Alaskans For Begich Opponents 8/20/14

Transcription

1 Alaskans For Begich Opponents 8/20/14 Begich: I m Mark Begich and I approved this message. Narrator: Now that the primary is over, remember how Dan Sullivan s opponents described him? Treadwell: Sullivan Should Never Have Become A Senate Candidate. If that wasn t enough, Mr. Treadwell, who struggled to raise money for nearly a year before Mr. Sullivan entered the race, said Mr. Sullivan should never have become a Senate candidate. [Wall Street Journal, 8/6/14] Treadwell Called Sullivan Arrogant: He s Just Not Ready. The arrogance of coming in here and saying, I m your gift, I m gonna run, I don t think he should have run, Mr. Treadwell said. I m not saying he s a bad guy, I just don t think he should have run. He s just not ready. You know, if he s going to spend some time in Alaska, there s plenty of other elections he could have gotten under his belt before the U.S. Senate race. [Wall Street Journal, 8/6/14] Miller: It s Also Important That We Not Have A Senator Whose Campaign Is Being Funded By The Architects Of The Surveillance State. MILLER: I think it s important too that we not have a Senator whose campaign is being funded by the architects of the surveillance state, such as John Negroponte, who is a personal donor to Mr. Sullivan s campaign; former head of the Director of National Intelligence. When we re talking about getting care of this problem, we have to have people with backbone. The security agencies in this country are exceptionally powerful and they will do and say anything I think necessary to continue to expand this power. This is a freedom and liberty issue. It s critical to the future of this country and it has to be addressed with a backbone of titanium. [Video, KTUU Debate, 4/25/14] Treadwell On Sullivan: There s Not Much He s Accomplished Here In This State. Mr. Treadwell said Mr. Sullivan, who held appointed positions as attorney general and state natural resources commissioner and is the Washington GOP establishment s choice to challenge Mr. Begich in the general election, owes his Alaska accomplishments to Mr. Treadwell and Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell. The guy just got here, Mr. Treadwell said of Mr. Sullivan, who lived outside Alaska from 2002 to 2009 while serving overseas posts in the Marines and at the State Department in Washington. He can talk about sending letters and filing lawsuits, but there s not much that he s accomplished here in this state. And anything that he has accomplished he s accomplished because the governor and I got elected, OK? That s the point. [Wall Street Journal, 8/6/14] Treadwell: someone who can t remember one fishing license to the next, one tax form from the next, one biography to the next. Treadwell: Sullivan Has Been Successfully Tagged As Someone Who Moved Here For Ambition, Tax Reasons. And Someone Who Can t Remember One Fishing License To The Next. TREADWELL: But ladies and gentlemen Mark Begich could win this election. Why? First he successfully tagged one of my opponents as someone from Outside, a carpetbagger; someone who moved here for ambition, tax reasons. And someone who can t remember one fishing license to the next, one tax form from the next, one biography to the next; where he s from and when he came. And I m glad Dan s here. But I believe his lack of experience with our fisheries, our coastal communities, our science and our Arctic; heck, even your record on that most important permitting bill, HB- 77, Dan, alone has Republicans and Democrats and independents concerned about tone deafness to Alaskans. [Video, Homer GOP debate, 7/15/14] Sullivan s Trying To Hide The Truth On His Residency Issues: National Journal: Sullivan Is A Relative Newcomer To Alaska, Designated Maryland As His Home While Working For Bush Administration. Compared to [Treadwell and Begich], Sullivan is a relative newcomer to the state and its politics. His

2 wife is an Alaska native, but he first moved to the state in His family designated its Maryland home as its principal residence while he worked for the Bush Administration, during which time Sullivan continued to vote absentee in Alaska but skipped some elections including major Republican primaries involving former Gov. Sarah Palin and GOP Rep. Don Young. [National Journal, 10/15/13] From Sullivan To Treadwell Touted His Outsider Status & Said He Hadn t Lived In Alaska Since Reported the Alaska Dispatch News in August 2014, Treadwell also released a on the Bernadette and Berkowitz talk radio show Tuesday morning, in which Sullivan allegedly told Treadwell he would bring Outsider status to the attorney general job, and described himself as not part of the current Alaska political system. He was saying, Hire me because I m an outsider, Treadwell said on the show. Now he s trying to say, Don t worry that I m not an outsider. I m an insider. [Alaska Dispatch, 8/6/14; KFQD, 