NEW REPORT: “The Kochs Spend Tons of Cheddar Badgering America’s Dairyland”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, April 27, 2016

CONTACT
Dawn Le, 202-549-6798, dle@americanbridge.org

The Kochs Have Spent At Least $44 Million to Hijack Wisconsin
Bridge Project Releases “The Kochs Spend Tons of Cheddar Badgering America’s Dairyland” about the Koch Brothers’ Corporate Lobbying and Political Front Groups in Their Effort to Maximize Profits

Milwaukee, WI—For the 2016 election cycle, Charles and David Koch have announced they are on track to spend nearly $900 million to elect politicians that would push their self-serving agenda. In Wisconsin, the Koch brothers have spent more than $44 million since 2010, helping to foster the rise of Gov. Scott Walker, Speaker Paul Ryan, Sen. Ron Johnson, and to fund political astroturf groups to carry their water.

“What the Kochs are doing in Wisconsin is emblematic of what they’re doing across the country, all their political efforts and PR shams boil down to self-interest and higher profit shares,” said Eddie Vale, the […]

Read more after the jump.

House Republicans Fiddle While Zika Virus Burns

The Zika virus is not something that House Republicans should be playing politics with. They’re ignoring the Obama Administration’s $1.9 billion request needed to fight the global health emergency, instead saying “they’ll get to it later.”

With warmer days ahead, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) admits they don’t have the resources necessary to fight the mosquito borne disease.

Since stubborn House Republicans refuse to do their job, President Obama has transferred more than $500 million away from funds targeting Ebola in order to combat Zika’s spread. But that’s only a temporary fix.

Now is the time for House Republicans to do their job protecting the American people. But will they do the right thing, or just keep playing politics?
 

House Republicans Are Putting The Public At Risk By Failing To Act on Zika Virus

Health Officials Said “They Were Not Sufficiently Prepared” To Fight Zika, Prompting The Obama Administration to Request $1.9 Billion […]

Read more after the jump.

UPDATED Kochs vs Puerto Rico report

As the House takes up new legislation about the financial crisis in Puerto Rico, lawmakers will be tested: Will they help Puerto Ricans in the Commonwealth recover from the $72 billion budget shortfall to rebuild their economy, or will they let billionaire investors from the Koch network pull their strings and block any relief to the island?

The Bridge Project is releasing an updated report today, “The Kochs’ Wealth vs The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico” about how the Kochs sided with debt vultures over Puerto Rican families. The report gives an overview of the financial crisis, past due dates where Puerto Rico defaulted and upcoming payment deadlines that the Commonwealth will again default on if Congress does not act fast.

Included are descriptions of the various Koch-backed front groups that have tried to delay and block solutions to help Puerto Ricans, resulting in forced school closures and American citizens in Puerto Rico […]

Read more after the jump.

New Digital Ads on Senate Obstructionist Chuck Grassley As He Returns to Washington

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, April 4, 2016
CONTACT: Dawn Le, 202-549-6798

 

New Digital Ads on Senate Obstructionist Chuck Grassley As He Returns to Washington
Ads Show Grassley’s Hypocrisy and Capitulation to Donald Trump’s “Delay, Delay, Delay” Strategy

Returning from a two-week recess full of testy confrontations with constituents upset over his strict obstructionism on the Supreme Court vacancy, Senator Chuck Grassley is now the subject of Bridge Project digital ads highlighting his baffling hypocrisy on the issue.

American Bridge Vice President Eddie Vale released the following statement on Bridge Project’s ads featuring Grassley’s past advocacy of a fair nomination process:

“Senator Grassley has already stained his legacy by embracing petty partisan politics on the Supreme Court vacancy. We’d hoped his recess constituent interactions would trigger a moment of clarity and cause him to realize that voters just want him and his colleagues to do their job, but he sadly appears as committed as ever to partisan […]

Read more after the jump.

New Digital Ads on Senate Obstructionist Mitch McConnell As He Returns to Washington

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, April 4, 2016
CONTACT: Dawn Le, 202-549-6798

 

New Digital Ads on Senate Obstructionist Mitch McConnell As He Returns to Washington
Ads Show McConnell’s Hypocrisy and Capitulation to Donald Trump’s “Delay, Delay, Delay” Strategy

Returning from a two-week recess full of testy confrontations with constituents upset over his strict obstructionism on the Supreme Court vacancy, Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is now the subject of Bridge Project digital ads highlighting his baffling hypocrisy on the issue.

American Bridge Vice President Eddie Vale released the following statement on Bridge Project’s ads featuring McConnell’s past advocacy of a fair nomination process:

“Senator McConnell has already stained his legacy by embracing petty partisan politics on the Supreme Court vacancy. We’d hoped his recess constituent interactions would trigger a moment of clarity and cause him to realize that voters just want him and his colleagues to do their job, but he sadly appears as committed as ever […]

Read more after the jump.

