Demand Mitt Romney Disavow NOM's Hateful, Homophobic Strategy

Secret strategy memos from the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) reveal that they are actively seeking to "drive a wedge" between the African-American and LGBT communities in order to advance their agenda. A judge ordered that the memos be released as part of a court case in Maine, exposing highly detailed plans for using African-Americans as pawns in NOM's state-level campaigns to fight marriage equality. From the memos:

"The strategic goal of the project is to drive a wedge between gays and blacks — two key Democratic constituencies. Find, equip, energize and connect African American spokespeople for marriage; develop a media campaign around their objections to gay marriage as a civil right; provoke the gay marriage base into responding by denouncing these spokesmen and women as bigots."

NOM was a crucial funder of the Prop 8 campaign to deny Californians equal marriage rights, and the organization continues to use their hateful, divisive tactics to fight equality across the country. In response to yesterday's news, equality advocates across the country immediately spoke out and condemned the group's race-baiting, divide-and-conquer strategy. NAACP's Julian Bond, a civil rights icon, said:

“NOM’s underhanded attempts to divide will not succeed if Black Americans remember their own history of discrimination. Pitting bigotry’s victims against other victims is reprehensible; the defenders of justice must stand together.”

Why This is Important Mitt Romney has made a lot of backroom deals with the extreme right wing in order to win the Republican nomination.  We need to hold him accountable as a candidate for president of the United States for backing hateful and bigoted organizations like NOM. Does he support NOM's race-baiting, divisive tactics?  We deserve to know. Mitt Romney bet $10,000 on NOM and a cynical strategy to divide Americans, and we need your help getting the word out. Sign our petition now -- demand that Mitt Romney disavow NOM's hateful strategy and instead bet on equal rights for all Americans.

POLITICO: Rubio Backs 'Stand Your Ground' Law

On March 27, 2012, POLITICO reported:

As a Florida House member, Marco Rubio voted to enact his state’s Stand Your Ground policy — the controversial law now at the heart of the Trayvon Martin case. As a senator, Rubio says he’s still standing behind the law — at least for now.

Mitt Romney's Hidden Agenda

WASHINGTON, DC -- Admittedly afraid of how voters will react to his ideas, Mitt Romney has a bad habit of teasing his policy proposals before refusing to show voters the details. First, Romney told told the Washington Examiner that he had an immigration plan that he hadn't unveiled -- that was over 100 days ago. Next, he gave a widely panned "major" policy address at Ford Field in Detroit to unveil his new tax plan, only he never actually released the details of the plan in question. And finally, while speaking with the Weekly Standard, Romney flat-out admitted he was keeping secrets from voters because he was afraid his ideas would be unpopular. The Standard wrote: "But Romney, ever cautious, is reluctant to get specific about the programs he would like to kill. He did this in his bid for the Senate 18 years ago and remembers the political ramifications."

Read more after the jump.

Dick Lugar's Even Worse Week

Earlier this month, American Bridge put together a compilation video highlighting Dick Lugar's awful week. It turns out last week was even worse!

Etch-A-Sketch Redux

Last week top Romney campaign advisor Eric Fehrnstrom's now-famous Etch-A-Sketch remark ricocheted around the internet at warp speed, and many of the stories featured or mentioned American Bridge's Etch-A-Sketch rapid response video.  Check out just a few of the shout-outs below.

Politic365: Can Jeb Bush Save Romney From Himself?

On March 24, 2012, Politic365 reported:

That might explain why almost four months after saying he had an immigration plan, Romney hasn’t revealed it. Already, Democrats are pressuring Romney to unveil his  proposal, suggesting that he either does not have a plan or he is reluctant to share it with voters.

POLITICO: George Allen's Amended NCAA Bracketology

On March 23, 2012, POLITICO reported:

The sharp eyes over at the Democratic oppo firm American Bridge notice that in an attempt to alter his picks to potentially pander to teams with a homestate following -- a move below almost no pol -- Allen littered his bracket with errors.

Roll Call: Indiana: Dick Lugar’s Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week

On March 22, 2012, Roll Call reported:

Sen. Dick Lugar’s (R-Ind.) re-election campaign has seen better days, even this cycle. The six-term Senator faces a tough primary against state Treasurer Richard Mourdock on May 8, but this must be Lugar’s worst week yet for his prospects. A request for response from Lugar’s team was not immediately returned this afternoon.

NY Times: Romney Campaign Gaffe Steps On Good News, Again

On March 22, 2012, the New York Times reported:

nd they will be aided in the coming months by liberal allies who are literally tracking every word Mr. Romney and his associates say. The idea behind groups like American Bridge 21st Century and others is to catch the Republicans in misstatements, flip-flops, embarrassing moments and gaffes.

MEMO To Tea Party Express: Have You Actually Seen Sarah Steelman’s Record?

Today the national tea party group, Tea Party Express, announced their support for former Missouri state Treasurer Sarah Steelman. The one thing that this announcement makes clear is that the Tea Party Express has no idea about Steelman’s record. While we think she is certainly the wrong choice for Missouri, we would have thought a number of positions she has taken would immediately disqualify her from consideration by the Tea Party Express as well. Since the Tea Party Express is obviously too busy shopping for tricorn hats to do their due diligence, American Bridge 21st Century decided to do the research for them.