American Bridge

Paul Ryan Failed To Disclose Investments On Ethics Forms

Vice-presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan’s tax returns contained investments he failed to disclose on his Congressional financial disclosures. His tax returns reveal the amount of profit or loss, but we still don’t know the value of the underlying investment.

Ryan’s Tax Returns Reported Investment In TLS Partners LLC – But Did Not Disclose It In Personal Financial Disclose Forms

Ryan Did Not Disclose Any Stake In TLS Partners In His Personal Financial Disclosures.  Since 1999, Ryan has not disclosed any ownership interest in TLS Partners, LLC in any of his personal financial disclosure forms.  [Personal Financial Disclosure, “Schedule III – Assets and Unearned Income,” Office of the Clerk for the U.S. House of Representatives, Paul Ryan, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, Amended 2009, 2010, Amended 2010, 2011,Amended 2011]

2010-2011: Ryan Reported A Cumulative Income Loss Of $178 From Stake in TLS Partners LLC.  According to Ryan’s 2010 and 2011 individual tax return, he took a cumulative $178 loss in income from a stake in TLS Partners LLC.  Ryan’s investment in TLS Partners LLC is detailed in the table below:

[Form 1040 Individual Income Tax Return, Internal Revenue Service, Paul & Janna Ryan, 2010, 2011]

Ryan’s Tax Returns Reported Investment In Oil And Natural Gas Exploration Business, LongFellow Energy LP – But Did Not Disclose It In Personal Financial Disclosure Forms

Ryan Did Not Disclose Any Stake In Longfellow Energy LP In His Congressional Personal Financial Disclosures.  Since 1999, Ryan has not disclosed any ownership interest in Longfellow Energy, LP in any of his Congressional personal financial disclosure forms.  [Personal Financial Disclosure, “Schedule III – Assets and Unearned Income,” Office of the Clerk for the U.S. House of Representatives, Paul Ryan, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009,Amended 2009, 2010, Amended 2010, 2011, Amended 2011]

2010-2011: Ryan Took A Cumulative $164 In Income From Investment In Longfellow Energy LP.  According to Ryan’s 2010 and 2011 individual tax return, he took $164 worth in investment income from his stake in Longfellow Energy, LP.  Ryan’s investment in Longfellow Energy is detailed in the table below:

[Form 1040 Individual Income Tax Return, Internal Revenue Service, Paul & Janna Ryan, 2010, 2011]

Longfellow Energy LP Formerly Named “Deut 8 Holdings LP” Referring To Biblical Passage Deuteronomy Eight, Concerning The Inheritance Of Land.  Since the company’s inception in June 2001, its original name and listed General Partner makes references biblical passages concerning the inheritance of land in Deuteronomy – Chapter Eight – through its original name of “Deut 8 Holdings LP,” and its general partner “Deut 8 LLC.”  [Certificate of Limited Partnership, Texas Secretary of State, Deut 8 Holdings LP, Filed 6/19/01; Articles of Organization, Texas Secretary of State, Deut 8 LLC, Filed 6/8/01; Vatican New American Bible, “The Pentateuch, Deuteronomy, Chapter 8,” www.vatican.va]

Ryan Failed to Disclose Role with Family Real Estate Partnership

Ryan Did Not List Position With Ryan Family Real Estate Limited Partnership On Congressional Financial Disclosures. Between 2001 and 2011, Ryan did not list a position with the Ryan Family Real Estate Limited Partnership on his Personal Financial Disclosures, filed with the Clerk of the House of Representatives.  [Certificate of Domestic Limited Partnership, Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, Ryan Family Real Estate Limited Partnership, Filed 4/16/01; PersonalFinancial Disclosure, “Schedule VIII – Positions,” Office of the Clerk for the U.S. House of Representatives, Paul Ryan, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, Amended 2009, 2010, Amended 2010, 2011, Amended 2011]

VIDEO: The Tale Of Tommy And Mitt

Recently, Tommy Thompson has been lamenting his falling poll numbers, blaming Mitt Romney for the dramatic turnabout. Perhaps instead of seeing similarities between their falling poll numbers, Thompson should look at the similarities in their policy positions.

