Rick Scott promotes 11-point plan to ‘rescue America’ in national TV spot

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The ad will air nationally beginning Friday and can be seen online now.

Sen. Rick Scott released a television ad promoting an 11-point Republican agenda for the midterms. The chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, he’s pushed the plan on the Rescue America website.

The ad starts with footage of crime in America’s streets, including riots during Black Lives Matter protests last summer as well as street crimes. It also mixes in film of gas pumps, and of crowds of migrants at the southern U.S. border with Mexico.

“Our borders are being invaded, inflation is raging and our shelves are empty,” Scott says in narration. “Crime is rampant. Police are being killed, and God-fearing people are being silenced.”

Scott then appears in his trademark Navy cap and says, “We’ve put together a plan to rescue America.”

The ad can be watched online now and will begin airing on television airways nationwide on Friday. Paid for by Scott’s own PAC, Scott for Florida, he said the ad is backed by a seven-figure national TV and digital buy.

Scott this week shook up the national political conversation with his plan, released as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has held back from laying out any alternative agenda for Republicans.

The red meat plan presented starkly conservative messaging, but also fueled immediate criticism from Democrats.

The plan stokes culture wars on abortion and anti-LGBTQ stances, quoting the Bible and making a case for a heartbeat bill.

“Men and women are biologically different, ‘male and female He created them.’ Modern technology has confirmed that abortion takes a human life. Facts are facts, the Earth is round, the sun is hot, there are two genders, and abortion stops a beating heart.”

But the section earning the most attention and immediate pushback involves taxes. “All Americans should pay some income tax to have skin in the game, even if a small amount,” the plan states. “Currently over half of Americans pay no income tax.”

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee immediately responded by launching radio ads.

“We’re making sure voters know the facts about Senate Republicans’ agenda: a tax hike on millions of seniors and over half of all Americans,” said Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Communications Director David Bergstein. “At every opportunity, Republicans are pushing the interests of the ultra-wealthy and big corporations that get rich by spiking costs — all while working families pay the price. In 2022, voters will hold every GOP Senate candidate accountable.”

Scott, for his part, went to Fox News to deny an increase in taxes.

There, host Sean Hannity (falsely) stated there’s nothing in the plan about raising taxes on half of Americans, and Scott seemed to agree. “Of course not,” Scott said. “[Democratic Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer, who wants to raise taxes for everything while I’ve cut, as I was Governor, I cut taxes and fees 100 times. But Chuck Schumer, he’s all in to take every dime you have.”

The plan also states, “No ballots that show up after Election Day will be counted, ever,” something that comes as little surprise to those who followed Scott’s narrow election in 2018 after a recount, when he fought in court against counting any vote-by-mail ballots arriving after Election Day regardless of whether it was postmarked before.

But perhaps the most striking part of the plan is how much it promotes Scott. His name appeared in a 31-page document a total of 36 times, but no Republican senators up for re-election this year, including Florida’s Marco Rubio, are mentioned anywhere.

Jacob Ogles

Jacob Ogles has covered politics in Florida since 2000 for regional outlets including SRQ Magazine in Sarasota, The News-Press in Fort Myers and The Daily Commercial in Leesburg. His work has appeared nationally in The Advocate, Wired and other publications. Events like SRQ’s Where The Votes Are workshops made Ogles one of Southwest Florida’s most respected political analysts, and outlets like WWSB ABC 7 and WSRQ Sarasota have featured his insights. He can be reached at [email protected].


10 comments

  • Copyleft

    February 24, 2022 at 1:10 pm

    By “god-fearing,” Scott of course means only far-right anti-choice Christians, i.e., REAL Americans (in his view). Which is a good demonstration of why nuts like this shouldn’t hold public office.

  • john rex costello

    February 24, 2022 at 2:12 pm

    Republicans have NOT One Policy that Actually HELPS IMPROVE the LIVES of Average Americans…..NOT ONE! All they have is FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR ………..and “Look over there” distractions! WAKE UP AMerica! Are the Dems perfect? Hell No….but they aren’t trying to TAKE AWAY RIGHTS!

    • Matthew Lusk

      February 25, 2022 at 9:02 am

      Not So. My plan calls for the elimination of the personal income tax. It’s the democrats who tax to death.

      • Gail bannister

        February 25, 2022 at 11:11 am

        Rick scotts plan on abortion, pledge of allegiance, voting, gender, marriage are good. Funding police, I like that . I have not read the other parts of plan but am sure I would like it also.

  • Beth

    February 25, 2022 at 4:40 am

    11 ways to show the world you are a total sociopath. Scott and the rest of the radicalized trump cultists are a threat to our democracy . Can’t wait to see the Medicare fraud king voted out and placed on the trash heap of history where he belongs. What a waste of a life.

    • Toni

      February 25, 2022 at 8:07 am

      Far left a bunch of bulshit

      • Peter Parsekian

        March 9, 2022 at 8:20 am

        GET EDUCATED!!!

  • Impeach Biden

    February 25, 2022 at 7:29 am

    To the three of you above. How has this first year of Joe Biden been? Are any of you old enough to remember Jimmy Carter? Up until the most recent election, Carter has easily been the worst President of my lifetime. Then came Joe Biden. He has easily surpassed Carter.

  • Toni

    February 25, 2022 at 8:10 am

    Amen perfectly said I couldn’t have said it better myself thank you we need to get Joe Biden out of office for the United States is completely ruined now there’s threats of cyber attack which could lead to nuclear ridiculous..

  • DeeDee

    March 2, 2022 at 8:51 am

    While some of his ideas might have merit, anyone who is for this better not be counting on Social Security or Medicare when they retire, as he plans to “sunset” them. So better save up now. Rich people don’t need these but regular people do and have paid into them for years! Funny how a Florida politician is planning this.

Comments are closed.


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