Seven Things You Should Know About Tea Party Radical David Brat
Here's what you should know about David Brat, the Tea Party radical who blindsided House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) in a primary challenge on Tuesday: He is a right-wing candidate who opposes a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, supports radically reshaping our heath care system, and event wants to scale back the regulatory powers of the FDA. Don't take our word for it? See the research below.
1. Brat supported radically altering the American health care system.
Brat Supported Radically Altering The American Health Care System, Said “‘We Need To Also Scrap Employer-Based Health Insurance.” According to Culpeper Star-Exponent "Of course, the first question I asked him was what should be done with Obamacare? ‘It needs to be scrapped,’ he replied without hesitation. ‘Completely.’ So I asked him what should take Obamacare's place, and to understand his answer, you have to know some history… When I asked him what should take Obamacare's place, his answer was, ‘We need to also scrap employer-based health insurance, and give those incentives to individuals to carry their own portable health insurance.’ He went on to say, ‘If we did that, the issue of pre-existing conditions largely goes away.’" [Culpeper Star-Exponent, 3/31/14]2. Brat called bankers “the solution, not the problem” in regards to the financial crisis.
Brat On The Financial Crisis: ‘Bankers Are The Solution, Not The Problem,’ According to The News & Advance “David Brat says that’s the state of today’s economy, and says everything we know about what is being termed a recession is wrong… The global economy is overleveraged. Ultimately, he said, pointing to the European debt crisis, the country’s economy is headed for disaster if changes aren’t quickly made. And the answer, he said, is not in economics, but ethics. ‘Bankers are the solution, not the problem,’ he said, adding, ‘[Washington] D.C. knows this.’" [The News & Advance, 1/25/13]3. Brat is radical on immigration.
Brat Opposed Any Kind Of Immigration Reform; Ran To The Right On Eric Cantor On Border Security. According to Watchdog.org, "Cantor, in Brat’s view, is flunking badly on border security. Indeed, the congressman even applauded President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address outlining a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. On Friday, Cantor said on the House floor that ‘immigration reform could be an economic boon to this country.’ Brat is having none of it. He calls the imminent GOP cave-in on immigration an exercise in ‘crony capitalism.’" [Watchdog.org, 2/6/14]- Brat: “A Change In Immigration Policy Means Amnesty.” According to Watchdog.org "‘At every turn, the GOP establishment is favoring the elites,’ Brat declares. ‘A change in immigration policy means amnesty.’" [Watchdog.org, 2/6/14]
Rick Scott's REAL Record on Immigration
As the Florida Senate finally agreed in the last days of session to hear a bill to allow in-state tuition for DREAMers, Florida voters should remember Rick Scott's real record on immigration. Whether promising to bring an Arizona-style anti-immigration law to the state, vetoing a bill to allow the children of undocumented immigrants to access temporary driver's licenses, or using in-state tuition as an election year pandering trick, Rick Scott is the wrong choice for Latino Floridians. American Bridge has the recap of Scott's real record on immigration above.
Rick Scott's History of Discrimination
Rick Scott's campaign has been facing increasing fire for its outreach to Latino Floridians since his top fundraiser quit last week and claims surfaced that Scott's campaign staff made racially insensitive comments. Unfortunately for Scott, his association with claims of discrimination extends much further back. Before he became governor, Scott co-founded a chain of walk-in health care clinics called Solantic. One former Solantic employee - Dr. David Yarian - accused Scott of discriminatory hiring practices when it came to Latinos. Yarian claimed Scott encouraged "mainstream" hires when faced with a Latino job candidate, and that Scott said "no" to hiring an otherwise qualified candidate based on his "slight accent." In addition to Yarian, Solantic came under fire from multiple other employees with similar claims. Between 2003 and 2005, five Solantic supervisors and two employees claimed the company prevented hiring based on race, age or weight. These seven employees filed a combined lawsuit in 2006, and Solantic settled for an undisclosed sum in 2007. Between Solantic, Scott's support for extreme Arizona-style anti-immigration law, and his recent campaign drama, the choice for Latino Floridians is clear: Rick Scott is bad for Florida.
