American Bridge Slams Perry: “America’s Most Dangerous Cowboy Takes On Social Security”
In a brand new video, American Bridge 21st Century blasts Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry over his dangerous views on Social Security and retirement security for America’s seniors. In thinking Social Security is an “abuse of the constitution,” a “lie” and a “ponzi scheme” that should be dismantled and forced on the states, Perry’s views are more extreme than we’ve seen in half a century. He doesn’t just think the program should be tweaked, but that it never should have existed in the first place. Miles outside the mainstream, Perry’s extreme views will continue to dog him throughout his campaign -- no matter whether it’s in the primary or the general. Just this morning, Karl Rove warned that Perry’s views on Social Security were “toxic in a general election environment and they are also toxic in a Republican primary.”
Columbia Daily Tribune: Rep. Todd Akin Questions Constitutionality of Medicare
On September 4, 2011, the Columbia Daily Tribune reported:
In a meeting yesterday with Central Missouri tea party activists, U.S. Rep. Todd Akin said he has doubts about the constitutionality of Medicare and thinks global warming “is highly suspect.” Akin, a six-term congressman seeking the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate, spent much of the 75 minutes attacking the expansive nature of the federal government, calling his opposition to federal health care changes a struggle against tyranny. The meeting was attended by about two dozen tea party activists. [...] Akin’s remarks questioning the constitutionality of Medicare came as he was explaining his vote against prescription coverage under the medical plan for seniors and people with disabilities. He said it was too expensive, and “it was expanding an entitlement I wasn’t too comfortable with to begin with.” Asked about the remarks after the meeting, Akin said, “I don’t find in the Constitution that it is the job of the government to provide health care.”Click here to read the entire article.
POLITICO: Rick Perry's book a treasure trove for foes
"Ty Matsdorf, communications director for the Democratic research group American Bridge, said the book shows Perry “laying out what any sane or rational candidate wouldn’t even dream of saying.” “This is what he put down and there’s no backing away from it,” Matsdorf said. “I don’t think a national candidate would, in their worst nightmare, ever think about having this stuff out there.”"
Rep. Allen West Criticizes Bachmann For Wanting To Drill In The Everglades
On August 30, 2011, the Palm Beach Post reported that "U.S. Rep. Allen West told a town hall audience today that Republican presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann made 'an incredible faux pas' when she said she is open to allowing drilling for oil and natural gas in the Everglades if it can be done safely." West also said he'd "straigten her out" on the issue.
POLITICO: Neumann: Gay lifestyle "unacceptable"
Dave Catanese covers Mark Neumann's comments on homosexuality:
Freshly minted Wisconsin Senate candidate Mark Neumann is being confronted again with anti-gay comments he made 15 years ago and later amended.
Plain Dealer: GOP U.S. Senate Candidate Kevin Coughlin Calls Global Warming Science 'Sketchy'
On August 22, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported:
A Democratic super PAC called American Bridge 21st Century sent a videographer to an Aug. 18 appearance that Coughlin made before a Strongsville tea party group called Strong Ohio. It filmed Coughlin calling the science behind global warming "sketchy," and rhetorically declaring: "I would ask the people in Pompeii who are frozen like this if an act of Congress could change their situation."
Rick Perry Compares Civil Rights Movement To Lower Taxes And Deregulation
At an August 20, 2011 meet and greet at the Old Town Bistro in Rock Hill, South Carolina, Gov. Rick Perry seemingly likened the struggles of the civil rights movement to fighting for lower taxes and deregulation. As AMERICAblog's Kombiz Lavasany wrote, "The statement is historically inaccurate, Martin Luther King Jr. fought for unions and regulations."
MEMO: Rick Perry: The Great Campaigner?
Last week, Texas Governor Rick Perry burst onto the GOP Presidential scene, managing to step all over the Ames straw poll by making his official announcement the same day.
By waiting until after the straw poll to enter the race, Perry avoided answering the tough questions that voters care about. Rather than use his first week in the race to show Americans where he stands on today's most pressing issues, he upstaged himself with a series of gaffes and extreme statements, revealing that he's just not ready for prime time.
Washington Post: Bachmann On Why She Worked For IRS: "First Rule Of War Is 'Know Your Enemy'"
On August 18, 2011, the Washington Post reported:
"This is fun. Michele Bachmann, on the campaign trail today, offered what seems to be a new explanation for her previous work as a lawyer for the Internal Revenue Service, something that has drawn some ire from the right. Her explanation: She worked for the IRS as a kind of secret anti-tax mole whose mission was to get to know the place in order to better undermine it later. As she put it: “The first rule of war is `know your enemy.’” This explanation seems a bit at odds with descriptions of the episode she’s given on previous occasions, when she’s said her anti-tax fervor was the result of her work for the IRS. This version on the trail explains her work for the IRS — which spanned four years, from 1988-1992 — in a way that will be more acceptable to hard-core anti-tax conservatives." BACHMANN: “We change the economy by changing the tax code. How many of you love the IRS? No! It’s time to change it. I went to work in that system because the first rule of war is ‘know your enemy.’ So I went to the inside to learn how they work because I wanted to beat them.”Click here to read the whole story.
Rick Perry Accuses Scientists Of Manipulating Climate Data
On August 17, 2011, Texas Gov. Rick Perry called climate change "a scientific theory that has not been proven," and accused scientists of manipulating the data in order to secure funding:
PERRY: "You may have a point there because, I do believe that the issue of global warming has been politicized. I think there are a substantial number of scientists who have manipulated data, so that they will have dollars rolling into their, to their projects. I think we're seeing almost weekly or even daily scientists who are coming forward and questioning, the original idea that man-made global warming is what is causing the climate to change. Yes, our climate's changed, it's been changing for ever-ever since the earth was formed, but I do not buy into that uh, a group of scientists, who have in some cases found to be manipulating this information and the cost to the country and to the world of implementing these uh, uh anti-carbon programs is in the billions if not trillions of dollars at the end of the, of the day, and I don't think from my perspective I want America to be engaged in spending that much money on still a scientific theory that has not been proven, and from my perspective is more and more being put into question."