SRLC Roundup: GOPers can't help but talk extreme social issues
The Southern Republican Leadership Conference in Oklahoma City dealt the latest blow to Jeb Bush after coming in sixth in the straw poll while Ben Carson ran away with first. The race to the right continued with Bridge catching Scott Walker and Rick Santorum threatening to close the door on legal immigration. Bush is so scared of W's shadow that he starts off speeches telling the crowd how much he loves his brother (and his policies, we'd note.) Bobby Jindal couldn't help but remind voters about how extreme the GOP slate of candidates is with Indiana-style RFRA discrimination laws, Hobby Lobby, and his belief that the Republican Party shouldn't be supporting big business. Take a look at the highlights from the week: Scott Walker "Wake up" that immigrants have "other motives" than jobs. Chris Christie Calling to raise the retirement age. Jeb Bush “I’m proud of my brother.”
Jeb's Rhetoric on W. Crashes Into Reality
Memo to Jeb: You can run from W all you want, but you can't hide from your record. From Politico's Florida Playbook: Overall, bottom-line budget spending increased nearly 46 percent in his eight years in office, growing from nearly $48.9 billion to about $71.3 billion. The state's debt increased as well (in part due to voter-approved environmental and class-size reductions measures).... 'BIG GOVERNMENT REPUBLICAN?' - "Fiscal Policy Report Card on America's Governors: 2006," by Cato's Stephen Slivinski: "Real per capita general fund spending has grown an annual average of 5 percent over the past two years, making Bush one of the biggest spending Republican governors in this report card. Bush is seen by many as an attractive candidate for higher office. He certainly has a solid record on taxes. But the one glaring question that his second-term budget record has produced is whether he's turned into a big government Republican."
New Web Ad: WEDC: Walker's Extravagant Donor Charity
American Bridge is hitting Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker with targeted web ads wrapping up the latest in a series of…
SRLC Day One Roundup: Racing to the Right on Immigration
The Southern Republican Leadership Conference in Oklahoma City isn't as fun as SNL's version, but the American Bridge team is making the best of it, documenting a deeply damaging race to the right with video and audio clips from across Oklahoma City. Yesterday, Bridge cameras captured Scott Walker and Rick Santorum continuing to beat their xenophobic drums and Rick Perry attacking Common Core in a clear shot at one of today's speakers, Jeb Bush. Take a look at the highlights here: Scott Walker "Wake up" that immigrants have "other movies" than jobs: Bragging about defunding Planned Parenthood. Bragging about passing Voter ID.
WI GOP, Walker Rushing Extreme Anti-Choice Legislation
Wisconsin Republicans are pushing to expedite their extreme 20 week abortion ban before the state budget debate in June. Governor Scott Walker has already come out in favor of the legislation, doubling down on his anti-choice agenda earlier this month and agreeing to sign the bill into law. The ban would be a devastating blow to women's abortion access in the state, charging doctors who break it with a felony and possible jail time -- even in cases of rape or incest. Walker has a long history of supporting extreme policies including personhood and making severe cuts to women's healthcare facilities across Wisconsin.
Bush Tells Voters To Get Over His Name, Voters Comply
Bush to Voters: I Love My Brother, Get Over It Before a question was even asked at a round-table event here, Jeb Bush delivered blunt advice to those who view his last name as a burden: Get over it. Voters: Oh, We Are Iowa Republicans say they feel overwhelmed by the large number of potential candidates at this stage of the 2016 presidential nominating contest and are waiting for the field to shrink before they focus on the race. But they share one concern: Jeb Bush’s viability. ... Instead, they said Bush's loyalty to his brother, former President George W. Bush, and his stumbles in saying whether he would have invaded Iraq may weaken his chances for the nomination as well as his ability to beat Hillary Clinton if she is the Democrats’ 2016 nominee.
Walker's Corrupt WEDC Gets Savaged in the Press
After reports surfaced that Scott Walker was aware of the approval of a Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) loan awarded to one of his political donors, the governor's flagship program has been back in the news this week. Check out some of the crushing clips about the failures of Walker's taxpayer-backed slush fund: MSNBC: Scott Walker jobs agency in ‘chaos’ amid calls for federal probe Four years later, as Walker lays the groundwork for a presidential run, WEDC appears rudderless and deeply troubled. Government and press reports have raised serious questions about the agency’s transparency, effectiveness, political independence and compliance with the law. Walker, who serves as chair of the WEDC board, has twice in recent months announced major shifts to the agency’s structure and mission—and this week he has been forced to deny that he knew about a questionable loan to a political contributor’s company. Democrats are calling for a federal investigation. Meanwhile, Wisconsin’s job growth continues to lag far behind the nation’s—taking a toll on the governor’s popularity at home.
American Bridge Files FOIA Requests Following New Findings on Scott Walker's WEDC
New reports from the Wisconsin State Journal and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel show that Scott Walker was aware of the approval of a loan from…
Inhofe trolls conservatives on highway bill punt
The House of Representatives took the easy way out last night on rebuilding infrastructure by succumbing to a short term, temporary fix to the highway bill. Democrats and Republicans, business groups and labor groups, cats and dogs all agree that a long-term highway bill is necessary to boost our economy and keep the travelling public safe. As Bridge Project explored in a recent report on Republican obstructionism on the highway bill, it’s Tea Party conservatives – doing the Koch brothers’ dirty work – who are forcing Congress to punt on a long-term bill. Sen. Jim Inhofe confirmed this yesterday when he said, “The problem with this bill is really more Republicans than Democrats.” Senator Inhofe isn’t the only Republican fed up with his party for blocking a long-term fix to fund infrastructure projects. Bridge Project’s highway bill report looked at other Republicans who desperately want their national party to stop standing in the way of infrastructure projects that will add jobs and boost our economy.
Seeing Double: Jeb Channels Brother on Discriminatory "Religious Freedom"
Jeb Bush is borrowing from his big brother's playbook again -- this time on same sex marriage. In an interview with "The Brody File" this weekend, Jeb said he doesn't believe in a constitutional right to marriage equality. He also doubled down on Indiana's discriminatory RFRA laws, arguing that businesses should be able to decline serving gay weddings. At the same time, George W. was giving a speech on the same topic at Southern Methodist University's graduation ceremony, sounding not so different from his little brother. Jeb has already been under fire for his failure to distance himself from W. on the disastrous Iraq War. With the brothers' parallel rhetoric on allowing for discrimination based on sexual orientation, we have to wonder -- are George and Jeb just siblings, or are they twins?