American Bridge 21st Century

American Bridge 21st Century or AB PAC[1] is a liberal American Super PAC that supports Democratic candidates and opposes Republican candidates.[2] It was founded by David Brock in 2010 and is associated with Media Matters for America. It is an opposition research hub for the Democratic Party.[3] The group physically tracks and monitors Republican candidates and officials and uses social media to deploy its findings.

American Bridge 21st Century
FormationNovember 2010
FounderDavid Brock
Founded atWashington, D.C.
TypeSuper PAC
MethodsOpposition research
AffiliationsMedia Matters for America
Websiteamericanbridgepac.org

Methods

American Bridge PAC employs over 50 trackers to follow and record Republican candidates across the country.[4] These trackers are equipped with high-tech recording gear and are assigned Republican targets to follow and record. According to The New York Times, the organization "aims to record every handshake, every utterance by Republican candidates ... looking for gotcha moments that could derail political ambitions or provide fodder for television advertisements by liberal groups."[5] USA Today described the group's goal as "uncovering an unguarded moment, a controversial position, a gaffe or flip-flop, anything that can be used to torpedo a political foe's campaign."[6] The organization compiles opposition research dossiers on the Republican candidates they are targeting. The group's opposition dossier on Mitt Romney was 2,500 pages long. It has attempted to tie Republican candidates to the political activities of the Koch brothers.[7]

In 2016, American Bridge discovered that the Trump Institute's book was plagiarized, with at least 20 pages coming from a 1995 Success article.[8] In 2018, it spent $20.9 million, mostly on employee salaries including the opposition researchers.[9]

Donors

American Bridge PAC is largely funded by wealthy Democratic donors, labor unions, and other PACs (Sixteen Thirty Fund/Arabella Advisors). The largest donors of the 2020 United States presidential election cycle include billionaire Stephen Mandel,[10] Bain Capital co-founder Joshua Bekenstein,[11] real estate Titan George M. Marcus,[12] and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman. In past election cycles billionaire George Soros and others helped the then fledging Super PAC in 2012.[13][14]

References
  1. "FEC Form 1, name change" (PDF). Federal Election Commission. November 10, 2019. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  2. Piaker, Zachary (June 27, 2014). "American Bridge 21st Century". FactCheck.org. Annenberg Public Policy Center. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  3. Lorber, Janie (February 13, 2012). "American Bridge 21st Century Super PAC Is Hub of Left". Roll Call. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  4. Burns, Alexander (July 28, 2013). "American Bridge watching GOP". Politico. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  5. Shear, Michael (July 8, 2011). "Trailing G.O.P. With Cameras, Seeking Gaffes". New York Times. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  6. Schouten, Fredreka (May 23, 2012). "Researchers dig deeper for dirt on political opposition". USA Today. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  7. Haberman, Maggie (June 22, 2015). "Democratic 'Super PAC' to Take On Koch Brothers". New York Times. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  8. Martin, Jonathan (June 29, 2016). "Trump Institute Offered Get-Rich Schemes With Plagiarized Lessons". The New York Times. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  9. "American Bridge 21st Century/AB PAC". FactCheck.org. February 19, 2020. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  10. "Stephen Mandel, Jr". Forbes. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  11. Capital, Bain. "Josh Bekenstein". Bain Capital. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  12. "George Marcus". Forbes. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  13. "American Bridge 21st Century PAC Donors". OpenSecrets. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  14. "PAC Profile: American Bridge 21st Century". Center for Public Integrity. February 16, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
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