Etch-A-Sketch Redux
Last week top Romney campaign advisor Eric Fehrnstrom's now-famous Etch-A-Sketch remark ricocheted around the internet at warp speed, and many of the stories featured or mentioned American Bridge's Etch-A-Sketch rapid response video. Check out just a few of the shout-outs below.
Plain Dealer: Even In An Age Of Fact-Check Journalism, The Political Whopper Lives
On March 24, 2012, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported:
Josh Mandel's already casual relationship with the truth took a turn toward outright estrangement this month. [...] PolitiFact Ohio already had done the "grunt work" and found that the examples cited by Mandel's campaign failed to back up his claim, hence the Pants on Fire rating. Right or wrong, Mandel vowed to repeat the assertion "again and again" and said he sees no downside.
Politic365: Can Jeb Bush Save Romney From Himself?
On March 24, 2012, Politic365 reported:
That might explain why almost four months after saying he had an immigration plan, Romney hasn’t revealed it. Already, Democrats are pressuring Romney to unveil his proposal, suggesting that he either does not have a plan or he is reluctant to share it with voters.
POLITICO: George Allen's Amended NCAA Bracketology
On March 23, 2012, POLITICO reported:
The sharp eyes over at the Democratic oppo firm American Bridge notice that in an attempt to alter his picks to potentially pander to teams with a homestate following -- a move below almost no pol -- Allen littered his bracket with errors.
Roll Call: Indiana: Dick Lugar’s Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week
On March 22, 2012, Roll Call reported:
Sen. Dick Lugar’s (R-Ind.) re-election campaign has seen better days, even this cycle. The six-term Senator faces a tough primary against state Treasurer Richard Mourdock on May 8, but this must be Lugar’s worst week yet for his prospects. A request for response from Lugar’s team was not immediately returned this afternoon.
NY Times: Romney Campaign Gaffe Steps On Good News, Again
On March 22, 2012, the New York Times reported:
nd they will be aided in the coming months by liberal allies who are literally tracking every word Mr. Romney and his associates say. The idea behind groups like American Bridge 21st Century and others is to catch the Republicans in misstatements, flip-flops, embarrassing moments and gaffes.
MEMO To Tea Party Express: Have You Actually Seen Sarah Steelman’s Record?
Today the national tea party group, Tea Party Express, announced their support for former Missouri state Treasurer Sarah Steelman. The one thing that this announcement makes clear is that the Tea Party Express has no idea about Steelman’s record. While we think she is certainly the wrong choice for Missouri, we would have thought a number of positions she has taken would immediately disqualify her from consideration by the Tea Party Express as well. Since the Tea Party Express is obviously too busy shopping for tricorn hats to do their due diligence, American Bridge 21st Century decided to do the research for them.
POLITICO: Lugar To Repay Home State Hotel Expenses
This morning Politico posted a story on Indiana Sen. Dick Lugar's residency woes, which have been catalogued in detail over at American Bridge's VirginiaIsForLugars.com. In this latest development, Lugar is being forced to repay the United States Treasury $4,500 after it was brought to light that Lugar had improperly charged taxpayers for hotel bills in Indianapolis, his so-called "duty station" under Senate ethics rules. Using official funds to cover hotel costs within 35 miles of one's duty station is in violation of Senate ethics rules. For further details, check out Manu Raju's story in Politico here. Excerpts are below:
Following Jeb Bush’s Endorsement, Will Romney Release His Immigration Plan?
WASHINGTON, DC – More than 100 days ago Mitt Romney said he had been working with former Florida Governor Bush on a comprehensive immigration plan. Now that Bush, who has been vocal about immigration issues, has formally endorsed him, the question remains: will the Romney campaign finally roll out their plan? While discussing immigration during a December 7, 2011 editorial board interview with the Washington Examiner, Mitt Romney said, “I actually have a plan in mind,” before adding, “I haven’t unveiled it.” He then went on to say he sat down with former Governor Bush to work through the details of it during the summer of 2011. Romney said that 105 days ago. It’s time for Romney to show voters his plan for securing the border and what he would do with the millions of undocumented immigrants currently residing in the United States. Either Romney does have an immigration plan and he’s refusing to tell voters what it is OR he misled the Examiner, and actually has no such plan. Those are the only two possibilities. “As the leading Republican candidate for president, Mitt Romney has the responsibility to inform voters about what actions he intends to take if he were elected,” said American Bridge president Rodell Mollineau. “For him to have policy proposals that he refuses to disclose is an affront to voters and a slap in the face to the democratic process. What else is he hiding? "Mitt Romney thinks he can erase his belief that many immigrants just come to America for a ‘free deal’ and that they will ‘self-deport’ when their lives are made unpleasant," said Bill Burton, senior strategist for Priorities USA Action. "But the reality is, we won't let him back off his vision to make the extreme Arizona immigration law a national model."
Romney Flip-Flops On Domestic Drilling's Impact On Foreign Oil Dependence
In recent days, Mitt Romney has claimed that domestic drilling would reduce dependency on foreign oil. It's probably no surprise that he hasn't always said so. On the March 16, 2012 episode of Fox News' Fox and Friends, Romney responded to a question about gas prices, saying:
“Well, the best thing we can do to get the price of gas to be more moderate and not have to be dependent upon the cartel is drill in the gulf, drill in the outer continent shelf, drill in ANWR, drill in North Dakota, South Dakota, drill in Oklahoma, and Texas." [Fox and Friends, 3/16/12]In his 2011 book No Apology, Romney wrote:
“We consume roughly 24 percent of the world’s oil but possess only 2.4 percent of the world’s oil reserves. Even if we were to begin to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and on the continental shelf, it wouldn’t be enough to appreciably have an impact on our dependence on other nations for oil. And if we were to open the domestic oil spigot too wide and drain our last fields, we would risk leaving America even more vulnerable twenty-five years from now than it is today. But there should be no objection to preparing the energy infrastructure to tap known reserves and to discover more reserves: This is a vitally important insurance policy against future energy shocks or threats to national security. And it is always possible that new, very large discoveries could surprise us." [No Apology, 2011, Pg. 247]