Michael Grimm's no good, very bad Monday
Michael Grimm is having a bad week, and it's only Monday. The Staten Island Congressman has been indicted on twenty criminal charges, including "mail and wire fraud, filing false tax returns, obstruction of justice and perjury," as reported by Politico. American Bridge has been tracking Grimm's shady past for quite some time and we have the full background on this growing scandal.
Why is Michael Grimm Being Indicted?
Reports surfaced this afternoon that Staten Island Rep. Michael Grimm will soon face criminal charges after a long federal investigation into alleged campaign finance violations. Wondering what those charges will be about? Bridge has the background on one of Grimm's many campaign finance issues that have been subject to federal investigation.
Michael Grimm & The Rabbi Pinto Scandal
Law Enforcement Source Claimed That Grimm Threatened Orthodox Rabbi And Congregation. According to the New York Daily News, “Grimm had mentioned that he was a former FBI agent and let the rabbi know, through his interpreter and staff, that he could help the congregation, or make life tougher for them, and that he was a good person to have as a friend, not an enemy,’ a law enforcement source told Roll Call.” [New York Daily News, 03/03/12] New York Times: Grimm Told Supporter That “There Were Ways Of Working Around The Campaign Rules.” According to the New York Times, “A second follower recalled that Mr. Grimm came to his office in Manhattan to solicit a legal contribution. As he was handing over the check, the second follower said, Mr. Grimm confided in him that there were ways of working around the campaign rules. ‘Grimm wanted you to supply the money, and if someone wants to give and cannot give, you have to find a friend to give it through,’ the second follower recalled. ‘Let’s say someone is not legal to give because he’s not American. Grimm wants this guy, Joe A, to give the money to Joe B so Joe B can make the contribution to the campaign.’” [New York Times, 01/28/12] Rabbi’s Followers Alleged That Grimm Told Congregation Members He Could Take Illegal Donations. According the New York Times, “Three of the rabbi’s followers said in separate interviews that Mr. Grimm or Mr. Biton told them that the campaign would find a way to accept donations that were over the legal limit, were given in cash or were given by foreigners without green cards. Congressional campaigns are not allowed to accept cash donations of more than $100.” [New York Times, 01/28/12]Tillis's Electricity Tax Omission from Tuesday Night Debate
At last night's Republican primary debate in the North Carolina Senate race, Thom Tillis credited low North Carolina electricity prices for growing the state's manufacturing sector. What Tillis failed to mention in his answer, however, is that he helped push through the legislature a tax package last year that raised the combined state sales tax on electricity to 7%.
At GOP Debate Tillis Credited Low NC Electricity Prices Growing Manufacturing Sector…
Video: Tillis Said That Electricity In North Carolina Was “Some Of The Cheapest In The Southeast United States.” During a GOP Senate primary debate, Tillis said: “North Carolina has some of the cheapest electricity in the southeast United States. It’s one of the reasons why our manufacturing sector’s coming back.” [TWC News Senate Debate, 4/22/14]…But Tillis Helped Through A Tax Plan That Increased Electricity Tax To 7%
Tax Reform Package Increased Combined Sales Tax On Electricity To 7%. According to the Raleigh News & Observer, “The plan would expand the 4.75 percent state sales tax to some service contracts and, movies and amusements. The sales tax on electricity would increase to a combined 7 percent.” [Raleigh News & Observer, 7/15/13]Santorum & Terri Lynn Land's War on Women
It's fitting that the same day Michigan Senate candidate Terri Lynn Land released an ad attempting to repair her image after weeks of negative press stemming from her comments on pay equity, Rick Santorum's PAC is announcing its endorsement of her. Santorum is well known for his opposition to the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and his extreme opposition to both birth control and abortion even in the case of rape. It's no surprise, then, that Santorum would support Land.
Why is Scott Walker so happy?
