STUDY: Republicans vote with Steve King on immigration 90% of the time
Recently, while speaking about DREAM Act-eligible young Americans, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) claimed, "For everyone who's a valedictorian, there's another 100 out there who weigh 130 pounds--and they've got calves the size of cantaloupes because they're hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert.” Offensive on just about every level, the statement drew the excoriations from his colleagues that did not accompany his comparison of immigrants to dogs during the 2012 election. Said Speaker John Boehner, King’s comment “does not reflect the values of the American people or the Republican Party.” Unfortunately, Boehner is only half-correct. While the American people are deeply opposed to the bigotry espoused by King, the Republican caucus is solidly aligned with King’s worldview. Since Rep. King first took office as a member of the House in 2003, Congressional Quarterly has identified 110 votes in the House as pertaining to immigration. On 98 of those votes, the majority of Republicans in the House followed King’s lead. Excluding one vote that King missed, that means that the Republican caucus sided with the virulently anti-immigrant King 89.9% of the time when asked to vote on immigration issues.
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]Connie Mack Agrees: We Should Phase Out Medicare, Social Security
At a Tea Party event in Central Florida, Connie Mack agreed with an event attendee who suggested we eliminate the corporate income tax and eventually phase out Medicare and Social Security. Wonder how this will play with Florida voters?
MEMO: Josh Mandel FBI Investigation
When Josh Mandel became Ohio’s Treasurer barely a year ago, he was entrusted to act as a responsible steward of the state’s funds. Mandel quickly violated that trust by failing to fulfill the responsibilities of his job so he could campaign for a Senate seat instead. Mandel has also acted irresponsibly by flouting campaign finance rules. Questionable contributions made to his Senate campaign by employees of Suarez Corporation are now under investigation by the FBI. The suspicious nature of the donations was raised by the press to Mandel last year, as it was noted how unusual it was for multiple employees (and their spouses) of the same company, many whom have never before given to federal campaigns, to each make maximum donations to the same candidates. Yet Mandel refused to investigate the donations, and returned them only after the press reported on the existence of an FBI investigation. And though he has now returned $105,000 in tainted donations, Mandel has yet to come clean. He refuses to identify when he became aware of the FBI investigation, how he learned of the investigation, and how long he waited before returning the donations. This is to say nothing of whether he knew that the contributions were illegal before they were made, and still chose to accept them anyway. With the FBI investigating these contributions to Mandel’s campaign, Ohio voters are asking the same question: what is Josh Mandel hiding?
MEMO: What you need to know about Deb Fischer
Thanks to the more than $250,000 investment from billionaire Joe Rickett’s super PAC, Deb Fischer won a surprising last-person-standing victory in Nebraska’s Republican senate primary. But now Nebraskans are left wondering: who is their Republican nominee? As an untested, unknown, unscrutinized candidate, Deb Fischer didn’t “win” on Tuesday, her opponents lost. But now that she will be the Republican standard bearer in the most high profile race in the state, her record, votes, and positions will be thoroughly vetted by voters. While no means exhaustive, below is a quick primer on what you need to know about Deb Fischer.
ThinkProgress: Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning Calls Drinking Age Unconstitutional
On March 30, 2012, ThinkProgress reported:
In an exclusive interview with ThinkProgress’s Scott Keyes, however, Nebraska Attorney General and U.S. Senate candidate Jon Bruning (R), one of the conservative elected officials behind the anti-health care lawsuit, says that even this nonsensical attack on health reform does not go far enough. If it were up to him, a seminal 25 year-old opinion laying out the federal government’s power to work in partnership with states should be overruled as well:
Akron Beacon Journal: State Treasurer Announces He’s Running For U.S. Senate
On March 1, 2012, the Akron Beacon Journal reported:
During a nearly hourlong appearance, Mandel’s staff tried to obstruct the view of two people shooting video of the candidate’s public address, Cohen said. One camera belonged to American Bridge 21st Century, a self-proclaimed Democratic-leaning political action committee. The organization’s president, Rodell Mollineau, said his group tracks Mandel’s events and are regularly obstructed at public events. It was Cohen who noticed the Mandel staffers putting paper in front of the lenses. He said he asked them to stop, and they obliged. “It is Akron Press Club policy and tradition that anybody who wants to record audio or video is free to do so,” Cohen said afterward. “We’re the Press Club, after all. We’re all about free speech and free press. We would protect [Mandel’s] rights just as strenuously.”
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.VIDEO: Romney Said He "Loves " The Idea Of A Flat Tax
ROMNEY SAID THIS WEEK HE LOVES THE FLAT TAX – JUST NOT THOSE THAT GIVE BREAKS TO WEALTHY AMERICANS
Romney Said He Loved The Flat Tax. At a town hall in Nashua, New Hampshire, Romney said, “I love a flat tax.” [Romney Town Hall, 8/8/11] Research after the jump.NY Times: Trailing G.O.P. With Cameras, Seeking Gaffes
Aaron Fielding quietly stalks his prey — Republicans — with his video camera, patiently waiting for a political moment worthy of YouTube. At 27, he is a full-time “tracker” for American Bridge 21st Century, a new Democratic organization that aims to record every handshake, every utterance by Republican candidates in 2011 and 2012, looking for gotcha moments that could derail political ambitions or provide fodder for television advertisements by liberal groups next year.