Last week, Bruce Braley Esq. (D-IA) undoubtedly had the worst week in Washington. But as the curtain was lifted on the Braley campaign, veteran political reporters were left with one obvious conclusion: The wheels have fallen off of Bruce Braley’s campaign, which had become an, “epic mess.”
One might think that after torpedoing his own campaign, the embattled candidate would hurry back to Iowa to mend fences back at home, but not Bruce Braley Esq. Instead the man who promised to represent trial lawyers in the Senate stayed on the East Coast to hobnob with Virginia trial lawyers at the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association Annual Convention.
Braley has made trial lawyers the centerpiece of his campaign, meeting with them in San Francisco, Texas and Virginia. His elitist comments provide a glimpse into a fact that his campaign and his Democratic allies in Washington intended to hide from voters in Iowa, which is the fact that he is a political creation of the trial lawyer lobby. It isn’t a secret that Braley became a Congressman after he was President of the Iowa Trial Lawyer Lobby, but one only need to look at his own FEC reports to learn the startling truth:
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Braley has received $4.1 Million from lawyers and law firms over his career, more than any other current member of the House of Representatives in Washington.
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Braley has received $1.1 million from lawyers and law firms this cycle alone – 4x more than any other candidate for the House or Senate.
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Braley has received approximately $60,000 from the Trial Lawyers Political Organization, The American Association for Justice.
No wonder he’s promising to represent trial lawyers should he be elected. It’s time to start looking into Braley’s legislative record in the House to find out just how indebted to trial lawyers he is.
“Bruce Braley’s insulting attack against farmers and his promise to be a voice for out-of-state trial lawyers in the Senate has exposed a dangerous truth that Democrats have been scrambling to conceal all along,” said NRSC Press Secretary Brook Hougesen. “Bruce Braleyis an elitist who prioritizes an agenda beneficial to trial lawyers instead of listening to the concerns of middle-class families, farmers and workers in Iowa. Braley’s comments reveal a far more damaging truth which will have legs that dog the already weakened candidate through November. He owes Iowans more than an apology, he owes them an explanation.”
BACKGROUND
Braley Has Taken Staggering Amounts Of Money From Lawyers
Braley Has Received $4.1 Million From Lawyers And Law Firms Over The Course Of His Career – More Than Any Current Member Of The House. (Center For Responsive Politics, www.opensecrets.org, Accessed 3/25/14)
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Braley Has Received $1.1 Million From Lawyers And Law Firms During The 2014 Cycle Alone – Four Times More Than The Next Closest House Or Senate Candidate. (Center For Responsive Politics, www.opensecrets.org, Accessed 3/25/14)
Braley Has Received At Least $59,750 From The Trial Lawyers’ Political Organization, The American Association For Justice. (Center For Responsive Politics, www.opensecrets.org, Accessed 3/25/14)