Rick Scott's Latino Outreach: March Edition
It's no secret that Rick Scott, like many Republicans, is struggling to reach out to young and Latino voters. Last month, Scott attempted to up his Latino outreach with what appeared to be an awfully convenient election-year change of heart to "consider" giving in-state tuition to DREAMers. Now? Mike Fernandez, Scott's finance co-chair, has quit and emails from Fernandez have surfaced claiming that "his Hispanic business partner was subjected to “cultural insensitivity” by campaign aides on their way to a Mexican restaurant." Check out American Bridge's new video on the Scott Campaign's Latino Outreach - March Edition: https://youtu.be/BFaA1XAIzDE
Christie on DREAMers: "They can't be second class citizens if they're not citizens"
By threatening to veto a version of the NJ DREAM Act unless the legislature stripped a provision making undocumented students eligible for financial aid -- and then mocking and belittling the concerns of a DREAMer who still felt like a "second class citizen," Chris Christie is trying to have it both ways... and failing. In a transparent attempt to make himself appealing to Latino voters without angering the anti-immigrant GOP base, Christie today created problems for both the primary and general elections in 2016. At a press conference this afternoon, Christie dismissed the concerns of an undocumented student by repeatedly saying: "They can't be second class citizens if they're not citizens." Something tells me this isn't quite the “tone of grace, love, and respect” Reince Priebus was talking about yesterday.
We told you: Steve Lonegan is the face of the "new" GOP
Just over two months ago, on the night Steve Lonegan won the Republican nomination, American Bridge sent the memo below arguing that Lonegan's brand of extremism was perfectly in line with the "new" & "rebranded" Republican Party. If Washington Republicans' reckless and embarrassing behavior over the past three weeks weren't proof enough, take a look at what RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said at a Lonegan campaign rally just last night (VIDEO HERE). "I'll tell you what. Steve's been able to do something that we need a lot more of in this party. And that's unify our party, bring our party together. The Tea Party, the Republican Party, all in this together." -- Reince Priebus, RNC Chairman What Mr. Priebus doesn't seem to understand is that the Republicans' problem isn't a lack of unity with the Tea Party. This month's shutdown fiasco proves the GOP's problem is, in fact, its obedience to the Tea Party.
VIDEO: GOP Rep. Steve Womack criticizes constituent for Mexican flag
In a town hall meeting last week, Arkansas Republican Rep. Steve Womack criticized a young constituent for discussing the issue of immigration while wearing a Mexican flag.
TRANSCRIPT (at 4:50): I don't want to put this gentleman on the spot, but it does, just a little bit -- okay, honestly, more than a little bit -- it does strike me as a bit odd that I would get a question as to why we shouldn't just automatically make it legal for people who didn't come here under a legal circumstance with a flag of another country draped around his neck. [APPLAUSE] I wanna say this to you, that, this is just some good old friendly advice that if you want to win friends and influence people on the issues that you're talking about, I would suggest a little different approach in terms of my attire when I'm appealing to an audience like this. That's just a little friendly advice.
American Bridge Launches English/Spanish Websites Linking GOP To Steve King
American Bridge today launched AllSteveKingsMen.com and vocesintolerantes.com (in Spanish), research-based websites demonstrating that Rep. Steve King is the GOP's leader on immigration reform.
Earlier this week, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) demonstrated just how clueless he is by attempting to fundraise off offensive remarks he made comparing immigrants to dogs (and foolishly linking to American Bridge tracking footage to do so). This was what he deemed an appropriate response to a more recent controversy in which he 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.” Those remarks prompted Speaker John Boehner to argue that 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. Last week, American Bridge released a report showing that when the House votes on immigration legislation, the majority of King’s Republican colleagues follow his lead 9 out of 10 times. And today, American Bridge launched AllSteveKingsMen.com to show voters that the Republican Party has plenty of followers of King’s extreme anti-immigrant rhetoric.
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 Holds Outdated Views On Immigration