Corroding the Classroom: Republican Gubernatorial Candidates' Devastating Cuts to Education
In key gubernatorial races across the country, education funding has become a major issue -- and that's bad news for Republicans.
In 2010, a slew of GOP candidates rode a tea party wave to governorships, promising massive budget overhauls that would hand tax cuts to the wealthy and cut other programs to pay for them. Well they delivered on those promises, and one after the next gutted education funding as they reshaped their states in the tea party mold. Now they're reaping what they've sown.
From Rick Scott and Scott Walker to Sam Brownback, Tom Corbett and more, Republican governors are getting slammed for slashing funds for schools, dealing a blow to their respective reelection bids, while prospective governors like Doug Ducey have promised to do the same. Locked in tight races, these Tea Party governors are floundering to explain their draconian cuts to concerned constituents by twisting numbers and distorting their records.
But there is no explaining away the truth: these governors put tax cuts for the wealthy and big corporations ahead of children's education, and families in their states are paying the price.
Shady Rick, Part Infinity: Donor Intimidation (VIDEO)
Shady Rick Scott and the Republican Party of Florida continue to show that there is simply no length they won't go to in order to win this election. For the past week, Scott and the Florida GOP have been subject to ridicule and disgust over a pants-on-fire that ran thousands of times across the state, and neither Scott nor the state party would disavow it.
Hello Ernst and Ryan; Goodbye Social Security and Medicare
Joni Ernst is in serious trouble in her Iowa senate race. Paul Ryan really wants to be president. So when Ryan comes to Iowa to campaign for Ernst tomorrow, everybody's a winner! Except Iowans. Paul Ryan pioneered plans to privatize Social Security and slash Medicare, and Joni Ernst was his number one cheerleader. Ernst said "Ryan is a do-er, especially on budget issues," and she gleefully voted to endorse his budget in the Iowa Senate. She's voiced her support for privatizing Social Security on the campaign while refusing to offer any details, and claimed that Medicaid recipients "have no personal responsibility for their health," another program that would be gutted by Ryan's budgets. Joni Ernst is a fringe candidate, and it shows in the company she keeps and the people she admires. She's thanked the Koch brothers for "starting her trajectory." She said she was flattered to be compared to Sarah Palin because Palin is the kind of politician she admires. She appeared with Ted Cruz, who said there was no candidate he was more excited about across the country than Ernst. And now she's campaigning with anti-retirement crusader, Paul Ryan, who she calls a "do-er." Joni Ernst doesn't want Iowans to believe that she's extreme. But facts are facts. Ernst and Ryan want to privatize Social Security and roll back Medicare. That's pretty extreme.
Are Those Palm Trees in Iowa, Joni?
Yesterday, right in the middle of prime campaign season with just 42 days to go until Election Day, Joni Ernst took a break from her usual rough and tumble schedule of pandering to the Koch brothers to pander instead to some wealthy donors in....sunny Florida. American Bridge was there to document Ernst's fun in the Sunshine State, including her arrival and departure in a fancy chauffeured SUV and cracking jokes with her wealthy new Floridian friends. How positively, um, Iowan, of her. Watch Ernst's trip to the Sunshine State here:
NEW VIDEO: Rick Scott's Swindle
It takes a lot for Shady Rick Scott's ethical lapses to make headlines at this point. Why he's set the bar very high for himself with scores of unsavory scandals, attempts to mislead, and even flat out lies. But he's outdone himself this time. Around $2 million has been thrown behind an aggressive attack ad featuring a mysterious man, who Rick Scott and the Republican Party of Florida refused to identify, claiming that Charlie Crist and Scott Rothstein swindled him out of all his money. But the man's identity was finally tracked down by the Miami Herald, and surprise surprise, the ad is incredibly misleading.
Shot/Chaser: Chris Christie Puts Politics Before Governing
Chris Christie may be governor of New Jersey, but governing New Jersey doesn't always seem to be his priority. No,…
EXCLUSIVE Audio: AFP Summit Speakers "Appeal" To Women
Americans For Prosperity held its annual "Defending the American Dream Summit" in Dallas last month, where top tier Republican presidential…
American Bridge & Correct The Record Launch Joint Rapid Response Project Around Benghazi Select Committee Hearings
As first reported in Politico, American Bridge and Correct the Record today are launching a new joint rapid response project to prebut, fact check, and respond to the upcoming Benghazi Select Committee hearings. The new effort, modeled after a formal debate operation, will include a central online hub for research and rapid response - the Benghazi Research Center - accessible at BenghaziCommittee.com.
Get the Facts: Benghazi Research Center
Thom Tillis to Campaign with Fellow Education Raider, Chris Christie
The Thom Tillis campaign is in freefall. For months and months, conventional wisdom had pegged North Carolina as one of Republicans' best pickup opportunities in the Senate. But disarray in Raleigh under the House Speaker's leadership, a disastrous budget overhaul that gutted education spending to give massive cuts to the wealthy, and a sustained disrespect toward women have left Tillis in a decisive hole. Four separate polls came out this week showing Hagan up by an average of over 5 points, leading even a GOP pollster to say, "the race has unmistakably shifted towards Sen. Hagan in recent days." So Tillis is calling in some help to stop the bleeding, in the form of one-time GOP presidential frontrunner Chris Christie. Well the two should have plenty to talk about. They can talk about budget problems. They can talk about ethics questions. But most importantly, they can talk about how each of them took an axe to funding for education, hurting schools and angering constituents. Thom Tillis has a lot to learn about putting his constituents first. Chris Christie is the least qualified person to teach him.
New Video Shows Sen. Pat Roberts Taking Credit for Farm Bill He Voted Against
New tracking footage from American Bridge shows Pat Roberts discussing the importance of the Farm Bill with members of the produce industry at a United Fresh Conference last week. Roberts states plainly that "we passed the Farm Bill," before getting into details about the specifics of implementation. Only there's one problem: "we" didn't pass the farm bill, per se. Pat Roberts in fact was one of only 32 senators who voted against the Farm Bill, which luckily for Kansas, passed easily without his help.