Rick Scott's tax returns: unearthed and searchable
Yesterday, in an attempt to give off an air of transparency, Rick Scott released a few years of tax returns. Of course, he didn't want to make it too easy on anyone who might be interested in digging through them--they were not downloadable or searchable. Luckily, American Bridge is here to help Scott take his disclosure efforts a step further. Feel free to search through his records after the jump.
Thom Tillis Is Back And More Racially Divisive Than Ever
You may remember him from his hit single "Divide and Conquer." Well he's back with an all new track. Your…
Dave Brat's Grand Old TEA Party
The Republican establishment was dealt a shocking blow last week when Eric Cantor, an ardent conservative and supposed young star of the GOP, was defeated by little-known Tea Party candidate Dave Brat. The upset sent shockwaves through the Republican Party, and Brat wasted no time in demonstrating his extreme views. In an interview with Chuck Todd the day after winning his primary, Brat, an economics professor, appeared to lay out a case for abolishing the minimum wage, before backpedaling and claiming that he didn't have a "well-crafted response on that one." But the real story isn't Brat's bumbling, or even Cantor's fall from grace. The real story is that the positions of Dave Brat and his Tea Party friends and the positions of today's "Republican establishment" aren't any different. Whether you ask overnight Tea Party sensation Dave Brat, or longtime Washington elite Speaker Boehner, they'll tell you the same thing. There ain't any difference between the Tea Party and the GOP.
Paying Off Student Loans Is Easy: Just Get A Massive Book Deal!
Last week, Marco Rubio spoke out in opposition to President Obama's Student Loan Relief Initiative. Specifically, Rubio railed against the idea of forgiveness for student loans after 20 years. It was a notably unsympathetic stance from a Senator who has personal experience with the burden of having massive student loans to pay back. When Rubio was elected in 2010, his financial disclosure showed that he was still encumbered by over $100,000 of debt on his own student loans. Luckily for Rubio, he netted a hefty sum from his book deal in 2012 and was finally able to pay off his debt. As for the rest of us, a lucrative book deal doesn't seem like it's in the cards. And to us normal folk, Marco Rubio has a nice message: You're on your own, pal!
Thom Tillis Is Frustrated By "Emotional" Female Colleague
Thom Tillis has a clear record when it comes to women. And it's not good. Tillis supports a personhood amendment that could make some forms of birth control illegal. He passed legislation that threatened to close women's health care clinics in North Carolina. And he even believes states should have the right to make birth control illegal entirely. So it's no surprise when Tillis's attacks on women extend beyond his legislation and into his personal comments and behavior. Coming under fire this week after a film tax credit that supports North Carolina was killed in committee, Tillis let his true colors shine though. While he previously supported the credit, Tillis was notably quiet after the Koch brothers' Americans for Prosperity railed against it--a group that has also poured millions upon millions into false advertisements attacking his Senate opponent. So when a female legislator, Susi Hamilton, called Tillis out for betraying North Carolina's film community, he brushed her criticism off as being "born out of emotions." Thom Tillis. No friend of women.
Funnier Than Fallon? Chris Christie's Comedy Of Errors
Chris Christie is taking his scandal-tainted show on the road this evening for an appearance on the Tonight Show. But before he crosses the Hudson via the bridge his aides shut down access to in a cheap political stunt (maybe he's more of a tunnel man), Christie already has people in hysterics with the comedy of errors of his failing governorship. Just a short while back, Chris Christie was considered the clear frontrunner for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination. But one spiraling bridge scandal, a handful of state credit downgrades, and several millions in wasted taxpayer dollars on a joke of a self-exoneration later, Christie seems more likely to succeed Jimmy Fallon than Barack Obama. So before tonight's show, grab some popcorn and check out some of Christie's greatest hits, courtesy of American Bridge:
Floundering Republican Elites Lose Control of Party, Ask "What Civil War?"
Ask the elites of the Republican establishment in Washington about the civil war within their party, and you're likely to be met with feigned bewilderment. Well golly, I've got no idea what you're talking about! It's a strategy that has been an almost religiously adhered to by the so-called adult types - the John Boehners and Paul Ryans in Congress, and George Wills and Charles Krauthammers of the punditry class - who are grasping at straws in an effort to keep the party from coming completely unglued. But now, even the most wide-eyed supporters must now see through this guise of unity. This week House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, who boasts a 95 lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union, was tossed aside for Dave Brat, an unknown ultra-conservative Tea Partier. That's right, the same Eric Cantor who has been long-considered a young star of the party, known for being a constant thorn in the President's side for his refusal to compromise his conservative values, was toppled by the Tea Party in the blink of a primary. He became the sitting first majority leader in history to lose a primary since the position was created in 1899. Just hours later, extreme Tea Partier Chris McDaniel, who is running to unseat incumbent conservative Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran in another nasty and drawn out intra-party fight, sent a fundraising email with the subject line "We Just Beat Eric Cantor." Now that the Tea Party has killed the narrative of its decline with a single swift victory, what will be their next target? The American people can only await complete and utter government gridlock in the coming months.
