Happy Holidays! Here are thousands of Jeb Bush's emails!
On Wednesday, the Washington Post published a story based on thousands of emails from Jeb Bush's time as governor of Florida, noting that Jeb plans to release the trove in a database at some point in the new year. But it's the holiday season, and nobody likes waiting for presents, so we're going ahead and sharing them widely for him. All of Bush's publicly available emails, obtained via public records request by American Bridge from the Florida Department of State, are now available here. Happy holidays, and rest assured, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to scrutinizing Jeb's record.
What "War on Women"?
The one where Republicans not only don't trust women to make their own health care decisions, they feel a need to legislate that only what they view as "legitimate rape" entitles a woman to receive health care services. That war on women, folks. Republicans may talk about their rebrand, claim their 2014 victories show their problems with women have evaporated, but don't listen to the spin. Nothing has changed in the two years since failed Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin made his infamous comment about "legitimate rape." Case in point? A Missouri legislator named Rick Brattin who has proposed a bill that would, as reported by Mother Jones, "force a woman who wants an abortion to obtain written permission from the father first—unless she was the victim of 'legitimate rape.'"
The Company You Keep… Allen West Endorses Joni Ernst
You can tell a lot about a person by the people they associate themselves with. For Joni Ernst, her cavalry just got even more extreme. Ernst has already credited the Koch brothers with starting her trajectory, said she was "flattered' to be compared to Sarah Palin, trumpeted Glenn Beck's conspiracy theory, and now she's earned the adoration of Allen West, who just cut this spot endorsing her. In case you're not familiar with Allen West, here are a couple of lovely quotes that highlight his worldview, though this is just the tip of the iceberg:
- "When I see anyone with an Obama bumper sticker, I recognize them as a threat to the gene pool."
- "So I’m here as the modern-day Harriet Tubman to kind of lead people on the Underground Railroad away from that plantation [of the Democratic Party]"
- On Social Security benefits: "So once again we are creating the sense of economic dependence which, to me is a form of modern, 21st-century slavery."
Where does the time go? Maybe it's stuck in that traffic in Fort Lee…
Friends, it was just one year ago this week when some mysterious traffic problems popped up in Fort Lee, New Jersey. Was it a "traffic study?" (Hint: no) Was it a pathetic attempt by the administration of a vindictive governor to exact revenge on his political enemies? (Hint: ding ding ding!) Since the story first broke, Christie's approval ratings have plummeted, he's lost voters' trust (in New Jersey and beyond), and the integrity of his conduct in office has fallen into question. Through thick and thin, American Bridge has been by his side, issuing open records requests to get to the heart of the real story, highlighting the ethical shortcomings of Christie's administration, and having a bit of fun along the way. So here's to the good times over the past year since Christie took out his political anguish on his own constituents, and so many more to come. Join us on a trip down memory lane, before Governor Christie closes it out of political retribution:
BridgegateTapes.com
Putting the "Fib" in NFIB
The National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) presents itself as a do-good nonpartisan group that fights for the best interests of small businesses and stays out of politics. It isn't. Dig a litter deeper and you'll quickly learn that NFIB is another group with Koch-funding working to push their anti-working family agenda and elect politicians who embody it. They purport to lobby for small business, but fight tooth and nail for tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans -- tax cuts that help people like the Kochs and not people like the local hardware store owner.
Rand Paul Can Run Away From His Burger, But Not From His Record On Immigration
On issue after issue, Rand Paul tries to have it both ways. He has lauded himself as a champion for "minority rights" while opposing parts of the Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act and Fair Housing Act. He has proclaimed on national television his desire to end all foreign aid, including for Israel, only to then claim he has never proposed such a thing. And when it comes to immigration, for months, Paul has been trying to have his cake and eat it too. He has repeatedly claimed to be supportive of immigration reform, trying to appear as though his 2016 candidacy could broaden the GOP base, but his record tells a different story. Paul voted against the Senate's bipartisan comprehensive immigration bill -- a bill that allocated significant resources to border security -- in addition to attacking DACA, effectively supporting a return to deporting DREAMers. Since the Senate passed its bill, the GOP has only moved backwards on the issue, cowering to the extreme anti-immigrant wing of the party driven by Steve King and all of his men. Rand Paul hasn't done a single thing to distance himself from this position, and now he's fundraising with King himself. And still, Paul wants to dissociate himself with the anti-immigrant crowd and avoid any tough questions about immigration policy. So much so that when a DREAMer introduced herself to Steve King at lunch, Rand literally dropped his burger and ran away from the table.
Bridgegate FOIA Released
American Bridge today is releasing the full results from a Bridgegate FOIA for the schedules of Bill Baroni, former Deputy Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey. The 1,000+ pages of documents returned by the Port Authority include Baroni's schedules - including meetings with senior advisors to Governor Christie, and expense account records and tickets related to Baroni's travel from last year. The full FOIA results are available here: https://ab21.wpengine.com/app/uploads/Baroni-FOIA.pdf
BRIDGE BRIEFING: Romney And Debt
Massachusetts Had The Highest Debt Per Capita Debt Of Any State Under Romney
Under Governor Romney, Massachusetts Had The Highest Per Capita Debt Of Any State. According to Think Progress, “According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (compiled by Connecticut’s chief analyst in 2009), Massachusetts had $10,504 in per capita bond debt in 2007, the highest total in the nation. No other state had more than $10,000 in per capita debt, and only one had more than $8,000. Massachusetts ranked second, behind only Alaska, in per capita debt as a percent of personal income, with debt making up more than 21 percent of each resident’s income.” [Think Progress, 5/16/12] Under Romney, Massachusetts’ Long-Term Debt Increased By 16.4 Percent Or $2.6 Billion. According to the Massachusetts Office of the Treasurer, Massachusetts had $16,063,162,000 in long-term debt as of January 1, 2003. As of October 1, 2006, shortly before Romney left the Governor’s Office, Massachusetts had $18,697,240,000 in long-term debt. This was an increase of $2,634,078,000 or 16.4%. [Massachusetts Office Of The Treasurer, p. A-22 , 2/28/03; Massachusetts Office Of The Treasurer, p. A-24, 11/10/06]BRIDGE BRIEFING: Romney's Record On Energy
Romney Supported The Ryan Budget Cutting Funding For Alternative Energy And Maintaining Tax Breaks And Subsidies For The Oil Industry
Romney Endorsed The FY2013 Ryan Plan Which Would Slash Funding For Energy Research And Eliminate Federal Subsidies For Alternative Energy Firms. According to the Los Angeles Times, “Last week, Rep. Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) unveiled a new Republican budget proposal that Romney and other GOP candidates quickly endorsed. Ryan’s budget would eliminate federal subsidies and tax breaks for alternative energy firms and would slash funding for energy research.” [Los Angeles Times, 3/25/12]
MEMO: Scott Brown’s Desperate Attempt To Rewrite History On Wall Street Reform
During a recent interview with New England Cable News, Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) attempted to rewrite the history of how 2010’s historic Wall Street Reform bill became law. Despite making nationwide news for delaying, obstructing and nearly torpedoing the entire process, Brown laughingly claimed, “I worked on it, I voted on it, I pushed it through.”
“Pushed it through”? Not so fast, Senator.
For weeks, Brown made headlines for threatening to derail Democrats’ efforts to rein in Wall Street in order to protect the big wigs that bankrolled his campaign.
Get the facts after the jump.