's Lead On Immigration (Again)
Republicans are poised to again ignore their own autopsy and record losses among Latino voters to follow Steve "Anchor Baby" King's playbook, attempting to deport DREAMers and threatening funding to DHS. Here's a few resources from American Bridge to help track this morning's debate and vote:
- Bridge Project's report barriers to reform in the House.
- Bridge Project's report on barriers to reform in the Senate.
- Bridge Project's report on how GOP failures left immigration up to the President.
- American Bridge's microsite "All Steve King's Men," which details how Republicans follow Steve King's lead on immigration.
ICYMI – Rand Paul to Howie Carr: Withhold Foreign Aid from ‘Crazy Countries’
Rand Paul is touring New Hampshire this week, retail-politicking the first-in-the-nation (again) in an unofficial presidential bid that feels like it's been going on forever. Well in case you missed it,on Friday, Rand Paul called into the Howie Carr show, where he promptly demonstrated both his unpresidential temperament and his dangerous foreign policy platform. Paul, who raised eyebrows a couple years ago when he said we should end all foreign aid, including to Israel, told Carr that we should withhold foreign aid from 'crazy countries,' and then became irritated when Carr followed up. It seems Rand has a tendency for making half-baked policy proposals...
MEMO: Chris Christie’s Terrible Economic Record
Tonight, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will deliver his State of the State address. We hope he uses this chance to come clean about his serious money problems: his credit has been downgraded eight times. He hasn’t saved enough for retirement. And his security detail is costing him 18 times what it did 5 years ago. Why should he talk about his money problems during the State of the State? Because they have nothing to do with his bank account – we’re talking about New Jersey taxpayers’ money here. Since Chris Christie took office in 2010, he’s been playing fast and loose with taxpayer money. He has mismanaged the budget, resulting in New Jersey’s credit has been downgraded eight times – no New Jersey governor had ever presided over that many downgrades. He’s spending 18 times more on his personal security today than when he took office, for a total of almost $1 million, or nearly $33,000 per month. He’s cut $2.4 billion in pension payments he promised to make because his budget projections were wrong. And the list goes on...
MEMO: Scott Walker's Mess
Scott Walker is set to give his State of the State address tonight, and the truth is, he doesn't have much good news to report. Walker rode into Madison in 2010 dead-set on giving the state a massive Tea Party makeover. And he did. Walker's vision for economic growth in Wisconsin consisted largely of massive tax cuts for the wealthy and the privatization of state's economic development program. To pull off his tax overhaul, Walker, implemented the largest education cuts in state history. But even that wasn't enough -- now the state faces an astonishing $2.2 billion budget shortfall. And just in case you questioned his ideological rigidity, Walker insists that slashing property taxes remains his number one priority this year. So what programs will he cut next to try to solve his colossal budget problem? That remains a mystery. As for his privatized economic development agency, well that hasn't gone much better. WEDC has been wrought with controversy, giving Wisconsin taxpayer dollars to companies that ship jobs overseas, and tearing through executives. Moreover, Walker didn't even come close to delivering on his promise to create 250,000 jobs in his first term, and Wisconsin continues to lag behind other states in the midwest and across the country when it comes to employment growth.
Happy Anniversary, Chris Christie!
It’s been one whole year since the words “time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee” rang 'round the world and we found out that the George Washington Bridge lane closures were initiated by people very close to you, causing four days’ worth of traffic jams. Time sure goes by fast, doesn’t it? In case you’ve forgotten what it felt like to read the headlines that day, we’ve compiled them here for your reading pleasure. Maybe it will help take your mind off all the bad press you’re getting for over your ethics problems with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones? Enjoy!
New York Times: Christie Faces Scandal on Traffic Jam Aides Ordered
“The mystery of who closed two lanes onto the George Washington Bridge — turning the borough of Fort Lee, N.J., into a parking lot for four days in September — exploded into a full-bore political scandal for Gov. Chris Christie on Wednesday. Emails and texts revealed that a top aide had ordered the closings to punish the town’s mayor after he did not endorse the governor for re-election.”New York Post: Christie could face criminal probe over ‘Bridgegate’
“‘This smells of corrupt use of government authority at the highest levels,’ said Democratic State Sen. Ray Lesniak, who called for a federal grand-jury probe, rather than a state investigation that could be influenced by the Christie administration.”Wall Street Journal: Bridge-Spat Emails Pose Questions For Christie
“…[T]he image of a popular Republican governor punishing a less-powerful Democratic mayor and his constituents for a political reason threatens to undermine one of Mr. Christie's central arguments for himself.”Marco Rubio's Immigration Flip-Flop In Full Effect
When immigration reform first reemerged as a crucial issue in 2013, Marco Rubio appeared eager to play a leadership role…
Chris Christie, Call Your Lawyer.
A year ago today, the nation was introduced to the now infamous line, "time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee" as emails were released from Chris Christie's deputy chief of staff, Bridget Anne Kelly. Despite Christie's continued insistence that his Bridgegate nightmare is over and he absolved of wrongdoing, the scandal and connected incidents keep bringing new travails for the governor. This morning, the Wall Street Journal reported that federal prosecutors have subpoenaed Christie's reelection campaign in relation to meetings Christie cancelled after a Democratic lawmaker refused to endorse him in his reelection bid. You have to hand it to the guy, when it comes to retribution, he truly is an elite politician. Meanwhile, there are new developments in Christie's latest fiasco surrounding his ethically dubious journeys to Jerry Jones' box for Cowboys games. According to the Asbury Park Press, the New Jersey State Ethics Commission "has received, and is reviewing, the complaint filed by American Democracy Legal Fund" regarding a potential ethics violation from Christie. It seems the governor "personally pushed" for a government contract to go to a firm partially owned by Jerry Jones, then turned around and accepted gifts from Jones in the form of travel, tickets, and awkward hugs. (okay, the hugs may be legal) All this is leading some in the press to say, "perhaps Chris Christie's first 2016 hires should be lawyers?"
Video: Chris Christie's Cowboy Ethics
For Chris Christie, it's the story that just won't die. In fact, it keeps getting worse. The focus of Christie's…
A 3rd & Long Day of Bad Press for Cowboys Superfan Governor Chris Christie
From his hometown editorial board to the pages of Sports Illustrated, New Jersey Governor "Cowboys' Mojo" Chris Christie was greeted again this morning…