Dear Koch Brothers: We Aren’t Going Anywhere
To: Friends and Allies From: David Brock Date: Friday, November 7, 2014 Re: Dear Koch Brothers: We Aren’t Going Anywhere For six months, American Bridge has been working to show just what kind of world the Kochs are trying to create through in-depth research reports on their business practices, statements, and views. We’re exposing just how self-serving and out of touch their worldview is with that of average Americans, and we know we’re making headway because of how the Kochs reacted to the scrutiny: the president of Americans for Prosperity, the Kochs’ political arm, accused us of engaging in “the politics of personal destruction” and not focusing on policy, which is clearly not the case – all of our attacks against the Kochs are based on their views on policy or their business practices. The Kochs’ PR folks are accusing reporters of getting research from us and telling them not to trust it because they say we’re running a smear campaign – but they fail to mention that what we’re saying is true. Koch Industries recently began running – for the first time ever – a positive PR campaign to build up their public image that we’re so successfully breaking down. And the Kochs created yet another dark money group – Freedom Partners Action Fund – to back Koch-approved candidates. The work we did this cycle put their candidates on the defensive and caused them to spend precious time and resources denying their Koch connections. Terri Lynn Land in Michigan had to defend the Kochs’ terrible environmental record in her state. Scott Brown in New Hampshire was forced to address the fact that the out of state billionaires were funding his campaign. And Thom Tillis in North Carolina had to fight back against charges that he did whatever the Kochs told him to do so they’d help him win a Senate seat.
ICYMI: Ben Carson Kicking Off 2016 GOP Primary With Hour-Long TV Ad
In case you missed it in First Read this morning, the Washington Times announced that Dr. Ben Carson is releasing an hour-long television ad set to…
The New Tea Party Cavalry Riding Into Washington
The Republican Party rode a Koch-fuelled wave to victory in elections around the country this week, but don't let them fool you: nothing about their extreme, Tea Party agenda has changed. The GOP has not moderated itself. It has not rid itself of "gaffe-prone" candidates. It has not adopted a milder, more palatable stance on key policy issues that impact the lives of women, immigrants, or working families. And the proof is in the pudding. A quick scan of some of the newest members of the House shows just how extreme this latest crop of Tea Party Republican members of Congress truly are. From Georgia to Maine, Virginia to Wisconsin, Illinois to Iowa, extreme Tea Party Republicans have been elected to seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Take Glenn Grothman in Wisconsin's 6th District to start. We've already detailed the long list of Grothman's greatest extreme hits, but as a quick refresher, the Congressman-elect has: proselytized about the “war on men,” fought for a seven-day workweek, and proposed a law to formally consider single parenthood a contributing factor to child abuse.
BREAKING AUDIO: Perdue's Closing Argument
Asked today about whether his company was closing down American plants as they opened others overseas, Perdue quickly responded, "Sure, we closed down plants all the time..." Listen to the breaking audio above. It's an interesting closing argument -- no pun intended -- to cap off what's been a disastrous last month for David Perdue's campaign, as a series of events shed light on both his business career and his worldview. His downward spiral began when an old deposition surfaced, revealing that Perdue himself had admitted, "I spent most of my career" outsourcing. Asked the next day how he would defend that record, Perdue looked shocked -- "Well defend it? I'm proud of it!" he replied.
