“Debbie will work to protect the American dream, because she’s lived it, as a mom, a Latina, and an immigrant who eventually become an Associate Dean at the FIU Medical School. Debbie will take that experience and always stand on the side of her community, while standing firmly against Washington’s reckless plan to undermine protections for people with pre-existing conditions and kick nearly 100,000 people in Florida’s 26th district off their coverage. That’s the kind of representation her community deserves, and Debbie is on track to win this November,” said DCCC Chairman Ben Ray Luján.
To: Interested Parties
From: Cole Leiter, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: August 28th, 2018
RE: The Case Against Rep. Carlos Curbelo
Congressman Curbelo says he’s a different kind of Republican, but when Speaker Ryan and Washington ask for his vote, he’ll quickly abandon his constituents and vote against the interests of South Florida in Washington. The most glaring example of this was when Curbelo voted with Republicans to repeal affordable healthcare for nearly 100,000 people living in his district, increase South Florida’s healthcare premiums and even allow insurance companies to charge people more if they have pre-existing conditions like asthma, cancer and diabetes. Meanwhile, Curbelo’s immediate neighbor, Republican Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, had the backbone to stand with their community, while Curbelo fell in line with Washington.
But that’s not the only time Curbelo has gone back on what he’s said in Miami when it came time to vote in Washington. From health care to immigration to gun violence prevention, what Curbelo says he will do rarely matches his eventual record. That may be good for Curbelo’s positioning in Washington, but it’s bad for South Florida families. They don’t need a big-talking Washington politician. They need a Representative who understands the hurdles they’ve overcome, and who they can count on to put their community first.
Debbie Mucarsel-Powell is that representative. An immigrant, Debbie came to America when she was 14 years old, got a job right away at a donut shop to help make ends meet and eventually worked her way through college. From that first job, Debbie worked her way up to become an Associate Dean at FIU, where she helped expand the number of Black and Latino students studying to become doctors and expanded health care access through community health clinics for south Floridians in need. But that’s not the only place Debbie gave back to her community: at the Coral Restoration Foundation, Debbie worked to slow the devastating impact of climate change on Florida’s coral reefs.
That’s the choice voters face: a Washington politician they can’t trust to fight for them, or an immigrant, leader on affordable health care and working mom.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
HEADLINE: “Constituents Call Curbelo’s ACA Repeal Vote a ‘Declaration of War’ on His District” [WLRN, 5/4/17]
HEADLINE: “Carlos Curbelo Likely Made Tens of Thousands From His Own Tax-Cut Vote” [Miami New Times, 4/10/2018]
HEADLINE: “Curbelo on defense over gun-control double-talk” [POLITICO, 2/28/2018]
“Mucarsel-Powell, who was born in Ecuador but came to the United States at the age of 14 years… has set clear goals close to her personal experience as a professional[,] immigrant citizen, arguing that “the same opportunities that allowed her and her family to improve their lives are disappearing for too many of our neighbors today,” [Al Dia, 4/12/2018]
ED-BOARD: “Debbie Mucarsel-Powell is an impressive candidate. She is well-versed in the issues of the district and the nation.” [Miami Herald, 8/12/2018]
Rep. Curbelo: A Politician Whose Record In Washington Doesn’t Match His Words In Miami
His Party Over South Florida’s Healthcare
When it comes to Washington Republicans’ top priority – repealing and undermining our health care system – Congressman Curbelo has been lockstep with his party from the beginning, despite the harmful impact on his district. Florida’s 26th Congressional has the second-highest number of Affordable Care Act enrollees in the country. Instead of standing with them and the community he was elected to represent, he voted to strip health care from 100,200 people in his district, while jeopardizing protections for the over 300,000 people living with pre-existing conditions in FL-26. And this isn’t the first time Curbelo has chosen his party over his community: since getting to Washington, he’s voted 10 times with Republicans to repeal or undermine our health care system.
And, while repeatedly voting to jeopardize health care for working families, he’s called Social Security a Ponzi scheme, and voted to jeopardize Medicare and Social Security, all while imposing an age tax on older Floridians.
And, while repeatedly voting to jeopardize health care for working families, he’s called Social Security a Ponzi scheme, and voted to jeopardize Medicare and Social Security, all while imposing an age tax on older Floridians.
Taxing Middle Class Families To Enrich Himself & Line Special Interests’ Pockets
In Miami, Congressman Curbelo claims the tax bill is about helping working people, but Curbelo’s support for the tax bill has always been about two things: his special interest backers, and himself. That’s why, immediately after Curbelo voted to give his big corporate donors a $1 trillion tax cut, he jetted off to a New York City fundraiser with financial services CEOs who would see some of the biggest gains from the bill. And it’s also why he’s refused to answer questions on reports that Congressman Curbelo’s own family would personally see an approximately $100,000 tax cut, all while driving taxes and health care premiums up for Florida families.
That’s not what working people in South Florida need, particularly as their wages remain well below cities of comparable size and the cost of living continues to increase. Unlike Curbelo, who has proven his priorities are driven by the needs of his special interest backers and his own self-interest, Debbie will work to bring real middle-class tax relief and oppose the kind of deficit-busting corporate handouts Curbelo has embraced in Washington.
Gun Violence Doubletalk
South Florida knows the horrors of gun violence. But instead of backing up his headline grabbing talk with action, Congressman Curbelo has voted with his party and the gun lobby on two separate measures that would make it easier for people with mental illness to purchase guns. That includes voting with the gun lobby against a Department of Veterans Affairs rule that would have kept veterans deemed mentally unfit from buying firearms – a rule that many Generals supported. Those votes come as Curbelo has taken over $7,000 from the gun lobby, including as recently as 2016. In contrast to Congressman Curbelo, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell lost her father to a criminal with a gun and will stand up to the gun lobby to keep her children and countless other kids safe from gun violence.
From Flip-Flop To Failure On Fixing Immigration
True to form, when Congressman Curbelo is in Miami, he claims he’s different from his party on immigration. But as soon as he’s in Washington, Curbelo’s true party-politician stripes appear. Take Curbelo’s “What A Country PAC,” for example. Curbelo created the group claiming it would support pro-immigration reform Republicans, but instead has funded the campaigns of some of the most anti-immigrant, pro-wall Members of his party.
Curbelo said in South Florida that he’d stand strong for Dreamers and oppose a spending bill that did not protect them, but then went back to Washington and predictably caved to the orders of Speaker Ryan. And worse yet, after claiming he’d push through an immigration compromise, Curbelo killed the only bipartisan movement toward a solution for DREAMers, opting instead to lend his support to a pointless “messaging vote” with no hope of passage.
Curbelo was called out for this betrayal by a Hispanic colleague in Congress – on tape.
Congressman Curbelo has shown that, despite his big-talk, he and his party are incapable of working to protect our communities and fix our broken immigration system. Debbie understands what it means to be an immigrant and will work across the aisle from day one – not just when an election is near – to find a solution for DREAMers.
Path To Victory
Polling in this district has consistently shown Curbelo below 50 percent and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell within striking distance, even before sustained communication. This is underscored by recent polling from the DCCC in which Curbelo’s initial lead quickly evaporates after voters hear equal bios for both Curbelo and Mucarsel-Powell and the two-term Congressman still never breaks 50.
Florida’s Twenty-Sixth district has strong Democratic electoral history. Secretary Clinton handily won the district with 58.4%, and despite that Curbelo has welcomed President Trump’s support in Miami. Curbelo’s political undoing in this district will be his support for Washington’s healthcare repeal and tax bills that continue to be deeply unpopular.
###