“Tommy Thompson’s collapse in the polls cannot be blamed simply on Mitt Romney’s slide. They are both tanking because they both espouse similarly unpopular proposals,” said Matt Thornton, Senior Communications Adviser for American Bridge 21st Century. “As long as Thompson and Romney are talking about destroying Medicare and accusing half of America of being freeloaders, they will face a similar fate on Election Day.”

MEMO: The Record Tommy Thompson Wants You To Forget

To: Interested Parties
From: Matt Thornton, Senior Communications Adviser, American Bridge 21st Century
Date: 8/14/2012
RE: The record Tommy Thompson wants you to forget

Perhaps in a bout of nostalgia, Wisconsin Republicans have nominated former governor Tommy Thompson as their party’s Senate nominee. But much like seeing Brett Favre in Vikings purple, Wisconsin voters are in for the rude surprise that Thompson is no longer on their side.

Thompson left the Badger State behind when he was tapped to serve in George W. Bush’s cabinet. Less clear is when he abandoned Wisconsin values to become the worst embodiment of Washington’s revolving-door. After leaving the Bush administration, Thompson cashed in on his public service experience, amassing over $13 million with help from his ties to the numerous companies for which he served on their boards or did “consulting.” His client list included more than a dozen pharmaceutical or health care companies which he had previously been entrusted to regulate.

Moderate voters will also be disappointed to learn of Thompson’s far-right shift on health care during the primary to appeal to the Tea Party. Once a supporter of health care reform to ease the burden on struggling families, Thompson embraced radical Tea Party rhetoric to criticize the reform he earlier backed. Calling for health care reform to “be sent to the ash heap of history” is a far cry from the praise he showered on the bill he once called an “important step” – and one that made him a rich man.

Tommy Thompson may be a familiar name for Wisconsin voters, but they’ll soon realize he’s not the same candidate they thought they knew.

MEMO: The Individual Mandate Record Tommy Thompson Hopes You Forget

Today, the Supreme Court chose to uphold the individual mandate provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.  But when Tea Party-pandering GOP Senate candidate Tommy Thompson releases his statement expressing his profound disappointment with the Court’s decision, Wisconsin voters should remember that just a few short years ago it was Thompson, the former Secretary of Health and Human Services, who was touting the necessity of an individual mandate in health care reform.

Background:

Thompson’s Former State Health Secretary Said Thompson “Recognized That Government Worked” For Health Programs. “Tommy Thompson is the state’s most famous example of this tough love approach, once hailed as ‘compassionate conservatism,’ and up for discussion today is one of Thompson’s proudest achievements, greatly expanded under Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle: Wisconsin’s BadgerCare, Family Care and SeniorCare insurance plans… It is also a shift from Thompson’s approach only a decade ago. The guy who trumpeted, ‘It’s good to be a Republican!’ was proud of his Medicaid programs, too. He started BadgerCare with just a few thousand teenagers in 1999 as a way to support families kicked off welfare due to his controversial ‘workfare’ reforms. Another motivation, according to his former health secretary, Joe Leean, was to one-up Hillary Clinton, whose efforts at health reform while her husband was president were a humiliating disaster. Leean, now retired in Waupaca, recalls those days fondly and calls the BadgerCare program ‘the highlight’ of his public service career. Thompson was a governor with more heart than people gave him credit for, Leean says. (Several Democrats confided that things are so bad under Walker that they find themselves praising Thompson and wishing he were still around.) ‘When he was first elected, he was proclaimed as this awful conservative, a Dr. No kind of guy,’ Leean recalls. ‘But when I went in there and said we needed to do this health program, he needed no prodding at all. He became a compassionate conservative right from the start. He recognized that government worked.’” [Capital Times, 4/20/11]