New Digital Ads on Senate Obstructionists As They Return to Washington

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, April 4, 2016
CONTACT: Dawn Le, 202-549-6798
 

New Digital Ads on Senate Obstructionists As They Return to Washington
Ads Show Republicans’ Hypocrisy and Capitulation to Donald Trump’s “Delay, Delay, Delay” Strategy

Returning from a two-week recess full of testy confrontations with constituents upset over their strict obstructionism on the Supreme Court vacancy, Senators Mitch McConnell, Chuck Grassley, and Orrin Hatch are now the subject of Bridge Project national and state-level digital ads highlighting the senators’ baffling hypocrisy on the issue.

American Bridge Vice President Eddie Vale released the following statement on Bridge Project’s ads which feature the senators’ past advocacy of a fair nomination process:

“Senators McConnell, Grassley, and Hatch have stained their respective legacies by embracing petty partisan politics on the Supreme Court vacancy. We’d hoped when they were face-to-face with their constituents back home, it would trigger a moment of clarity and cause them to realize that voters just want them […]

Read more after the jump.

PHOTOS: No Rest for Obstructionist Senators This Recess

 

Senate Republicans received an earful as they were reprimanded by their hometown “bosses” during Spring recess. Their voters’ message was clear: Stop the obstruction and #DoYourJob!

Below are some of the events, news clips, editorials, and letters-to-the-editor that “welcomed” senators back home.

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley
Sen. Kelly Ayotte
Sen. Roy Blunt
Sen. Richard Burr
Sen. Ted Cruz
Sen. Ron Johnson
Sen. Mark Kirk
Sen. John McCain
Sen. Rob Portman
Sen. Pat Toomey

Hopefully now, the Republicans remember who got them their jobs in the first place. We’ll see if the message over the last two weeks sinks in when the Senate returns to work on Monday…

For more information, go to www.StrictObstructionists.com

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky

Sen. Chuck Grassley, Iowa

Huffington Post: An Iowa Teenager Just Shut Down Chuck Grassley’s Supreme Court Argument Jennifer Bendery, 4/1/16

MSNBC: Maybe It’s Time for the “Grassley Rule” Steve Benen, 4/1/16

Sen. Kelly Ayotte, New Hampshire

News

NBC News: Supreme Court Fight: Quarter of Republican Senators Now […]

Read more after the jump.

New Report: The KOCHstone State

How Koch Brothers Plotted to Takeover Pennsylvania, Benefitted From Budget Standoff

Read the report here:

As top state conservatives gather in Harrisburg today and tomorrow for the Pennsylvania Conservative Leadership Conference, many of the speakers and attendees are featured in the Bridge Project’s new report, “The Kochstone State: How the Koch Brothers’ Growing Influence Is Hurting Pennsylvanians.” The report lays out how the Kochs fostered and orchestrated the current political environment with their copious campaign donations and funding a network of radical political groups to drive their extreme, self-serving agenda.

From the Kochs’ aggressive in-state lobbying to get taxpayer-paid subsidies for Georgia Pacific, to pressuring state leaders to try to block oil and gas regulations, while they enable and supply fracking companies that contaminate Pennsylvania’s air, drinking water, and farmlands, the Koch machine has disrupted health services, threatened school closures, while casting the most vulnerable Pennsylvania residents into […]

Read more after the jump.

RECAP: Grassley’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Trip Home to Iowa

Senate Judiciary Committee Chair (& Strict Obstructionist-in-Chief) Chuck Grassley had hoped for a warm welcome home. Using the brief Senate spring break, he planned to explain to Iowa voters why the Senate is refusing to hold hearings and blocking the confirmation process for President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Merrick Garland. But things got off to a rocky start…

 

Roll Call: Grassley Can’t Escape Supreme Court Debate

By Bridget Bowman, March 29, 2016

Sen. Charles E. Grassley can’t seem to escape the debate over the Supreme Court nominee.

Back in Iowa for recess Monday, he faced 19 questions at two town hall meetings and a televised speech from Democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton calling him out for his unwillingness to give President Barack Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, a hearing or a vote.

Then there was that pesky Ben Franklin, a protester dressed like the Founding Father and following Grassley to events, urging the senator to […]

Read more after the jump.

Predictable Conservatives Obstructing for the Sake of Obstructing

Just as Senate Republicans have lined up to deny any Obama nominee a hearing and a vote, conservative outside groups are doing the same–to obstruct the entire judicial process and give the Republicans cover for not doing their job.

To these conservatives, it’s never mattered who President Obama nominates. They are dead set on obstructing and opposing anyone the President puts up, even if they once praised and affirmed Judge Merrick Garland.

See below for now & then comments by:

Ilya Shapiro, Cato Institute
Carrie Severino, Judicial Crisis Network
Ed Whelan, Ethics & Public Policy Center
Curt Levey, FreedomWorks Foundation
Jay Sekulow, American Center for Law and Justice

 

Judge Merrick Garland Flip-Flops

 

Ilya Shapiro – Cato Institute

Now

Ilya Shapiro: “Garland Has Shown An Alarming Amount Of Deference To The Government In His Years On The Important D.C. Circuit.” According to an opinion by Ilya Shapiro for CNN, “From my own perspective, Garland has shown an alarming […]

Read more after the jump.