September 2, 2022 Press Releases

DSCC FRIDAY TAKEAWAYS: SCOTT & MCCONNELL FEUD – GOP CANDIDATES WON’T BE ABLE TO SCRUB DANGEROUS RECORD – OZ ON TAPE CALLING ABORTION A CRIME

DON’T WANT NO SCRUBS – GOP SENATE CANDIDATES ARE “LEARNING THE PERILS OF POLITICAL TAKE-BACKS.” News coverage is highlighting how “Republican hopefuls are learning the perils of political take-backs” as they get caught “trying to disappear the hardline anti-abortion stances they took during their primaries” – a clumsy move that has “emboldened Democrats to mount an aggressive offense.”

Washington Post: Republicans in key races scrap online references to Trump, abortion. “Attempts by GOP candidates in competitive contests to pivot away from these issues have emboldened Democrats to mount an aggressive offense.”

Axios: The Big Scrub. “Republican candidates around the country are trying to disappear the hardline anti-abortion stances they took during their primaries.”

ABC News: First-time GOP candidates learn walk-back lessons: The Note. “Whether related or not to the recent debate in GOP circles around so-called ‘candidate quality,’ a striking number of new-to-politics Republican hopefuls are learning the perils of political take-backs and walk-backs in the run-up to Labor Day.”

RICK-EM-SOCK-EM-ROBOTS – RICK SCOTT AND MITCH MCCONNELL “ESCALATE AN UGLY QUARREL” AS THEIR FLAWED SENATE CANDIDATES FLOUNDER. Fresh off his Italian yacht vacation, Rick Scott “appeared to escalate an ugly quarrel” with Mitch McConnell – leading to a wave of news coverage highlighting the “Republican disarray,” “long-simmering tensions,” and “growing rift” playing out “in the latest sign of the G.O.P.’s eroding confidence” in their deeply flawed Senate candidates.

New York Times: Scott Lashes Out at McConnell in Sign of Dimming Republican Hopes for Senate. “Privately, some Senate campaign operatives have savaged Mr. Scott, saying they were befuddled by his decision to embark last month on an Italian yacht vacation at the same time that the committee was pulling television reservations in critical states, signaling it was losing hope of victories there. The trip was reported by Axios.”

MSNBC: Republican disarray: Rick Scott pushes back against McConnell. “With the midterm elections just 68 days away, Rick Scott is ready for a fight … with Mitch McConnell. Democrats couldn’t be more pleased.”

New Republic: Rick Scott’s Shadow Presidential Campaign Is Frustrating His Fellow Republicans. “The head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee seems a lot more focused on getting himself elected in 2024 than he is on helping Mitch McConnell take back the Senate.”

GOP SENATE CANDIDATES “GRAB THE ‘THIRD RAIL.’” NBC News highlighted how GOP Senate candidates from Ron Johnson to Blake Masters would put Social Security on the chopping block – a dangerous proposition for seniors.

NBC News: Democrats hammer Republicans over Social Security as conservative candidates grab the ‘third rail’. “Ahead of the 2022 election, Masters is one of many Republicans to touch what has been called the “third rail” of American politics — a… popular pillar of the safety net that gives monthly cash benefits to those 62 and older, who vote in big numbers. In major Senate and House races across the country, GOP candidates have called for cutting long-term Social Security spending.”

OZ SLAMMED FOR CALLING ABORTION ‘MURDER’ NO MATTER THE PREGNANCY STAGE. Oz’s dangerous comment “puts him at odds with most of Pennsylvania’s electorate” and “would make him one of the most extreme Senate candidates in the nation on the issue of reproductive rights.” Oh, and it also made the front page of Pennsylvania’s largest newspaper.

Philadelphia Inquirer, A1: At talk, Oz called abortion ‘murder’. “Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate Mehmet Oz called abortion ‘murder’ during a campaign event in May, according to a newly revealed audio recording.”

NBC News: Mehmet Oz in May audio: Abortion is ‘murder’ at any stage of pregnancy. “‘I do believe life starts at conception, and I’ve said that multiple times,’ Oz, a Republican, said at the time in a tele-town hall, going on to add: ‘If life starts at conception, why do you care what stage our hearts starts beating at? It’s, you know, it’s still murder, if you were to terminate a child whether their heart’s beating or not.’”
MSNBC – Hallie Jackson Reports (WATCH): “New audio just in to NBC News featuring Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate Mehmet Oz at a tele-town hall back in May and here’s what he said about abortion: ‘If life starts at coneception, why do you care what stage our heart starts beating at? It’s, you know, it’s still murder.’”

