Republican Billionaires Attack Bernie Sanders on Minimum Wage

The billionaires are striking back at Bernie Sanders. Republican super PAC Future 45, which is funded by billionaires Paul Singer and Ken Griffin, released its first attack ad against Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential election cycle. Related: Why Is This Republican Super PAC Helping Bernie Sanders? The ad, “Sanders Answer,” focuses on Bernie Sanders’s proposal to raise the minimum wage to $15/hour and to provide free college and health care – a policy proposal that goes beyond Sanders himself. "And just how would he pay for it?" the narrator in the 30-second spot asks, before cutting to Sanders who says, " We will raise taxes, yes we will."

Who’s Behind the Super PAC Future 45?

Singer and Griffin, the aforementioned billionaires, are the main funders of the super PAC and both contributed $250,000 to Future 45. Additionally, they both have endorsed Marco Rubio for president. Brian O. Walsh, a Republican political operative, runs the Republican super PAC Future 45. In the past, Walsh served as political director for the National Republican Congressional Committee and was the president of American Action Network. Before the group launched “Sanders Answers,” Future 45 focused their attacks on Hillary Clinton and her policies in Libya.