Janelle Irwin Taylor
Several prominent Tampa Bay area Democrats will rally women voters for Kamala Harris on Saturday in Tampa at an event meant to focus on women’s rights and underscore the threat former President Donald Trump poses to women if returned to the White House.
Speakers will include U.S. Rep. Stacey Plaskett of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, Florida House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell, state Reps. Dianne Hart, Michele Rayner and Susan Valdes, and former state Sen. Arthenia Joyner. In addition to warning of Trump, the speakers are also expected to highlight Democrats’ efforts to protect women’s freedoms in Florida and beyond.
Harris has been running hard on reproductive freedom. The issue will be acute in Florida, where the GOP-controlled Legislature and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis have enacted a strict six-week abortion ban, and where Florida voters will have the chance to cast a ballot to enshrine abortion protections through a citizen-initiated referendum.
In her capacity as Vice President, Harris has been helping to lead President Joe Biden’s response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, a move Democrats argue was facilitated by Trump through his Supreme Court nominations of anti-abortion conservative Justices.
In addition to her current work on reproductive freedom, the speakers are also expected to tout Harris’ work on the issue throughout her career, including as California Attorney General and as a U.S. Senator.
Expect speakers to quote Trump directly, including when he said he is “proud” that he was able to “kill Roe v. Wade” and when he called abortion bans with few exceptions “a beautiful thing to watch.”
Also listen for speakers to discuss the controversial Project 2025 agenda. Project 2025 is a more than 900-page blueprint for the next Republican President created by the conservative Heritage Foundation and its allies, many of whom with direct ties to Trump, though Trump has said publicly he has nothing to do with the plan.
The blueprint is sweeping, and includes plans to gut several federal agencies, such as the Department of Education, and to increase executive authority by transitioning more bureaucratic federal government jobs to political appointee roles. It also includes plans for sweeping tax cuts Democrats say would harm the middle class and lower-income people to the benefit of the ultrarich.
Specific to the Tampa rally, Project 2025 includes banning abortion and prosecuting doctors for mailing medication abortion.
The Tampa rally is slated to start at 2 p.m., but the Harris campaign has not yet made the location publicly available.
One comment
Day 32
August 23, 2024 at 4:51 pm
One day she will have to face people that don’t agree with her, want to ask tough questions, don’t like her, and so on. This coverup is almost worse than the “Joe is fine” campaign. This is simply unbelievable what is going on with her and the supportive press. This would never fly if Kammy was a Repub.