NEW DSCC CABLE AD CALLS OUT MASTERS’ SUPPORT FOR NATIONAL ABORTION BAN. The new TV spot, “Jennifer,” features a testimonial highlighting that Blake Masters supports a national abortion ban with no exceptions.

WATCH: “Jennifer”

Washington Post: This just in: New ad from Democrats hits Arizona’s Masters on abortion. “Democrats are launching a new ad aimed at Blake Masters, the Republican Senate candidate in Arizona who last week removed some antiabortion language from his website. The new 30-second ad from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee features a woman identified as Jennifer who says she had an abortion when she was 14. ‘Blake Masters has no idea what I went through,’ the woman says. ‘And he has no business making that decision for me.’”

NO MASTER OF DECEPTION.. After getting caught trying to ‘Etch A Sketch’ his dangerous anti-choice position, Masters was back in the news this week for trying to scrub “false claims of a stolen election” from his website, and for a resurfaced video showing him rapping in war paint.

Arizona Republic: Blake Masters’ campaign took down website posts on D.C. riot, immigration, 2020 election. “Controversial comments about the U.S. Capitol riot, an immigration conspiracy theory, and the false claims of a stolen election have disappeared from Republican Senate hopeful Blake Masters’ campaign website. Masters is demonstrating that his campaign reboot involved more than removing his views on abortion.”

Arizona Republic (Opinion): Have you seen the video of Blake Masters in ‘war paint’ rapping? No, I’m not kidding. “In a colossally cringeworthy way Masters manages in the video to come off as both creepy and racist.”

FOR RON JOHNSON, ALL PRESS APPEARS TO BE BAD PRESS. Johnson is making all the wrong headlines once again: the Wisconsin Examiner detailed how he has benefited from government funding despite railing against other government programs; UpNorthNews revealed his campaign took money from companies that have outsourced Wisconsin jobs; The Wisconsin State Journalreported on his plan to ‘coax’ seniors back into the workforce; and NBC News detailed how a ‘fake elector’ is working for his campaign. All in a week’s work for RoJo.

Wisconsin Examiner: How government aid helped Ron Johnson. “A senator who votes against safety net programs benefited from government-sponsored financing for his business.”

UpNorthNews: Companies and Executives Sent Jobs Out of Wisconsin—and Sent Money to Ron Johnson. “Executives and companies that have outsourced Wisconsin jobs have contributed more than $77,000 to Johnson, an outspoken supporter of overseas manufacturing that’s ‘dirt cheap.’”

Wisconsin State Journal: Ron Johnson encourages seniors to rejoin the workforce, proposes payroll tax waiver. “U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson campaigns for a potential third term, he’s proposing a fix for Wisconsin’s labor shortage: Encourage seniors to rejoin the workforce.”

NBC News: A Wisconsin ‘fake elector’ works for Ron Johnson’s re-election campaign. “A spokeswoman for the senator confirmed his campaign’s employment of Pam Travis, one of 10 Wisconsin Republicans who signed bogus paperwork claiming to be an elector backing Trump.”

SHADIER THAN AREA 51 – LAXALT PURSUED AUDIT OF 2020 ELECTION AS LATE AS SEPTEMBER OF 2021 New bombshell reporting from the Nevada Independentthis week showed that Laxalt continued working to overturn the 2020 election for Donald Trump deep into his campaign for U.S. Senate.

Nevada Independent: Email: Laxalt pushed for 2020 election audit in Douglas County after launching Senate bid. “Douglas County Clerk-Treasurer Amy Burgans told a top state elections official in a September 2021 email that Laxalt had approached her during a local event with a request for the county to audit ballot signatures, saying that ‘he felt that Douglas County should take the lead.’ The email was first obtained in February by the left-leaning watchdog group American Oversight.”

MARCO RUBIO IS A DANGER TO FLORIDA WOMEN – “WOULD FAVOR A COMPLETE BAN ON ABORTION,” SAYS UNBORN “SHOULD PREVAIL” OVER MOTHER. Rubio continues to make it clear that he wants to implement a national ban on abortion “with no exceptions for rape, incest and human trafficking.” It’s no surprise that reporters are declaring “Val Demings has Rubio on the ropes.”

