What WASN'T In Rick Scott's Budget Speaks Volumes

What WASN'T In Rick Scott's Budget Speaks Volumes

Rick Scott signed his record-breaking budget today, packed with taxpayer handouts to special interests. But perhaps what is even worse than what's in his budget is what isn't. The Scott budget did nothing to increase Florida's minimum wage and give a raise to hardworking Florida families trying to get by. Not surprising, considering even the thought of raising the minimum wage makes Rick Scott cringe. His budget did nothing to expand Medicaid, as over 750,000 Floridians, including 41,000 veterans, continue to be denied health care. And his budget did nothing to guarantee equal pay for women in the Sunshine State. Budgets are an embodiment of priorities, and Rick Scott's priorities are clear: Special interests first. Florida last. Check out the graphics below:

Romney and Ernst: Trying to Take The Wind Out of Iowa's Economy

Mitt Romney, twice the loser of the Iowa presidential caucus, is visiting the Hawkeye state to lend a hand to extreme Tea Party Senate candidate Joni Ernst. While Romney may signify the face of the GOP establishment, he and Tea Partier Ernst share the extreme position of railing against the wind energy tax credits that are crucial to Iowa's economy. In 2012, Romney voiced his opposition to renewing wind energy tax credits, joking that they were unnecessary because "you can't drive a car with a windmill on it." An Iowa paper editorialized that Romney's stance was disappointing, and wind energy industry executives warned that letting the credits expire could kill 3000 Iowa jobs. Fast forward to the 2014 Senate race: Joni Ernst has similarly called for an end to wind energy subsidies. Unsurprisingly, Ernst's position is the same as the Koch brothers' Americans for Prosperity, who have railed against the same wind subsidies in Iowa--and who she recently thanked on facebook for pouring money into the race. Romney, Ernst and the Koch brothers: partners in extreme ideology. Bad for Iowa.

Christie Gives Big Raises To Staffers While Ransacking Pensions Funds Due To Budget Shortfall

Under Chris Christie's watch, the New Jersey economy has fallen on tough times. Christie has presided over downgrades on his debt from every major credit rating agency, unemployment well above the national average, and a private sector job growth rate among the worst in the country. And this month he announced that he would ransack workers' pension funds in order to balance his massive budget shortfall created under his leadership. Now it comes to light, that amidst these economic mishaps that have left New Jersey families struggling, Governor Christie found it appropriate to give "hefty pay increases" to his staff--especially to those who "help craft and promote his image." Melissa Hayes of The Record points out Christie's inappropriate priorities and fiscal hypocrisy:

The raises come as Christie is withholding more than $2.4 billion in payments to the state pension fund because of revenue shortfalls. And Christie has delayed a property tax relief program that averages nearly $500 for seniors and some families. And the raises to the governor’s staff appear to have happened around the same time Christie vetoed the minutes of the Pinelands Commission because it voted to increase the personnel line item in its budget by 5 percent — a move the governor castigated the commissioners for by saying it was “conscious disregard of fiscal realities.”

The Man With No Answers: Scott Won't Take Position On Executing The Mentally Disabled

Rick Scott just won't answer questions. It's nothing new--we've seen him on the run for months now. But it's a habit that's only getting worse, and yesterday, he was at it again. After the US Supreme Court blocked an execution, ruling that Florida's standards for determining if an inmate was mentally disabled were inadequate, Miami Herald's Marc Caputo asked Scott about the case. After Scott said he would review the particular case, Caputo followed up. And this is when Rick Scott went to his trademark move to avoid answering questions: just keep saying the same thing over and over. It's almost like a wind-up doll.

Caputo: "More globally, why should we execute the mentally ill?" Scott: "Well I'll review that case." Caputo: "But, you know, generally?" Scott: "I'll review that case."

