POLITICO: Questions arise about Rick Perry's business deals back home in Texas Tribune report
On November 16, 2011, POLITICO reported:
The Tribune piece looks at the deals in detail, but they include reports on buying and then flipping a Horseshoe Bay property from a friend, and a probe the Huffington Post revealed that was done on a land deal with Dr. James Leininger, a major Perry donor. The left-leaning group American Bridge hit Perry hard on the issue after his government-overhaul speech Monday, in a line of attack that will become a refrain if the governor starts to rise again.
Texas Tribune: Perry Decries Insider Trading But Critics Call Foul
On November 16, 2011, the Texas Tribune reported:
Newly — and fiercely — critical of using public office for personal financial gain, Gov. Rick Perry this week unveiled a campaign addemanding that lawmakers who use “insider knowledge to profit in the stock market” be jailed, and he rolled out an overhaul plan of the federal government that would make that possible by criminalizing insider trading by members of Congress. Some longtime observers of the Texas governor say his effort to portray himself as a reform-minded government “outsider” is inconsistent with his record, which they argue is peppered with instances in which his personal and political relationships became entangled in ways that helped him profit financially.
Houston Chronicle: Rick Perry’s ‘wrecking ball’ plan, explained
On November 15, 2011, the Houston Chronicle reported:
Perry also said he would jail lawmakers profiting from insider information, a reference to a CBS “60 Minutes” program that showed some congressional members bought stock in companies with an interest in pending legislation. A Democratic political action committee, American Bridge 21st Century, said Perry’s proposal smacked of hypocrisy and said the governor made tidy profits in stock holdings in Kinetic Concepts through his association with San Antonio-based James Leininger.
POLITICO: Mitt Romney Says Americans Avoiding 'The Hard Work' In Book, American Bridge Reports
On November 16, 2011, POLITCO reported:
The folks at the Democratic-backing group American Bridge flagged a quote from Mitt Romney's book "No Apology" amid the flap over the Republican hitting President Obama for describing Americans as having become "lazy" in terms of preserving exceptionalism.(emphasis added)The passage in the book reads this way:
“We have been accustomed to being the world’s leading nation for so long, enjoying the freedom, security, and prosperity that comes with that leadership, that we have tended to avoid the hard work that overcoming challenges requires. When I was about ten, I asked my dad how he thought his company’s Rambler automobile could ever successfully compete with General Motors; they were so far ahead that catching up appeared impossible. He said something that has since been widely attributed to him: “There is nothing as vulnerable as entrenched success.” I believe that our many years of success may, in fact, be the greatest obstacle we face. In election after election, candidates have told us that simple measures will solve our challenges, and that their election alone will guarantee a bright future. We have joined in the cheering for this heady prospect. But much more than cheering is going to be required in the years ahead.”
POLITICO: Heller's 'March Madness' foul
On November 15, 2011, POLITICO reported:
Nevada Sen. Dean Heller's campaign has changed the name of a spring fundraiser to avoid a trademark breach of the NCAA's "March Madness" slogan. The Democratic research and opposition group American Bridge first noticed that Heller had dubbed a mid-March fundraiser at the glitzy Palazzo hotel on the Las Vegas strip "March Madness weekend."
TPM: Navy Vet Says She Was Kicked Out Of Romney Rally Because She Was Silently Protesting
On November 15, 2011, Talking Points Memo reported:
There are ways to deal with protesters gracefully at a campaign event, and then there’s kicking a Navy veteran out of your rally because she’s wearing a t-shirt you don’t like.
TPM: Rick Perry’s Good Government Plan: Throw The Bums In Jail!
On November 15, 2011, Talking Points Memo reported:
Democratic group American Bridge is already accusing him of hypocrisy, citing one incident in which Perry purchased stock in a hospital equipment company run by a top donor, James Leininger, the same day he met with him. Perry turned a profit after a new wave of investors drove its price up immediately afterwards. He has denied any wrongdoing. “If Perry thinks members of Congress belong in jail, what would he think about an elected official who purchased 2,800 shares of stock after speaking with that company’s CEO on the same day a giant investment group purchased 2.2 million of its shares?” communications director Chris Harris said in a statement.
TPM: Romney Spit-Balls His Way To Privatizing Veteran’s Benefits
On November 11, 2011, Talking Points Memo reported:
Over barbecue and sweet tea with 12 veterans here Friday, Mitt Romney appeared to brainstorm a fundamental change to the way the nation pays back the people who put their lives on the line in the military. Talking with the veterans about the challenge of navigating the Veterans Affairs bureaucracy to get their health care benefits after they leave active duty, Romney suggested a way to improve the system would be to privatize it. [...] The plan did not go over well with one veteran among the 12 discussing the VA with Romney. Auston Thompson, a veteran of the Iraq War and former Marine, told TPM after the session that though the idea of the plan was sound to his fiscally conservative ear, the implementation would likely lead to problems.
Reuters: The golden age of opposition research
On November 14, 2011, Reuters reported:
It was a little noticed event in Texas governor Rick Perry's schedule, an October 28 visit to the Barley House tavern in Concord, New Hampshire, to sample a burger and be interviewed by a local radio station. The flagging candidate for the Republican nomination was addressing a tiny audience of about 10 in this early primary state. He told the story of a 38-year-old Occupy Wall Street protestor named Jeremy, who had complained that bankers got to work so early that he never managed to get out of bed in time to insult them face-to-face. [...] Also in the small crowd at the Barley House was a "tracker" from American Bridge, a newly formed SuperPAC doing research for the Democratic Party. The tracker was videotaping Perry's every word and gesture, and even though the gaffe was a relatively minor one, the candidate was about to become a victim of the latest, state-of-the-art opposition research.
TPM: Gingrich Jokes About His ‘Historian’ Gig For Freddie Mac
On November 11, 2011, Talking Points Memo reported:
Newt Gingrich said during Wednesday’s debate that he worked for housing giant Freddie Mac as an “historian” in 2006 not as a lobbyist. That would make him one highly paid historian. While Freddie Mac confirmed that he did no lobbying work, government watchdogs told TPM that it was a fairly arbitrary distinction since ex-politicians are often hired as “consultants” who use their connections to perform similar functions. And that’s why they get paid the big bucks: Gingrich earned $300,000 for a year’s work with Freddie Mac while the average history professor has an average salary of about $63,000.Would that make Newt the highest paid historian in history? See Newt's answer after the jump