Seven Things You Should Know About Tea Party Radical David Brat
Here's what you should know about David Brat, the Tea Party radical who blindsided House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) in a primary challenge on Tuesday: He is a right-wing candidate who opposes a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, supports radically reshaping our heath care system, and event wants to scale back the regulatory powers of the FDA. Don't take our word for it? See the research below.
1. Brat supported radically altering the American health care system.
Brat Supported Radically Altering The American Health Care System, Said “‘We Need To Also Scrap Employer-Based Health Insurance.” According to Culpeper Star-Exponent "Of course, the first question I asked him was what should be done with Obamacare? ‘It needs to be scrapped,’ he replied without hesitation. ‘Completely.’ So I asked him what should take Obamacare's place, and to understand his answer, you have to know some history… When I asked him what should take Obamacare's place, his answer was, ‘We need to also scrap employer-based health insurance, and give those incentives to individuals to carry their own portable health insurance.’ He went on to say, ‘If we did that, the issue of pre-existing conditions largely goes away.’" [Culpeper Star-Exponent, 3/31/14]2. Brat called bankers “the solution, not the problem” in regards to the financial crisis.
Brat On The Financial Crisis: ‘Bankers Are The Solution, Not The Problem,’ According to The News & Advance “David Brat says that’s the state of today’s economy, and says everything we know about what is being termed a recession is wrong… The global economy is overleveraged. Ultimately, he said, pointing to the European debt crisis, the country’s economy is headed for disaster if changes aren’t quickly made. And the answer, he said, is not in economics, but ethics. ‘Bankers are the solution, not the problem,’ he said, adding, ‘[Washington] D.C. knows this.’" [The News & Advance, 1/25/13]3. Brat is radical on immigration.
Brat Opposed Any Kind Of Immigration Reform; Ran To The Right On Eric Cantor On Border Security. According to Watchdog.org, "Cantor, in Brat’s view, is flunking badly on border security. Indeed, the congressman even applauded President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address outlining a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. On Friday, Cantor said on the House floor that ‘immigration reform could be an economic boon to this country.’ Brat is having none of it. He calls the imminent GOP cave-in on immigration an exercise in ‘crony capitalism.’" [Watchdog.org, 2/6/14]- Brat: “A Change In Immigration Policy Means Amnesty.” According to Watchdog.org "‘At every turn, the GOP establishment is favoring the elites,’ Brat declares. ‘A change in immigration policy means amnesty.’" [Watchdog.org, 2/6/14]
MEMO: Tea For Everyone
Memo: Tea For Everyone To: Interested Parties From: Brad Woodhouse, President of American Bridge Date: Tuesday, June 10, 2014 This primary season has had the "Republican establishment" giddy as they have thus far managed to stave off embarrassing defeats from "Tea Party" challengers. Of course the reality is that GOP hasn't squelched the Tea Party at all--they've just embraced it. When you look at the "establishment" candidates of 2014, and their stances on key issues, they ARE the Tea Party of 2010. Opposition to minimum wage hikes and equal pay legislation. Support for personhood amendments to outlaw a woman's right to choose without exception and limit some forms of contraception. Support for Paul Ryan's plans to end Medicare as we know it and privatize Social Security. Denial of scientific fact on climate change. Massive tax cuts for the wealthy, shifting more of the tax burden to working families. These are the the platforms on which today's so-called "establishment" Republicans are running. But for those who have still fallen in the trap of believing that the GOP has somehow suppressed the Tea Party, tonight should put that little theory to rest. Could there be a clearer rejection of the establishment from the Republican base than the primary defeat of Majority Leader Eric Cantor? Keep in mind, not only has he legislated as anything but a moderate, Cantor actually spent over $1 million against a drastically underfunded opponent trying to convince primary voters of his extremism. He distributed mailers and emails tacking way to the right and bragging that he was blocking common-sense immigration reform--or as he now calls it, amnesty. And still, Cantor, with all his sprints to the right, with help from his powerful friends, and with a resume that would have been considered staunchly conservative just a few years ago, could not pass the "true conservative" test that today's GOP requires. The Tea Party is alive and well. And now, it goes by the name "GOP."
Chris Christie And Curious The Case Of The Disappearing Taxpayer Money
Just throw it on my tab! That's Chris Christie's message to New Jersey taxpayers, as his self-exoneration bill keeps climbing and climbing. New documents yesterday showed that through February, New Jersey has been billed over $3 million so that the Governor can "clear" himself of wrongdoing in his bridge fiasco. It's a feeble attempt to rehabilitate an image that has been tarnished not only by scandal, but also by economic failures. But Christie has shown time and time again that his image comes before the well-being of his constituents. Just a few weeks ago it came to light that Christie gave significant raises to his own staffers, especially those who helped boost his image during his 2013 re-election, while he ransacked pension funds due to his own massive budget shortfall. What's more, in October, Christie wasted $24 million in taxpayer money to hold a special Senate election, rather than just holding it concurrently with the gubernatorial election three weeks later. Why? He was worried that having Cory Booker on the same ballot as him would shrink his margin of victory. For a guy who was supposed to be a fiscal conservative, Chris Christie has been extremely liberal about throwing taxpayer money around--as long as it's to his personal benefit.