Wisconsin's Economy Is Struggling Under Gov. Walker, But AFP Has $866K To Tell You Otherwise

Scott Walker has long-been considered a darling of the Tea Party movement and a contender for the 2016 Republican nomination for president. But these days, things aren't going so well for Walker, who has been tainted by scandals, and new polling shows him tied with Democratic contender Mary Burke in his reelection bid. Cue Walker's allies, the Koch-funded group Americans for Prosperity. AFP has already poured $10 million into supporting Walker's extreme agenda in Wisconsin, just announced that they are spending nearly $900,000 on a new ad to help the embattled governor. The ad, which champions Walker's budget reform, is called "It's Working!" Only there's one problem: It isn't! The speakers in the ad praise Walker for his "bold leadership" on budget reform, "keeping education dollars in the classroom," and the fact that "Wisconsin's getting back to work, too." But just last week, it was reported that Wisconsin is set to spend $559 million more than it takes in next year, and job growth in the state continues languish in the bottom third, nationally. Scott Walker ran for governor promising to create 250,000 jobs by the end of his first term, but PolitiFact Wisconsin now says the current job growth pace "is not nearly enough to meet the goal." And on top of all that, he implemented the biggest education cuts in Wisconsin history. Yet another misleading ad from AFP, another poor economic record from a high-profile Republican governor (see Christie, Chris).

Thom Tillis: Clueless On North Carolina Teacher Pay

Since Thom Tillis became Speaker in of the North Carolina House of Representatives, teachers have suffered. Proving his extreme conservative…

Memo From President Brad Woodhouse: Race to the Right in Georgia

The top two extreme Republicans running for Senate in Georgia have advanced to the next round of this knock down, drag out, race to the right primary fight. With two more months of campaigning until the runoff, David Perdue and Jack Kingston will undoubtedly continue to pander to the Tea Party base. Whether opposing raising the minimum wage/extending unemployment benefits, or supporting cuts to Medicare/attempting to voucherize the program, extreme conservatives Perdue and Kingston have more in common than not. Not to mention the time Kingston suggested low-income children perform manual labor in exchange for subsidized school lunches, and Perdue's track record as an out-of-touch elitist. Is this the face of a Republican Party that has learned its rebrand lessons from 2012?

Rick Scott: Good for Special Interests, Bad for Florida

Last week, Rick Scott hastily approved Florida Power & Light (FPL)'s bid to build two new nuclear plants in South Florida. That means massive new transmission towers and power lines, which, as described by CBS Miami, "are not at all typical. Most of the 88 miles of poles would rise the equivalent of ten to fifteen stories high with the girth of a big oak tree. Needless to say, many residents from the affected area were outraged, claiming that in addition to the aesthetic nightmare, this will damage property values and the environment. But per usual, Rick Scott was more concerned with special interests than his constituents. The Miami Herald reported that FPL has given "nearly $3 million to the campaigns of the governor, the Cabinet and the Republican Party of Florida." Scott has taken a beating in the local press. See for yourself in American Bridge's new video above.

Downgraded: Christie's Record on the Economy

New Jersey's economy has hit a major traffic jam under Christie's leadership, and this afternoon the scandal-tainted governor will attempt to save face in the face of this year's $800M budget shortfall. One major credit rating agency after the next has downgraded New Jersey's debt, with Moody's becoming the latest just last week. Add to that a state unemployment rate well above the national average and a record of private job growth that ranks near the bottom in the country since he took office, and Garden State taxpayers aren't just stuck with Christie's self-exoneration bills--they're stuck with his sluggish economy too. Watch American Bridge's new video above and see how bad things have gotten in New Jersey under Christie.

Founder David Brock Talks With POLITICO

In the most recent Open Mike with Mike Allen of POLITICO, he chats with American Bridge founder David Brock.

Mike Allen: “The Clinton camp is pushing back hard against Karl Rove's statement the other day.” David Brock: “If you're asking does it backfire, the answer to that is yes. I think Rove was so grotesque in the overstepping that it ended up being a big mistake, even though I understand what he was trying to do. This was really part of a pattern on Karl Rove's part. We've seen it before — sleazy, personal attacks for partisan reasons.” Allen: “Of the 2016 Republican candidates, does that look like a target-rich environment or are these guys kind of boring? Brock: “We've been tracking all the potentials. Chris Christie can be fun to track. As we know, he can be incredibly colorful. Rand Paul can also be an interesting kind of person to track. I don't find him to be plain vanilla or boring. This is a pretty massive intelligence-gathering operation we have going here.”