American Bridge today is kicking off a new Tumblr and officially welcoming Scott Walker to the Wisconsin governor's race with a series of GIFs asking - Why is Scott Walker So Happy? Could it be because his promise to create 250K jobs in his first term has fallen more than flat? Perhaps he's proud of his record of making the biggest cuts to education in Wisconsin's history. Or maybe Walker's just giddy from having rolled back provisions of Wisconsin's Equal Pay Enforcement Act, which he derided as a "gravy train" for trial lawyers. Check out AmericanBridge.Tumblr.com for the full litany of possible reasons why Walker could be so happy as he announces his re-election campaign today. [gallery link="file" ids="11505,11499,11500,11502"]
The Truth About GOP Opposition to Paycheck Fairness
As Senate Republicans today blocked passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act, supporting legislation to strengthen equal pay protections for women might seem like a no brainer for Republicans whose own party autopsy cited the need to improve outreach to female voters. But for the extreme conservative Republicans in the Senate - and the Republican candidates seeking to join them - no excuse for voting against this bill has been too low. Just yesterday, Mitch McConnell called the Paycheck Fairness Act a "bizarre obsession" of the left, while Marco Rubio said "I think we're just wasting time" holding a vote on this bill. These sad efforts to diminish the very real problem of pay inequality facing many American women are merely an attempt to distract from the fact that so many extreme Republicans, both current Senators and 2014 candidates, don’t support remedies to ensure women receive equal pay for equal work.
Unequal Pay Day
It’s 2014. Paying women the same as men for the same work should be a no-brainer, right? Not for many right-wing Republicans. The extreme conservatives highlighted in American Bridge's new website UnequalPay.com have gone to absurd lengths to block and even undo equal pay protections for women: voting against the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, paying female employees less than their male counterparts, and arguing that women don’t really want equal pay anyway, so what’s all the fuss about? The list of these shameful tactics and faulty arguments goes on and on. In honor of this year's Equal Pay Day, check out American Bridge's new website and read below for a few highlights of Republican office holders and candidates whose opposition to equal pay protections should give female voters serious pause at the ballot box.
Rick Scott's History of Discrimination
Rick Scott's campaign has been facing increasing fire for its outreach to Latino Floridians since his top fundraiser quit last week and claims surfaced that Scott's campaign staff made racially insensitive comments. Unfortunately for Scott, his association with claims of discrimination extends much further back. Before he became governor, Scott co-founded a chain of walk-in health care clinics called Solantic. One former Solantic employee - Dr. David Yarian - accused Scott of discriminatory hiring practices when it came to Latinos. Yarian claimed Scott encouraged "mainstream" hires when faced with a Latino job candidate, and that Scott said "no" to hiring an otherwise qualified candidate based on his "slight accent." In addition to Yarian, Solantic came under fire from multiple other employees with similar claims. Between 2003 and 2005, five Solantic supervisors and two employees claimed the company prevented hiring based on race, age or weight. These seven employees filed a combined lawsuit in 2006, and Solantic settled for an undisclosed sum in 2007. Between Solantic, Scott's support for extreme Arizona-style anti-immigration law, and his recent campaign drama, the choice for Latino Floridians is clear: Rick Scott is bad for Florida.
The Truth About Koch Industries in North Carolina
The Koch brothers, now infamous with nearly half of Americans for the trail of dark money they use to influence elections, are spending heavily in contested Senate races this year. In North Carolina in particular, the Kochs have targeted Senator Kay Hagan with $7 million in attack ads - more money than they've spent on any other race in the country. So what does the Koch agenda look like in the Tar Heel state? As recently as last year, a Koch subsidiary laid off 100 workers from a Wilmington, North Carolina, chemical plant. Other Koch subsidiaries have done the same in North Carolina, including one subsidiary that laid off over 500 workers from two local lumber plants, and one that laid of hundreds of workers from two industrial polyester plants. North Carolina voters should take a hard look at the Koch agenda - and their clear record in the state - before casting their ballots in this critical election.
Bridge President Brad Woodhouse on Koch Brothers: Dark Money Fueling a Dark Agenda
Nearly half of Americans are now familiar with the infamous conservative donors the Koch brothers. Their trail of dark money funds a broad and complex political network that has one goal in mind: driving a conservative agenda that enriches the wealthiest Americans at the expense of the middle and working class. This agenda is nothing new. Charles and David Koch's political activism and their attacks on programs that support and bolster the middle class date back to a failed 1980 vice presidential run by David Koch on the Libertarian ticket, running to the right of conservatives' now revered icon Ronald Reagan. The brothers' policy agenda -- attacking Social Security, Medicare and the minimum wage, and protecting corporate tax breaks -- has barely changed since. Its newest addition: efforts to take America back to the days of insurance companies making decisions about patient care. Americans for Prosperity, the centerpiece of the Koch machine, spent $122 million in 2012, as detailed in Bridge Project's recent report on "Conservative Transparency," including a whopping $33.5 million on their failed effort to defeat President Obama. This cycle, AFP has already spent more than $30 million in states with competitive Senate races. As the Kochs work to advance their self-serving agenda, voters should keep a keen eye on the true motives behind their attacks.