NEW VIDEO: "Bully"
If you own a television or a computer, you've probably already seen Chris Christie's latest tirade, this one at the expense of a Jersey Shore business owner who is concerned about the area's unfinished recovery from Hurricane Sandy. It's interesting behavior -- aggressively disparaging our own constituent to prove how invested you are in rebuilding New Jersey, and then embarking on a 19-state campaign tour the next day. But then again, this just isn't your average presidential hopeful. This is Chris Christie, the trash-talking, traffic-stopping bully, and he'll be damned if a constituent or the truth are going to come in between him and his narrative. So we decided to round up just a few of his finest acts of belittlement. Check out our new video:
BREAKING VIDEO: Chris Christie Berates Man Concerned About Sandy Recovery
He's at it again. Today, at an event in Belmar, New Jersey, Chris Christie was confronted by a man concerned…
Scott Walker reaps the benefits of loophole created by judge with Koch ties
Earlier this month, Wisconsin U.S. District Judge Rudolph Randa issued an injunction that effectively allows outside groups to coordinate with political campaigns on so-called "issue advocacy," overturning a longstanding Wisconsin campaign finance law banning such coordination. Given that Randa has ties to the the billionaire Koch brothers, who fund several outside groups that would very much like to see Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker win reelection, we likened his ruling to the proverbial fox guarding the campaign finance henhouse. As it turns out, it's even a stretch to suggest in jest that Randa is guarding the state's campaign finance regulations. In a separate ruling in September, Randa dealt another major blow to Wisconsin campaign finance statute, and the most recent financial disclosures from the Walker campaign show that he's reaping the benefits from Randa's newly-created loophole. Last month, Randa ruled that Wisconsin election officials should no longer enforce laws that cap the amount of money that political candidates -- like Walker -- can collect from PACs and campaign committees. Prior to Randa's ruling, the state's limit for PAC contributions, which had been in place since 1990, was set at $700,830 for gubernatorial candidates. According to the Walker campaign's latest campaign finance report filed last week, the campaign has accepted a whopping $2.6 million from political parties and political action committees. In total, that's over three times the amount that was allowed by law, and almost $2 million of it coming in just the six weeks after Randa's determination. Put simply, Walker's campaign has swiftly exploited Randa's ruling on PAC contributions to bolster his campaign in the homestretch. Walker's status as a champion for Koch brothers and their allies is well-documented, with the billionaire brothers holding up his extreme right wing policies as exemplar of their political agenda. After all, prosecutors opened an investigation into illegal coordination between Walker's campaign and a Koch-affiliated group, Wisconsin Club for Growth, during the 2012 recall election. What's clear from Randa's rulings, and the fact that he's attended multiple Koch-sponsored junkets, is that Randa, too, is a Koch ally, who appears to be pursuing a concerted effort to roll back Wisconsin campaign finance laws to the benefit of Scott Walker and his political allies.
VIDEO: Ernst Faces Backlash For Shunning Iowa Newspapers
Yesterday, it came to light that Joni Ernst was refusing to sit down with the Des Moines Register's editorial board. Then it became clear, she was refusing to sit down with the editorial board of essentially every newspaper in Iowa. As she spurned the Iowa press, she still managed to find the time to meet with MSNBC's Chuck Todd yesterday (and had the audacity to tweet a picture of this with the hashtag #IowaKnows Best -- no, really!), and to sit down with FOX News this morning. It's understandable why Joni Ernst is desperate to hide her extreme agenda from Iowa -- support for privatizing social security, wanting to eliminate the federal minimum wage, opposition to subsidies like the RFS, etc. -- but her little Houdini act backfired. Check out Ernst getting blasted on local TV for cheating Iowa voters out of the opportunity to know where she stands on the issues:
Mitt Romney And Doug Ducey: Ice (Cream) Cold Businessmen
Mitt Romney is continuing his consolation tour of the nation, touting the ideas that handed him a decisive loss two years ago and "boosting" candidates around the country. Today, he's taking his talents to Mesa, where he'll campaign with Doug Ducey, a man with whom he has all too much in common. The two slick-looking businessmen have made a lot of money in their careers, but neither of them seem to have workers in their best interests. As Governor of Massachusetts, Romney belied a campaign promise by vetoing a minimum wage increase, which was promptly overridden by unanimous votes in both chambers of the state legislation. That kind of audacity must impress a man like Doug Ducey. Ducey has consistently spoken out against raising the minimum wage, and even went so far as to institute his famed singing-for-tips policy at Cold Stone Creamery, in part to avoid paying higher wages to his workers. Ducey and Romney share other things as well, like a history of presiding over corporate layoffs. All in all, the duo promises to be a real treat for the guys at the top, but their agenda isn't so sweet for working families.
ICYMI: Chris Christie Is "Tired of Hearing About The Minimum Wage"
At a Chamber of Commerce event today, Chris Christie - ever the everyman sharing working families' concerns - came right out and said what we're sure many Republicans have been thinking this year: "I'm tired of hearing about the minimum wage, I really am." American Bridge has the video, watch for yourself above.