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Florida Politics: Congressional Democrats add Annette Taddeo to list of priority Midterm candidates | [Florida Politics, 6/14/22]
Business Insider: GOP Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida appears to violate same federal conflicts-of-interest law that she slammed her Democratic predecessor for violating | [Business Insider, 6/17/22]
FOR MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR, IT’S PARTY OVER PEOPLE
Standing in the Way of Florida’s Working Families
In the wake of rising costs that are hurting South Floridians, Rep. Salazar will tell you herself that she’s done nothing to lead or support efforts that will help working people with their pocketbooks. Instead, Salazar has voted to block nearly every major piece of legislation that would cut costs in order to protect her own political interests. Salazar stood against the middle class when she voted against Child Tax Credit and ACA expansion in the American Rescue Plan, which granted parents the opportunity to lift more than 270,000 Florida children out of poverty, helped middle-class families work to put food on the table, and expanded access life-saving health care in the midst of a pandemic.
And as House Democrats worked to deliver much-needed relief at the gas pump in May, Salazar voted to keep prices high and defend oil companies who were price gouging consumers to line their own pockets. One month later, Salazar doubled down on her refusal to help lower costs both at the gas station and in grocery stores by voting against the Lower Food and Fuel Costs Act.
When given opportunity after opportunity to tackle rising costs, Salazar keeps voting to keep prices high. Throughout her short and ineffective time in Congress, Salazar continues to prove that she has no interest in addressing the kitchen-table issues facing Floridians, and would rather play politics than deliver solutions.
Unlike Salazar, Annette Taddeo has been committed to uplifting working class families. At the height of the COVID-19 unemployment crisis in Florida, Taddeo led efforts to ensure those who were left unemployed as a result of the pandemic weren’t being ignored. She has been a leader in addressing rising housing costs and was instrumental in saving countless jobs by fighting back against anti-union legislation.
Anti-Choice Policies Endanger Women and Families
Americans – and Floridians especially – have come under even greater attack in recent months from Republicans’ extreme crusade to turn back the clock on women’s rights and ban the long-held right to abortion access. Rep. Salazar has joined her party in their efforts to impose a nationwide abortion ban, and her failure to codify Roe has helped pave the way for Florida’s extreme abortion ban. When asked, she has failed to defend her anti-choice actions.
The Supreme Court’s reckless decision to overturn Roe v. Wade put millions of women’s livelihoods at stake, yet Salazar praised the decision. She has made her extreme anti-choice record even more clear in the months since Roe was overturned. She voted against codifying Roe for a second time and voted to allow states to criminalize women who traveled state lines to receive abortion care.
Rather than defend women rights, Salazar has consistently stood by and allowed her party to chip away at women’s freedoms. She stood by as 184 of her House Republican colleagues urged the Supreme Court to overturn Roe, said nothing as the Florida House passed a draconian bill banning abortions after 15 weeks without exceptions for rape and incest that violated the Florida State Constitution’s right to privacy and freedom of religion, and was silent as Governor DeSantis blatantly abused his power and suspended a prosecutor who vowed not to criminally prosecute women and their doctors for seeking or providing safe abortions – despite the law not even being in effect. Actions that are reminiscent of the regimes many South Floridians have had to escape.
Salazar defines her anti-choice behavior as “pro-life”, but she has refused to vote for efforts that would actually support women and their children, including voting to block funding to put baby formula back on the shelves.
As Republicans and Salazar try to enforce government-mandated pregnancies and strip women of their constitutional freedoms, Annette Taddeo will continue to be a champion for women’s rights and protect abortion access for women in South Florida and across the nation.
A Threat to Democracy and Safety
The January 6th insurrection marked a turning point in the fight to defend America’s democracy. The deadly far-right attack on the Capitol inspired by Republicans’ lies and insinuation that President Biden did not actually win the 2020 Presidential election should have inspired Salazar to fight the anti-democratic forces in her party. Salazar has been given every chance to show she actually stands for the principles of democracy and freedom, but instead she has chosen to embrace disinformation, lies, and extremism.
Salazar has spewed debunked misinformation about election fraud, and voted to block an investigation into the violent insurrection that sought to stop a peaceful transfer of power in the United States of America. Her shameful vote calls into question every claim she’s made about her dedication to democracy abroad when she is clearly prepared to throw it out the window here at home for her own political ambitions.
She’s even welcoming that extremism from January 6th in Miami-Dade. At least a half-dozen current and former Proud Boys have secured seats on the Miami-Dade Republican Executive Committee – where Salazar is also a member – in their quest to influence Miami politics. The far-right Proud Boys were instrumental in the chaos of January 6th, and two of Salazar’s Proud Boys colleagues face criminal charges for participating in the attack.
Salazar’s silence on the Proud Boys working to infiltrate the Miami-Dade community as well as her willingness to work alongside them only further illustrates how little voters can count on her to protect our democracy.
PATH TO VICTORY
Despite Florida Republicans gerrymandering the congressional maps and removing democratic-leaning Miami Beach from Florida’s 27th Congressional District, the new configuration still gives Democrats a path to winning this majority Hispanic district.
Under the new lines, Democrats would have won both the 2018 and 2014 midterms, and by engaging with the diverse Hispanic diaspora that make up this district, Democrats can flip this district from red to blue.
But not just any Democrat can flip this seat. Annette Taddeo has proven herself to be a trusted leader among the region’s Hispanic communities, and has been an independent voice time and time again to ensure workers and families are getting the resources and attention they need. Unafraid to work with or speak out against either party, Miami-Dade voters know Taddeo is the type of Democrat who can truly represent them. With her strong grassroots operation building an impressive campaign warchest, Taddeo is ready to take on Rep. Salazar and join Democrats in Congress this November to fight for hard working families in South Florida.
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