Right-wing media outlets erupted this week after learning that American Bridge 21st Century was doing what it does best: holding Republicans accountable.
On Monday, American Bridge announced an over-500-page, free, searchable, and publicly accessible research hub — breaking down thousands of pages of records, disclosures, and reporting — on 2024 Republican presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis. Soon after, the trolls crawled out from their caves and took to the internet.
Here is a look at what Republicans had to say about our DeSantis Research Book:
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Conservative commentator, and GAP kids model Guy Benson was beside himself after learning that the largest opposition research operation in Democratic politics — American Bridge — “dropped a 500-page book against Ron DeSantis.”
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Right-wing influencer Ben Shapiro was equally upset that American Bridge released a website that could instigate fights amongst Republicans during the presidential primary — as if Democrats have any control over Republican squabbling.
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Pomade aficionado and Daily Wire contributor Michael Knowles, while discussing the website, complained about Republicans “trying to prognosticate and read crystal balls and tea leaves” — then immediately tried to prognosticate, read crystal balls, and the tea leaves.
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And Newsmax, Fox News, The Washington Examiner, and The Washington Times were up in arms that an opposition research group was releasing opposition research.
You can find more coverage on the launch of our DeSantis Research book below:
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Tampa Bay Times: “‘Our goal this cycle is to be prepared for every scenario so that we can quickly adjust to the GOP darling of the moment and define Republicans early and often’ Dennis said in an email. ‘At American Bridge, our candidate is chaos, and whoever emerges from the Republican presidential primary should be bruised and battered.’”
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WSJ: “Whoever the opponent is, Pat Dennis, president of the Democratic super PAC American Bridge, said its goal is to weaken GOP candidates during the primary process. […] For Mr. Trump, he said the super PAC’s job is ‘a lot of reminding’ and showing Mr. Biden ‘in contrast to the chaos of the Trump administration.’ With Mr. DeSantis, he said the super PAC wants to show his record in Florida on such issues as housing and health insurance, as well as his voting history in Congress on Medicare and Social Security. ‘We’re not here to pick the Republican nominee,’ Mr. Dennis said. ‘We’re here to make sure the Republican nominee comes out of this as weak as they deserve to be.’”
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Axios: “Democrats are hoping to convince voters that DeSantis is ‘caught up in culture wars, unfit for office and utterly unprepared for the public pressure that comes with a contentious Republican presidential primary,’ Pat Dennis, the group’s president, said in a statement.”
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Florida Politics: “American Bridge has rolled out a ‘research book’ on the Florida Governor as he moves toward a potential presidential campaign later this year, posing the question, ‘Who is Ron DeSantis?’ The tome also offers some answers. ‘He’s a failed governor. He’s a threat to Social Security and Medicare. He’s a corrupt and authoritarian career politician, and he’s a policy extremist who’s out of touch with the voters on every issue,’ the group asserts.”
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The Hill: “American Bridge launched a similar database targeting then-President Donald Trump during the 2020 campaign. The group said it would continue to update its research playbooks on both Trump and DeSantis as it gathers more information about both men throughout the 2024 campaign.”
Published: Apr 11, 2023