MEMO: The Record Tommy Thompson Wants You To Forget
To: Interested Parties From: Matt Thornton, Senior Communications Adviser, American Bridge 21st Century Date: 8/14/2012 RE: The record Tommy Thompson wants you to forget Perhaps in a bout of nostalgia, Wisconsin Republicans have nominated former governor Tommy Thompson as their party’s Senate nominee. But much like seeing Brett Favre in Vikings purple, Wisconsin voters are in for the rude surprise that Thompson is no longer on their side. Thompson left the Badger State behind when he was tapped to serve in George W. Bush’s cabinet. Less clear is when he abandoned Wisconsin values to become the worst embodiment of Washington’s revolving-door. After leaving the Bush administration, Thompson cashed in on his public service experience, amassing over $13 million with help from his ties to the numerous companies for which he served on their boards or did “consulting.” His client list included more than a dozen pharmaceutical or health care companies which he had previously been entrusted to regulate. Moderate voters will also be disappointed to learn of Thompson’s far-right shift on health care during the primary to appeal to the Tea Party. Once a supporter of health care reform to ease the burden on struggling families, Thompson embraced radical Tea Party rhetoric to criticize the reform he earlier backed. Calling for health care reform to “be sent to the ash heap of history” is a far cry from the praise he showered on the bill he once called an “important step” – and one that made him a rich man. Tommy Thompson may be a familiar name for Wisconsin voters, but they’ll soon realize he’s not the same candidate they thought they knew.
BRIDGE BRIEFING: Romney's Record on Issues Impacting the African American Community
Romney Administration
Romney Failed To Appoint Minorities To Top Positions In His Administration As Governor. According to the Associated Press, “A new report faults Governor Romney for failing to appoint minorities, particularly Latinos and Asian-Americans, to top positions in his administration. Of 163 top-level positions, fewer than eleven percent were held by minorities. That’s according to the report by the McCormack Graduate School’s Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy at U-Mass Boston. Latino appointments made up one-point-eight percent of the total number of posts, even though Latinos make up seven percent of the state’s population. Asian-Americans make up four percent of the state population, but hold fewer than one percent of total top-level positions. A Romney spokesman defended the governor’s record -- saying approximately 52 percent of all employees in the administration are women, and 22 percent are minority.” [Associated Press, 12/6/06]VIDEO: American Bridge Awards Rob Cornilles The BS Championship
With the college football BCS championship tonight only hours away, American Bridge 21st Century has decided to award our own “BS Championship” to Rob Cornilles, a candidate for Congress in Oregon’s 1st District. We have assembled a video highlighting his questionable business practices and tendency to inflate his record for political gain. “Rob Cornilles should know by now that he cannot blatantly lie to constituents and get away with it. He has a lot of explaining to do, and his BS Championship award will give him plenty of opportunities to talk about his business record on the campaign trail,” said Matt Thornton, spokesman for American Bridge 21st Century.
MEMO: Candidate Romney’s Attack Boomerangs On Governor Romney
Mitt Romney today has adopted the message of former Tea Party candidate Michele Bachmann in a transparent attempt to appeal to her extremist supporters. Romney’s phony outrage about “crony capitalism” is particularly surprising considering Romney’s record in Massachusetts. When Romney was Governor of Massachusetts, “the state handed out $4.5 million in loans to two firms run by his campaign donors that have since defaulted, leaving taxpayers holding the bag.” Romney lured one of the companies to Massachusetts by offering a direct loan from the state and his Administration bragged about using government loans to attract business. But, now that Romney is running for President, he claims that government loans to private companies are “crony capitalism.” It’s the worst kind of hypocrisy from a candidate who has proven he will do or say anything to advance his political career.
MEMO: Unanswered Questions From The GOP Debate / Rick Perry Joins The Race
Thursday night, the Republican candidates for President took the stage for a debate in Iowa.
Though the proceedings were overshadowed by Rick Perry, who is following in Fred Thompson's footsteps as the GOP's "next big thing," there was a moment in the debate which provided perhaps the most important insight into the current state of the Republican Party. Each of the candidates raised their hand to indicate that they would walk away from any compromise legislation that included revenue, even at a 10:1 ratio in favor of spending cuts. This should not be considered a surprise considering the brinksmanship of Republican candidates who have used extreme rhetoric advocating default or dangerous economic policies to push our economy over the edge.
With that said, here are the questions that we’re still waiting for Republican candidates to answer, after the jump.
George Allen On Education
Allen Said He Would “Take Back” His Vote For No Child Left Behind. “Allen is invigorating his campaign with fresh issues and themes, a new course that includes the surprising admission that his vote for the No Child Left Behind program to enhance the federal role in public education is ‘the one I would take back.’” [Human Events, 3/8/11]
George Allen On The Budget
PolitiFact: Allen’s Claim That He Reined In State Spending Is False. “Republican George Allen is promising his unrelenting effort to curb federal spending if he’s elected to the U.S. Senate next year. He says he’ll bring to Washington the same kind of ‘sweeping reform’ he brought to Virginia as governor from 1994 to 1998. His campaign web site says that when Allen was governor, ‘He challenged critics and sentiment that suggested it couldn’t be done, reining in government spending and substantially reducing the size of the state workforce’…Allen could accurately say he fought to curb spending. But Allen says he reined it in. That creates an impression the bottom line shrank or was stunted in growth. We rate the statement False.” [PolitiFact Virginia, 9/12/11]
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