Local 10 Miami: In abortion remarks, Rubio says unborn child’s rights should prevail over mother’s. “An outspoken opponent of abortion, Rubio said the unborn child’s rights should prevail over the mother’s.”

Tallahassee Democrat: Val Demings, Democrats target Sen. Marco Rubio’s anti-abortion stance to knock him out in November. “Rubio said he would favor a complete ban on abortion with no exceptions for rape, incest and human trafficking.”

South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Opinion): Val Demings has Rubio on the ropes.“The first name Florida voters will see on their November ballots is Marco Rubio. Maybe for the last time. He’s is in the fight of his career.”

The Hill: Democrats see opening to take down Rubio. “The party’s candidates have seen a burst of momentum following the signing of a massive tax and climate law, arguing that it’s evidence that they can pass meaningful legislation. And then there’s the conservative-majority Supreme Court’s decision in June to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark abortion rights case — a ruling that has put reproductive rights back in the country’s political spotlight.”

MISSING: HAS ANYONE SEEN THIS MAN? OHIO REPUBLICANS ASK “WHERE’S J.D.?” CNN had the same problem that Ohio Republicans have been encountering when they traveled to report on the OhioSenate race – they couldn’t seem to find J.D. Vance.

CNN: ‘Where’s J.D.?:’ Vance’s Ohio Senate campaign prompts GOP concerns. “J.D. Vance has been difficult to find. The rookie GOP candidate goes days without any public events, and his campaign gives little information about his whereabouts. He has been slow to build a fundraising operation, and a ground game, and is being dramatically outspent on air while racking up a nearly $900,000 in campaign debt last quarter.”

JUST THIS WEEK, THANKS TO SENATE DEMOCRATS

This week Senate Democrats were in their home states focusing on working families’ most pressing priorities: lowering costs by making Big Pharma and wealthy corporations pay their fair share, improving our supply chains by making more products in America, expanding health care for our veterans, and rebuilding their state’s infrastructure.

KD Miner: Sen. Kelly talks with Kingman veterans about housing and medical care. “While Kelly visited a Republican-heavy county, he said his job is to care for everyone in the state. In the Aug. 2 primary, no Democrat made it on the ballot for local seats. ‘My job is to help them regardless of what the county looks like,’ Kelly said.”

Augusta Chronicle: Sen. Raphael Warnock promises voters at Augusta Tech rally ‘I work for you’. “He also stressed the importance of leaders from all sides working together to solve the issues, a key one being infrastructure, describing how it’s about ‘the house that we all live in together.’ Warnock went on to cite last year’s bipartisan infrastructure bill and how he and Sen. Ted Cruz from Texas worked together to pass an amendment designating the proposed I-14 a ‘high priority corridor.’ The new interstate would connect several areas of Texas and Georgia, including Augusta.”

IN THE STATES

CO – KDVR: Truth Check: Bennet highlights differences in abortion views in Senate race. “‘Joe O’Dea opposes the law protecting abortion access in Colorado’ … Truth Check says this is true.”

NH – Manchester Ink Link: Hassan launches veterans’ council at Sweeney Post stop. “U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) joined New Hampshire veterans on Monday morning to launch Veterans for Maggie at American Legion Sweeney Post #2, delivering remarks about her commitment to fighting for service members, veterans, and military families in New Hampshire and across the country.”

NC – The Assembly NC: Paper Elephant. “‘I think Budd is running a terrible campaign,’ one former official from the state Republican Party said. ‘He has not put forth a vision of what he’d do for the state.’”

OH – Cleveland.com (Opinion): J.D. Vance’s Senate candidacy is a stain on the GOP. “There’s a whole lot of stench oozing from the candidacy of the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate… As a candidate, Vance has awful political instincts, not an ounce of class and a tendency to embrace views parroted by political maggots he considers friends.”

WI – Heartland Signal: FACT CHECK: Ron Johnson’s campaign falsely claims Milwaukee newspaper called him ‘champion of Social Security’. “Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson’s (R) re-election campaign falsely claimed that the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel called him a ‘champion’ of Social Security and Medicare, mischaracterizing an op-ed as an endorsement.”

TWEET OF THE WEEK