July 1, 2022 Press Releases

DSCC FRIDAY TAKEAWAYS: GOP SENATE CANDIDATES’ ANTI-CHOICE RECORDS SLAMMED – ROJO CAN’T DODGE MORE BAD PRESS – OZ IN THE DANGER ZONE

DSCC LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE GOPONABORTION.COM HIGHLIGHTING REPUBLICAN SENATE CANDIDATES’ ANTI-CHOICE WORDS AND RECORDS. The website will help voters learn how Republican Senate candidates have made it clear they stand in lockstep with their party’s agenda to make abortion illegal everywhere – without exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother – and impose new, cruel, and punishing restrictions on women and families.

Visit GOPonAbortion.com Here:

“THE WAY THAT WE PUSH BACK IS IN NOVEMBER” – DSCC CHAIR SEN. PETERS DISCUSSES HIS FAMILY’S ABORTION STORY & DEFENDCHOICE.ORG. Peters joined MSNBC’s The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart to discuss how the DSCC’s new website DefendChoice.org will help voters channel anger into action and organize with local coordinated field campaigns.

We are organizing. We have a website, defendchoice.org, that will allow people to get on that site and get engaged. It is important that they are heard.
The way that we push back is in November. We need more pro-choice Democratic senators.
We have a number of battleground states where we know the majority of people are pro-choice and are opposed to what they are seeing. But people have to get out, they have to vote, they have to be engaged.

READ ALL ABOUT IT: GOP SENATE CANDIDATES FACE WAVE OF BRUTAL HEADLINES SLAMMING THEIR ANTI-CHOICE AGENDA. “Women are fed up” with GOP Senate candidates, who have called Roe v. Wade “a joke,” suggested women “can move” to get an abortion, and support “banning almost all abortions.”

Nevada Independent: Laxalt calls 1973 Roe v. Wade decision ‘a joke,’ bemoans Nevada’s abortion protections. “Earlier this month, Republican U.S. Senate candidate and former Attorney General Adam Laxalt called the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision ‘a joke’ and said it’s ‘sad’ that Nevada is not anti-abortion.
Vanity Fair: “Women Are Fed Up”: Democrats See Ron Johnson’s Abortion Record as Their Path to Victory. “‘He is really a true believer when it comes to the oppression of women and disrespecting women. He’s been doing it for a long time here in his political career,’ Melissa Baldauff, a Democratic strategist based in Wisconsin, told me.”
Business Insider: Sen. Marco Rubio supported banning almost all abortions in a newly uncovered 2010 questionnaire. “He backed a constitutional amendment to ban abortions unless a pregnancy is life-threatening, and said he’d support a bill to give spouses the right to be notified and intervene before an abortion.”

Associated Press: New Hampshire GOP Senate hopefuls pressed on abortion. “Donald Bolduc, Bruce Fenton, Vikram Mansharamani, Chuck Morse and Kevin Smith were asked Monday night to respond to the U.S. Supreme Court decision ending constitutional protection for abortion and whether they would support federal laws restricting it… all praised the decision.”

DON’T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU – JOHNSON “DUCKS OUT THE BACK DOOR” BUT CAN’T OUTRUN WAVE A BRUTAL NEWS COVERAGE. News coverage is calling out Ron Johnson after he “snuck out the back of an event room and declined to answer questions” during “an increasingly rare appearance in Milwaukee” as questions continue to swirl around “stunning” revelations regarding his involvement in the January 6th insurrection and his anti-choice record.

CNN: Anderson Cooper 360 On Ron Johnson. “I tried to catch up to him, tried to ask him questions about the hearing, about what happened last week, and other issues as well. On the way he didn’t want to answer questions, and on the way out he snuck out the back of an event room and declined to answer questions.”

CBS 58: Sen. Johnson ducks out the back door as questions about alleged January 6 involvement swirl. “Senator Johnson made an increasingly rare appearance in Milwaukee Tuesday for a public event touting a jobs program. After the event, CBS 58 reporters tried to ask questions but he left out the back door and drove away without saying a word to reporters.”
USA Today Network-Wisconsin (Editorial): Ron Johnson’s denials about Donald Trump’s fake-elector plot don’t add up. “Johnson has proven by his past actions that he isn’t fit to be a U.S. senator. This latest episode only makes that more clear. The citizens of Wisconsin, regardless of party, should vote him out of office in November.”
Washington Post: A ban, a lawsuit, an election: Abortion firestorm erupts in Wisconsin. “Johnson, the incumbent senator, praised the ruling as a ‘victory for life’ in a statement last Friday.”
CNN: New fight over abortion jolts Democratic battle to take on Johnson in Wisconsin. “Johnson, a two-term senator, has said he supports the court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade and has tried to redirect attention elsewhere.”

