MEMO: The Consequences of Crazy, Volume 2: Todd Akin is a Legitimately Bad Candidate
Displaying an incomprehensibly poor understanding of human female biology and raising disconcerting questions about what distinguishes a “legitimate” rape from presumably lesser rapes, Rep. Todd Akin forever entered the political lexicon and emerged as a national punch line with his comments on “legitimate rape.” For casual observers, the comments raised the question of how an individual holding such an extreme view not only wins a Senate primary, but holds onto a seat in the House of Representatives for over a decade. Indeed, such concerns are well warranted. Rather than an isolated incident, these remarks are just the latest in a long line of outrageous comments from Akin. With the deadline passing for Akin to withdraw his name from the November ballot, Republican strategists are wishing that they had had a way to shut down his whole candidacy. Instead, they are finding out that these are the consequences of nominating crazy.
VIDEO: Christie/King 2016?
Chris Christie will be traveling to Iowa today to attend a fundraiser for embattled Representative Steve King, whose recent comments…
NEW MICROSITE: Veepmistakes.com
Today American Bridge unveiled a new website, veepmistakes.com, featuring video tracking footage and comprehensive research books on likely Republican vice presidential contenders. Check out the site here.
MEMO: 12 Things We Could Learn From Previous Romney Tax Returns
ICYMI: With Mitt Romney still refusing to release his pre-2010 returns, we wanted to be sure that you saw our previous memo explaining why it is so important that Mitt Romney release them. Click through for the 12 questions that Mitt Romney needs to answer by releasing his previous years’ tax returns.
ProgressOhio: AWOL Mandel
On January 26, 2012, ProgressOhio posted the following:
Only one day after the Associated Press reported that Ohio Treasurer and Senate candidate Josh Mandel has never attended a Board of Deposit meeting, he skipped yet another one to attend a high-dollar fundraiser in Washington, DC. American Bridge trackers caught Mandel on his way to the fundraiser in DC, as well as his absence from the Board of Deposit meeting.
VIDEO: Romney's Ugly Coronation
Though Mitt Romney has spent 5 years of his run for President mired at 25%, there is one group that is signaling their singular support: the Washington Establishment. And Karl Rove, the king of conventional GOP wisdom is working double-time to make sure rank-and-file Republicans know it's time to fall in line. Through his constant television appearances and weekly op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, Rove has consistently favored Mitt Romney and done what he does best: work to tear down any credible rival to Romney. He declared Romney’s tie with Santorum “a big win for Romney in Iowa.” He systemically unleashes harsh critiques of the latest what he calls “the GOP’s not Romney.” He defends Romney’s gaffes and policies, including the Massachusetts health care plan most Republicans dislike. For Rove, helping the favored candidate of Wall Street is an important sign of trust for the billionaire executives that Rove relies on for contributions. For Romney, earning Rove’s embrace is the successful culmination of six-years of saying anything to win the support of the Washington Republican establishment.
Romney's History Of Desperate Attacks
As we learned from the 2008 campaign, the more desperate Romney gets, the more negative he becomes. This week is the beginning of the 2012 edition of Mitt Romney's GOP Desperation Express. His negative campaigns are kissing cousins of his positive campaigns in one regard: He'll say and do anything if he things it will help him get elected. During the 2008 campaign, Romney launched attacks against every one of his major rivals-- Mike Huckabee, John McCain, Fred Thompson, Rudy Giuliani. His Republican opponents said of the ads: “distortion,” “hypocrisy,” “lying,” “desperate,” “dishonest,” “simply aren’t true,” and “clear willingness to say and do anything for political gain.” While the Republican candidates disagreed on much, there was a general agreement that Romney’s relentless attacks were unfair. Many commentators argued that the ads backfired – helping to propel Huckabee and McCain to come-from-behind victories in Iowa and New Hampshire. But in 2008 and 2012, a scorched-earth campaign is the only strategic path for a candidate who has shown for six years that the appeal of his positive message is limited to 25% of Republican primary voters. It’s not just the negativity of Romney’s attacks that turns off voters, it’s that their message reinforces Romney’s key weakness. In 2008 and now, Romney launched harsh immigration attacks accusing opponents of supporting “amnesty” when he had earlier defended the same plan and said it was “not amnesty.” He bashes opponents as career politicians despite his 17-year political career. He attacked John McCain for opposing tax cuts that he had refused to take a position on. He went after Giuliani for pro-choice views despite his own long history of claiming to support abortion rights. These obviously hypocritical attacks may help explain why nearly half of Republican voters believe Romney “will do or say anything to win.” As we learned from the 2008 campaign, the more desperate Romney gets, the more negative he becomes. This week is just the beginning.
Allen's Fake Supporters
First George Allen was caught faking endorsements from the Tea Party. Now, as reported by NBC Washington and Progress VA, it appears he's featuring fake photos of his supporters on his website: [gallery link="file" columns="2" ids="10272,10271"]
Paul Ryan Townhall – 10/28/11
The following video was recorded at a Paul Ryan townhall event in Wisconsin on October 28, 2011.
Insurance Companies Call Out Trump Administration's Health Care Sabotage, Echo CBO
Executives from insurance companies covering millions of Americans are calling out the Trump administration for intentionally sabotaging health care markets…