Ryan Nicol
Stephen Marks, who’s running for the Republican nomination in Florida’s 27th Congressional District, used his first campaign ad in the cycle to blame government policies for the death of both of his parents.
“I’m running for Congress because they both just died from our government’s policies that makes the lives of senior citizens worthless,” says Marks.
He says his father died as a result of medical malpractice, “where the law says there is no malpractice for the elderly since they’re going to die soon anyway.”
That is, of course, not true.
Though many people have issues with finding an attorney to argue a medical malpractice case, that often has to do with the difficulty in securing adequate financial rewards in a judgment. That can be especially true for the elderly, as lost earnings are a factor in judgments and those are usually not an issue for elderly victims. Still, medical malpractice is very much illegal no matter the age of the victim.
Marks also referenced his mother’s death from Alzheimer’s, attacking “America’s pathetic lack of funding for Alzheimer’s research.” Marks closed the ad by promising to fight for senior citizens’ rights. “I promise when elected to pass legislation never before proposed that makes the lives of senior citizens just as valuable as any other life.”
The ad began its run last week and will continue through this week. It’s the first ad to appear on television in the Republican primary for CD 27.
The hard-hitting ad is nothing new for Marks, who described himself as a “political hitman” in his 2008 book, which chronicles his work as a Republican political operative tasked with digging up dirt on his clients’ opponents.
Marks is running to replace retiring Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who represented CD 27 for decades. To earn the nomination, he’ll have to break through a crowded Republican field. Marks is one of nine Republicans who filed to run.
The CD 27 primary is August 28, followed by the November 6 general election.