TROUBLE IN THE LAND OF OZ – TWO NEW STORIES HIGHLIGHT HOW MEHMET OZ IS DAMAGED GOODS & A FRAUD. New coverage from the Philadelphia Inquirer highlighted how Oz “took a beating during the GOP primary,” leaving him deeply damaged and unpopular heading into the general election. The report followed a brutal Business Insider profile of Oz exposing him as a fraud who “will do what he has to do to get what he wants.”

→ Philadelphia Inquirer: Mehmet Oz’s image took a beating during the GOP primary, and it’s weighing on him as the general election starts.

[Oz] absorbed more than $20 million of attack ads that damaged his standing in many voters’ minds, including among the Republican base.
Only 28% of likely Pennsylvania voters said they viewed Oz favorably, according to a Suffolk University/USA Today poll in early June, while 50% saw him unfavorably. An AARP survey found even more deeply negative impressions of Oz.
At a time when most candidates soften their tones and tack toward the political center, Oz still needs to solidify his support with conservative base voters, many of whom were left skeptical of his credentials. And, Democrats and some Republicans say, the negative views of Oz point to underlying questions about whether voters can trust him.
Democrats say the skepticism of Oz points to deeper troubles. Add up his loose ties to Pennsylvania — he lived in New Jersey for more than 30 years after attending medical and business school in Philadelphia — and his attempts to distance himself from past statements on guns, abortion, and other topics, they say, and voters have reason to question his character.

→ Business Insider: ‘I’m Machiavellian’: How Dr. Oz’s obsession with power led him to Washington’s doorstep.

In 2009, when Oz was preparing to launch his daytime talk show, it would have made sense to use Chicago as a home base… But Oz insisted on staying on the East Coast — and not necessarily because he wanted to be near his family or his clinic. Even then, he had his eye on a political position in New York or New Jersey, the person involved in the show’s inception said.
“He’s definitely the kind of person who will do what he has to do to get what he wants.”
“He’s saying this stuff about elites,” the producer said. “I’m like, ‘Dude, you’ve got a basketball court in your house.'”

ANYBODY KNOW THESE GUYS? NO NAME NEW HAMPSHIRE GOP CANDIDATES BASH EACH OTHER AT DEBATE. As the New Hampshire’s b-tier GOP candidates struggle to gain traction in a primary where “Gov. Chris Sununu’s decision not to run remains its biggest development,” they took the debate stage to “spar” for a chance to poll higher than single digits.

NHPR: As N.H. GOP candidates jockey for Senate nomination, name recognition proves elusive. “So far in this sleepy race, Gov. Chris Sununu’s decision not to run remains its biggest development.”
NHJournal: Candidates Spar at First NHGOP Senate Debate. “Smith targeted Bolduc several times during the debate, questioning his temperament and attacking his past statements on the war in Ukraine.”
Read More From The New Hampshire Democratic Party → “CLUELESS”: The Nastiest Moments in the Republican Senate Debate

HASSAN PENS OP-ED & LAUNCHES DIRECT-TO-CAMERA AD ON ABORTION – “I WILL FIGHT AND NEVER BACK DOWN.” In a new TV ad launched Thursday, Senator Maggie Hassan says she will “never back down” in the fight to protect a woman’s fundamental freedom — and will be relentless in blocking Senator Mitch McConnell’s push for a nationwide abortion ban.

NBC News: Democratic women launch abortion ads post-Roe v. Wade. “Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., launched a new TV ad Thursday morning, speaking directly to the camera and saying the Court’s decision ‘catapults us backwards,’ and vowing to fight for abortion rights.”

Concord Monitor (Opinion): Hassan: Reflecting on the Dobbs decision’s impact. “Inspired by the women of the suffragist movement, we have to keep fighting. We have to organize and create a movement that makes clear that women will not be free unless and until they have full bodily autonomy. That fight starts with the midterm elections, when a woman’s fundamental freedom will be on the ballot.”

NO WAY O’DEA – COLORADO GOP SENATE CANDIDATE JOE O’DEA STUMBLES OUT OF PRIMARY WITH FAR-RIGHT POSITIONS. Immediately after Joe O’Dea received the nomination, news coverage highlighted how he is out of step with Coloradans. Handing the Senate over to Mitch McConnell won’t be a popular proposition for Colorado voters.