8/6/14] Sullivan Owned $1 Million Home In Bethesda, Listed It As Principal Residence. Sullivan owned a $1 million house in Bethesda, where he lived while working for the Bush administration. Democrats point to Alaskan press accounts that say he listed it as his principal residence for tax purposes, and also gave its address when he got a 2009 Alaskan nonresident fishing license like every other tourist, the Alaska First PAC said in a recent television ad. [Plain-Dealer, 3/27/14] Sullivan Campaign Said He Listed Maryland Home As Principal Residence For Tax Purposes. Sullivan listed a home in Maryland as his principal residence while working on the East Coast, and his campaign has said that was for tax purposes. [AP, 12/18/13] Sullivan Received Alaska Nonresident Fishing License In 2009, Listed Length Of Alaska Residence As 1 Year In 2010, Two Years In In 2009, [Sullivan] received an Alaska nonresident fishing license, and on fishing and hunting licenses for 2010 and 2011 listed his length of residency as one year and two years, respectively, according to public records. To qualify for a resident license, one must, according to state Fish and Game rules, be physically present in the state, maintain a home for the preceding year and not claim residency in another state. [AP, 12/18/13] 2013: Sullivan Listed Alaska Residence As 10 Years Because He Knew Politicians And Political Operatives Would Try To Make An Issue Of This. Sullivan in 2013 listed his residency as 10 years, according to a copy of the Fish and Game license provided to The Associated Press. Campaign spokesman Mike Anderson said Sullivan called Fish and Game for guidance on what to list there and followed that guidance because he knew politicians and political operatives would try to make an issue of this. [AP, 12/18/13] Sullivan Claimed His Alaska Residency Started In 1997 Despite Seven Years When He Wasn t Physically There. When he completed his active duty with the Marines, he, Julie and their baby daughter made their way by Jeep and ferry from Camp Pendleton, Calif., to Fairbanks, his wife's hometown. That's when he says his Alaska residency begins, in But it's not quite that simple. Is he a four-year resident, marking when he moved back in June 2009 to become attorney general, as Democrats say? Has he been here 10 years, counting both stretches, as he said on his 2013 hunting and fishing license application? Or more than 16 years, as he now maintains on the campaign trail, which includes seven years when he wasn't physically here. [Anchorage Daily News, 4/19/14] State Of Alaska Rejected Sullivan s Permanent Fund Application After He Moved To DC. 2003: Applies for permanent fund dividend while living in Washington, D.C. Dividend applications for Sullivan and family rejected, though past White House fellows from Alaska kept their residency and received PFDs, his campaign says. [Anchorage

3 Daily News, 4/19/14] in my cabin we ve got a jar of mayonnaise in the fridge that s been here longer than you... Treadwell: Issue Of Sullivan s Residency Is A Fair Issue. TREADWELL: I never heard when he caught his first fish in Alaska. I do know that your first fishing license here was I do believe, Dan that the question of your residency here is an issue in this campaign and I believe it s a fair issue. And the mayonnaise quote was simply down in my cabin we ve got a jar or mayonnaise in the fridge that s been here longer than you ve been practicing in Alaska recently. And it is an issue that will come up in the general election campaign. My point is this. I said we re going to be tough and we re going to be honest with Alaskans. And the mailers we send out aren t pasting people s faces on other people s bodies. The mailers that we send out have brought up real issues like what you did what you ve done here. [Video, KTUU GOP Debate, 8/14/14] Treadwell: Alaskans Want An Alaskan To Serve Them In The US Senate. The outside money; I don t think Alaskans have gotten Karl Rove s memo. I ve got a new handbill in front of me and if anybody wants it give a call to our office. It says AK versus DC; it s time to bring decision-making home. Karl Rove doesn t own this Senate seat; Harry Reid doesn t own this Senate seat; Mark Begich doesn t own this Senate seat; it s our Senate seat. I think the reason why that Dittman poll came out yesterday that shows that I m tied with Dan Sullivan statistically, even though they spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on this is because Alaskans want an Alaskan to serve them in the US Senate. They want someone with 40 years experience. They want someone who understands what it s like, whether it s the Yukon River, the Kuskokwim River, mining in the 40-mile or getting ANWR open. These are issues I ve worked on much of my life. We ve got some progress and we ve got other battles to fight and I feel I m prepared to go fight that battle. [Treadwell interview