By Tessa Roy 3-13-14
Democratic eyes were watching as Republicans across the country banded together at the 2014 Conservative Political Action Conference. Many of those eyes were from political action committee American Bridge.
American Bridge acted as a watchdog for the Democratic party during CPAC, maintaining a goal of countering Republican attacks as quickly as possible.
The most controversial speeches were highlighted and publicized first. Lesser ones were summarized in videos dubbed “compilations of crazy” by the PAC’s President Brad Woodhouse.
A staff of researchers, field workers, and “media monitors” spent days before CPAC studying the different speakers. When it came time to watch the conference, each staffer knew just whom to target.
Rep. Paul Ryan was one such person of interest. Executive Director Eddie Vale did not hold back his disgust with the former vice presidential candidate’s statements.
“The Left is… offering people a full stomach and an empty soul,” Rep. Ryan said, to which Vale replied, “[That’s] just stupid.” Ryan had made his statement alluding to free school lunches, which gave American Bridge a golden opportunity to go on the offensive. The PAC tweeted the quote, attributing it to “Paul Ryan, who supported cutting the food stamp budget by $135 billion.”
American Bridge does not wish to make voters think less of the candidates immediately. Rather, it hopes it will have made an impact at a more effective time: election season.