Bloomberg: “Bennet in the interview criticized O’Dea for his support for another Trump presidential bid and opposition to the gun violence prevention bill (S. 2938) that Biden signed into law last week. He also pointed out that O’Dea, who describes himself as a supporter of abortion rights, has said he would have voted to confirm US Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn the abortion-rights decisions Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.”
Colorado Newsline: “In a debate earlier this month, however, he joined Hanks in endorsing a potential 2024 comeback for former President Donald Trump, and the two candidates struck many similar notes on the primary campaign trail.”
Denver Post: “Colorado Democrats, meanwhile, immediately worked to tie O’Dea to anti-abortion positions — O’Dea… would have voted to confirm the Supreme Court justices who overturned the Constitutional right to an abortion — his support from Colorado’s wing of the National Rifle Association and his ongoing support for former President Donald Trump.”

MEET AN ANTI-GUN SAFETY SENATE CANDIDATE: ADAM LAXALT. Backed by the National Rifle Association and its money, Laxalt opposes even the most popular and modest measures to make Americans safer from gun violence.

The American Independent: Meet an anti-gun safety Senate candidate: Adam Laxalt. “Nevada Republican Senate candidate Adam Laxalt has received an A+ rating — and a lot of money — from the National Rifle Association.”

CAN’T MISS PROFILE → VANITY FAIR: VAL DEMINGS IS ON A MISSION. “The former police chief helped impeach Donald Trump and survived an insurrection—now the third-term congresswoman has her eyes on the Senate. ‘In Val there’s hope,’ says fellow representative Robin Kelly, ‘that we can move closer to that promise of America.’”

JUST THIS WEEK, THANKS TO SENATE DEMOCRATS.

AJC: Warnock focuses Senate hearing on curbing drug prices. “The Democrat heard from advocacy groups, medical experts and older Georgians struggling with high prescription drug costs during the hourlong hearing…‘I’m focused on pushing legislation to lower costs on everything, from prescription drugs to gas to groceries,’ said Warnock.”

IN THE STATES

AZ- Arizona Republic (Opinion): Abortion ruling by Attorney General Mark Brnovich sets Arizona women back to 1864. “People like Brnovich might want to turn the clock back 158 years, but things have changed. Women do all kinds of work now. They are independent. They are educated. They have hopes and dreams. They have daughters and granddaughters. And, yes, they can vote.”

CO – Colorado Newsline (Opinion): You’re insane if you think Colorado Republicans chose sanity. “Trump knew that he lost the 2020 election but conspired to pursue illegal and violence-prone efforts to overturn the results. He committed one of the greatest crimes in the history of the country, but O’Dea would put him back in the country’s most powerful office. Next to Hanks, O’Dea might appear reasonable. Next to the restraints against America’s slide toward autocracy, he’s an enemy of democracy.”

FL – Florida Phoenix: Florida Phoenix: New ad: U.S. Rep. Demings slams Marco Rubio on abortion ban. “Following the controversial Roe v. Wade ruling, U.S. Rep. Val Demings on Monday slammed U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio in a new digital campaign ad, alleging that Rubio supports a total ban on abortions and other issues that could wreak havoc on women’s rights.”

GA – Chattanooga Times Free Press: U.S. Sen. Warnock visits Northwest Georgia, says public policy is ‘letter to our children’. “‘Public policy you make, or fail to make, is a letter to our children,’ Warnock said to a crowd of more than 150 at the Mack Gaston Community Center. ‘And we would get more of it right if we asked ourselves each time: What do we want that letter to say?’”

NH – WMUR: Abortion clinic workers in New Hampshire fear new restrictions could be ahead. “U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, who is running for reelection, met with workers at the oldest abortion clinic in the state Tuesday. ‘I came because I wanted to hear first-hand from these health care providers about the impact that the Dobbs decision has had on them, the concerns that their patients have and the community of people that they serve,’ Hassan said.”

NV – Reno Gazette Journal (Opinion): As a Republican in rural Nevada, I’m supporting Sen. Cortez Masto. “Some of my friends and family have asked me how a Republican can support a Democrat for Senate. And the answer is simple: Sen. Cortez Masto has proven she will deliver for us. From protecting our farms and ranches, to fighting to lower costs for our families, I know I can count on her to advocate for what matters to me. And although I am still proud to be a Republican, I’m going to support Catherine because I know she will always fight for me and my family.”

WI – Wisconsin State Journal (Editorial): Ron Johnson votes against public safety. “Members of Congress are called ‘lawmakers’ for a reason. Their job is to make laws. Instead, Johnson has voted against rebuilding America’s roads and bridges. He’s trashed public health guidance in favor of conspiracy theories during the pandemic. He abandoned his advocacy for the free market and controlling America’s debt when former President Donald Trump launched trade wars and spending sprees. If Johnson can’t do anything about gun violence — not even something small yet worthy — what can he do? Johnson is failing to represent Wisconsin’s values. Voters should remember his failure this fall.”

TWEET OF THE WEEK