on Michael Dukes, 6/3/14] Narrator: And about the billionaire Koch brothers supporting Dan Sullivan? FactCheck.org: $1 Million In Koch Sponsored Ads Attacking Begich Helped Sullivan. The AFP ads haven t mentioned Sullivan, nor has the group or the Koch brothers given directly to Sullivan. Some voters may get the impression from the ad that Sullivan had spent close to $1 million on ads thanks to Koch money. And Sullivan counters in his radio ad that he has never taken a dime from the Koch brothers. True, but it s certainly reasonable to say that ads attacking the incumbent are, by extension, ads supporting the leading challenger. Whether Sullivan wanted AFP s help or not, he s getting it. [FactCheck.org, 5/2/14] NYT: Koch-Backed Americans For Prosperity Poured Millions Into Ads Against Begich, Other Targeted Senate Races Amounts More Typically Spent During The Closing Stages Of Senate Races. Reported the New York Times in January 2014, Since September, Americans for Prosperity, a group financed in part by the billionaire Koch brothers, has spent an estimated $20 million on television advertising that calls out House and Senate Democrats by name for their support of the Affordable Care Act.... The group has poured millions of dollars amounts more typically spent during the closing stages of Senate races into attacks on the health care stances of Democratic senators such as Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana, Mark Begich of Alaska and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire. [New York Times, 1/15/14] Begich Was A Top Target For Koch s Secret-Donor Group Americans For Prosperity. Americans for Prosperity, a secret-donor group founded by the Koch brothers, already has run TV ads 21,014 times in House and Senate races through April 7, according to New York-based Kantar Media s CMAG, which tracks advertising -- more than twice as many as anyone else advertising in the 2014 campaign. With ads hammering Democrats for support of the president s Affordable Care Act, the Koch-backed group has targeted nine Senate races where Democrats are defending seats. Its four top targets:

4 incumbents Pryor, Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Mark Begich of Alaska. [Bloomberg, 4/13/14] Headline: KTUU: Outside Political Group Targets Senator Begich. [KTUU, 12/3/13] Headline: National Journal: Americans for Prosperity Launches Major Ad Buy in Alaska. [National Journal, 2/21/14] Politico: Koch Brothers Plan To Raise Millions Of Dollars For Efforts To Shape The Political Landscape For Years To Come. Reported Politico in January 2014, If the Koch brothers political operation seemed ambitious in 2010 or 2012, wait for what s in store for 2014 and beyond. The billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch are convening some of the country s richest Republican donors on Sunday at a resort near Palm Springs, Calif., to raise millions of dollars for efforts to shape the political landscape for years to come. It s the cash that can possibly kick Democrats out of the Senate majority this fall and shape the philosophy and agenda of the GOP conference not to mention the 2016 presidential field. [Politico, 1/24/14] Outside Groups Record In Alaska Headline: Anchorage Daily News: Begich blasts attack ad featuring East Coast actress pretending to be Alaskan. [Anchorage Daily News, 11/20/13] Headline: New York Times: In an Attack Ad, an Alaskan Voter Is Really an Actress From Maryland. [New York Times, 11/20/13] Headline: Anchorage Daily News: Another Koch brothers-backed group attacks Begich with ads. [Anchorage Daily News, 4/10/14] AFP Attack Ad Featured Actress From Maryland Pretending To Be An Alaskan. Reported the Anchorage Daily News in November 2013, The Alaska ad features a woman who talks about Begich as if he is her senator but who in reality is an actress from Maryland. Messages for the woman, Connie Bowman, weren't returned Wednesday but she told the New York Times she was just an actress doing her job.... I trusted the president and Sen. Begich. Lots of promises were made to pass Obamacare, says the woman, who with her perfectly styled hair and makeup and granite-counter kitchen doesn't seem like a typical Alaskan. Now millions are losing their health care.... Sen. Begich didn't listen. How can I ever trust him again? [Anchorage Daily News, 11/20/13] AFP Ad Actress: I m Just An Actress. Reported the New York Times in November 2013, As for the actress, a woman named Connie Bowman who does voice-overs, commercials and print ads, she said she was just doing her job. I m just an actress, she said Wednesday when reached by phone. [New York Times, 11/20/13] Freedom Partners Was Third Koch Brother-Backed Group To Run Anti-Begich Ads. But it s not the first Koch brothers splash. They are inserting themselves in a big way into this year's Alaska Senate race, considered key to the GOP fight to take control of the Senate. Freedom Partners is the third Koch brothers-backed group so far to run anti- Begich ads. The insiders Cook Political Report recently declared the race absolutely in the Toss-Up column. [Anchorage Daily News, 4/10/14] Politifact Rated AFP Carbon Tax Claim False. According to a February 2014 fact check by Politifact, Americans for Prosperity exaggerated in saying that Begich is on record supporting a carbon tax. So we rate the claim Mostly False. [Politifact, 2/25/14]

5 FactCheck.org: AFP Ad Not True. According to a February 2014 analysis from FactCheck.org, The conservative Americans for Prosperity claims Democratic Sen. Mark Begich is on record supporting a carbon tax that will cost the average family over $2,000 annually. Not true. Begich hasn t backed a carbon tax proposal, and the $2,000 figure is based on general assumptions, not any specific plan or piece of legislation. [FactCheck.org, 2/28/14] Headline: FactCheck.org: AFP Distorts Begich s Carbon Tax Stance. [FactCheck.org, 2/28/14] Headline: FactCheck.org: Twisting Begich s Response To VA Scandal. [FactCheck.org, 6/4/14] Crossroads GPS Misused Begich WSJ Quote By Conflating Two Separate VA Management Problems And Insinuating Begich Did Not Take VA Controversy Seriously. Crossroads GPS misuses a quote from Sen. Mark Begich and conflates two separate management problems at the Veterans Administration to insinuate in a TV ad that Begich doesn t take the current VA scandal seriously. The conservative group attempts to link Begich who sits on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee to news reports that some veterans died while waiting for VA medical appointments. The ad quotes Begich as saying, If there s a problem, they need to fix it, and then asks incredulously, if there is a problem? to suggest that Begich doesn t believe there is one. But three weeks before he made that remark, Begich condemned reports of mismanagement at the VA as a disgrace and called for an immediate investigation and a national policy to allow veterans to get care at non-va health facilities. The ad also suggests that Begich should have known about the current problems at the VA because four years ago the VA inspector general failed the Anchorage VA office in 13 of 14 areas. But that report concerned the processing of disability claims and was unrelated to the scandal. And Begich did press former VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to fix the claims backlog at the time. [FactCheck.org, 6/4/14] Miller: I really think the question is where s the money coming from and why is it being given. Miller Attacked Sullivan For Outside Support: I Really Think The Question Is Where s The Money Coming From And Why Is It Being Given. MILLER: I really think the question is where s the money coming from and why is it being given. I mean you ve got to look at the groups who are giving the money. For example I mentioned earlier that Karl Rove is a major donor to the Crossroads PAC to Mr. Sullivan; it s a proamnesty guy. The Chamber of Commerce- pro-amnesty. You ve got a number of other folk- Paul Singer s I think bundled $300,000, maybe it s 400 or 500,000 now to your campaign. Paul Singer s a radical at least from the perspective of social conservatives. When people give to these campaigns they expect a return. [Video, KTVA GOP Debate, 8/10/14] Treadwell Attacked Sullivan s Outside Money Donations: It s Not Karl Rove s Senate Seat. It s Not The Chamber s Senate Seat. It s Not Your Brother s Senate Seat. During a June 2014 GOP debate in Anchorage, Mead Treadwell said, So I ve decided to focus our efforts in Alaska and we have. And most of our contributions have come from Alaska while most of your contributions have come from Outside. And you know what? In the Iowa primary recently, the same forces that have given money to my opponent outspent the winner, 4 to 1. And we ve seen that a number of other places. This is your Senate seat. It s not Karl Rove s Senate seat. It s not the Chamber s Senate seat. It s not your brother s Senate seat. [Video, Treadwell at KOAN/KVNT GOP Debate, 06/26/14] Treadwell Accused Sullivan Of Having The Arrogance To Raise All Your Money

6 From Karl Rove And A Family Company In Ohio. Mr. Treadwell, the lieutenant governor, has said he has jars of mayonnaise in his refrigerator that have been there longer than Mr. Sullivan has been in Alaska. In an interview, he seemed annoyed that Mr. Sullivan had already sewn up support from groups like American Crossroads and the Chamber of Commerce. I helped introduce him to Sarah Palin, Mr. Treadwell said. The idea, the audacity, the arrogance that you can raise all your money with Karl Rove and a family company in Ohio and purport to be Alaska s senator, he added, referring to donations from Mr. Sullivan s family, I don t think flies with Alaskans. [New York Times, 6/7/14] Miller Campaign: Pro-Sullivan Super PAC Largely Funded By Sullivan s Own Family From Ohio And Run By Art Hackney, A Longtime Associate Of Karl Rove. According to a Miller press release, The Sullivan SuperPAC, Alaska s Energy, America s Values, is largely funded by Sullivan s own family from Ohio, and run by Art Hackney, a longtime associate of Karl Rove. While the latest FEC report is not yet posted, information currently available reveals that almost half of its funding comes from just two individuals: Tom and Frank Sullivan. Frank, Dan s brother, sits on the Board of Directors of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (a pro-amnesty, anti-tea party organization). Sullivan money combined with funds from another large donor from Connecticut named Donald Miller comprises more than eighty percent of the funding for this faux local PAC, as it is described by local blogger Amanda Coyne. [Miller press release, 7/24/14] Miller Attacked Sullivan For Being Funded By Karl Rove. Miller also took a jab at Sullivan later, when Sullivan said Alaska needed a fighter like the late former Sen. Ted Stevens. Right now, we don t have a fighter. We have a lapdog for Obama, Sullivan said, referring to Begich. I have a long record of battling this administration, successfully. That fighting has included battling the Environmental Protection Agency in court, Sullivan said. Miller responded, attacking Sullivan on his Outside campaign contributions: What we don t need is somebody who claims to be a fighter, but behind them is being funded by Karl Rove, Miller said. [Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, 6/27/14] Narrator: Dan Sullivan for Senate? Treadwell: If you re going to represent Alaska it helps to know Alaska. Treadwell: If You re Going To Represent Alaska It Helps To Know Alaska. TREADWELL: Dan I guess I ll just say with regard to Alaska I hope this is the last I hear of talk, not action and conferences not producing everything. In my time as Lieutenant Governor I ve been head of the National Organization of Aerospace States Association which helped bring the unmanned vehicles test back to Alaska. I ve worked with the Kodiak launch site which has been very important for developing missile defense; I helped get that site financed. As I said before I went to the industry and said unless we protect privacy we won t have an industry and I ve worked to make privacy happen. I helped market our airports, bring Iceland Air here, to bring more European tourists to Alaska, some of whom are probably staying in this hotel tonight. I worked to push back when Homeland Security kept trying to land here without paying double fees other places. I worked to help bring AFB, our next generation of air traffic control not only to Alaska but to the whole country in my national position. I ve stood up to Darrell Issa on bypass mail. And I will just tell you that the NASA state agreement that I helped forge as a citizen was seen through in this administration. It will do a whole lot to help bring forward new modes of transportation to get access to our resources. So I guess my point is this. If you re going to represent Alaska it helps to know Alaska. And it helps to know one of the largest segments of our economy- 47,000 Alaskans work in the aerospace industry. [Video, Homer GOP debate, 7/15/14] Treadwell Said Sullivan Could ve Learned Some More Before Becoming DNR Commissioner. During a May 2014 debate in Anchorage, Mead Treadwell said, And [Sullivan] who could ve learned some more when he took on that fight as our DNR Commissioner. You need to know the history. You need to know the state. [Video,

7 Treadwell at United for Liberty debate, 05/28/14] Treadwell:... and Dan Sullivan just got here. Treadwell: I ve Worked With These Communities And Dan Sullivan Just Got Here. During an interview on MSNBC Treadwell said, We got 50,000 Alaskans who work in fishing, 47,000 Alaskans that work in aviation. I ve worked with these communities and Dan Sullivan just got there. [MSNBC, video, 8/13/14] Treadwell Slammed Sullivan For Lack Of Time Spent In Alaska I Think It s Time To Live Here A While Before You Run Off To Your Next Job To Represent Us. And with the Commissioner, I ll just say that we helped bring you up here. I think it s time to live here a while before you run off to your next job to represent us. [Video, Treadwell in Wasilla, 05/08/14] Treadwell: Sullivan Would Be Ohio s Third Senator. According to Treadwell press release, There is a clear choice in this primary. Voters can choose Sullivan, Miller or Treadwell. Only Treadwell has the roots, experience and broad statewide support to replace Mark Begich. Sullivan is more likely to be Ohio s third Senator and Miller s negatives make him a non-starter. The choice is clear and Alaskans have already made their preference known with their donations. The Alaskans are supporting Mead Treadwell. Fred Brown, Treadwell Committee Spokesman. [Treadwell press release, 3/4/14]