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“If it’s a good policy for the working families of Orange County, Michelle Steel has voted against it. Michelle Steel has been a rubber stamp on Republicans’ MAGA agenda – attacking commonsense solutions to cut costs and enhance public safety in order to appease her party bosses and wealthy donors. It’s time Orange County residents had a representative who understands the meaning of service and will do what it takes to protect the American Dream – that’s exactly what veteran and first-generation American Jay Chen will do for Orange County in Congress.” – DCCC Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney
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To: Interested Parties
From: Maddy Mundy, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: June 8th, 2022
Subject: The Case Against Michelle Steel
Michelle Steel is a corrupt politician who says one thing and does another. She claims she is working for the families of Orange County, but is really just taking orders from her wealthy donors and tax-raising party bosses. She attacked our democracy by refusing to investigate the insurrection against our government, stood against price caps for skyrocketing insulin costs, and voted against critical infrastructure funding while lying to her constituents about her record.
Michelle Steel has carried water for wealthy interests at the expense of her constituents since arriving to Congress, but thanks to once-in-a-decade redistricting, she will face accountability for her harmful priorities. After barely squeaking out a victory in 2020, Steel finds herself in the toughest election she has ever faced after jumping to California’s new 45th Congressional District – leaving behind the yacht owners of her old district for a vibrant middle class community.
Steel’s consistent record of voting against measures to make life in Orange County more affordable won’t sit well with her new district. That’s why Orange County voters will choose Jay Chen – a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Naval Reserves and community college trustee who offers residents of CA-45 the voice in Congress they deserve. While Steel is loyal to a corporate agenda, Jay Chen has dedicated his life to service to our country and protecting the American Dream his parents emigrated from Taiwan to pursue.
Jay attended college on a Navy ROTC scholarship. He joined the U.S. military and served honorably, from the Korean peninsula to the Middle East. As part of Operation Inherent Resolve, Jay led an intelligence team and helped bring the terror group ISIS to justice. His most recent role evolved during the pandemic, as he played a key role in the military’s response to COVID-19 in the Middle East.
Jay is committed to expanding access to education and serves as a community college trustee and previously served as a school board member. He’s running for Congress so that all children have access to the opportunity he was given, and to restore integrity and accountability in Washington, D.C.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Los Angeles Times: Galvanized by abortion fight, Orange County women could upend congressional races [May 9, 2022]
“Women should have rights over their bodies,” said the Cal State Long Beach student, who lives in Hawaiian Gardens, in the district where GOP Rep. Michelle Steel of Seal Beach is running against Democrat Jay Chen, a Navy Reserve intelligence officer from Hacienda Heights.
New York Times: High California Gas Prices Rattle Democrats Ahead of Midterms [June 6, 2022]
“Ms. Steel said she opposed abortion rights except to protect the health of the mother and for instances of incest but did not answer directly when asked twice if she supported exceptions for rape. A spokesman, Lance Trover, later said she did support that exception.
“The congresswoman missed the votes concerning the certification of the 2020 election because she said she had tested positive for the coronavirus; in the interview, she said she did not know how she would have voted. Ms. Steel also said she did not know if Mr. Biden won legitimately; Mr. Trover later noted that she has said that she believed he did and that she maintained that position.”
OC Register: Election 2022: Here’s where Orange County candidates for federal and state offices stand on gay marriage [May 6, 2022]
“Rep. Michelle Steel, R-Seal Beach, drew strong criticism from the civil rights community last election cycle after video surfaced in which she told a crowd that she withdrew her daughter from UC Santa Cruz when the daughter started to say, “God gave us two men — what’s wrong with gay marriage?” Steel said she sent the daughter to the Catholic university Loyola Marymount to “brainwash” her for a year.
“This time around, Steel also didn’t answer the question about how she’d vote on gay marriage.”
OC Register: Congressional race in Little Saigon is focused on China [March 6, 2022]
“Steel called for an amendment demanding that China, which produces more greenhouse gasses than all other developed nations combined, match the emission reduction targets established by the United States. Her amendment was included in the bill. But when the Competes Act came up for a vote, Steel joined virtually every other GOP House member to vote against it.
“When asked why she voted against a bill she’d worked to improve, Steel said it wasn’t ‘strong enough against China.’ And when asked if some progress is better than nothing, she said, ‘it’s progress, but we have to do better.’
“Chen said he would have supported the Competes Act. He argued that Steel’s opposition illustrates she’s ‘a lot of talk, but no action’ when it comes to actually trying to ‘counteract the unfair trade practices of China.’”
Yahoo Finance: Republicans blasted for taking credit for infrastructure spending after voting ‘no’ [January 25, 2022]
“Democrats are promising to keep tabs during the 2022 campaign on Republican lawmakers praising projects funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law even though they voted against it.
“Lawmakers like Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), Clay Higgins (R-LA), Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX), Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA), Rep. Michelle Steel (R-CA) and Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) have all touted parts of the $14 billion recently allocated from the law to the Army Corps of Engineers making its way to their districts.”
The Hill: California Democrats blast offshore drilling in oil spill’s wake [October 4, 2021]
“Orange County voters deserve to enjoy their beaches without fear of hospitalization. Michelle Steel’s toxic relationship with the fossil fuel industry is harming tourism, killing local wildlife, and endangering OC beachgoers”
MICHELLE STEEL: THE HYPOCRITE
In Congress, Michelle Steel has consistently voted against the interests of middle class families, while insisting she represents their values. Michelle Steel said she cared about lowering the costs of prescription drugs, but voted against capping the price of insulin. She routinely wields ‘tough on China’ rhetoric, but voted against the bill to strengthen US competitiveness on a global stage and bring jobs home. She insisted on the need for a bipartisan investigation of the January 6th insurrection, and then voted against the bipartisan commission to do just that. In a perfect encapsulation that Steel will always toe her radical party’s line, the Congresswoman even apologized to GOP supporters for working on a bipartisan bill to condemn hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
When she’s not apologizing for supporting good policy, Steel has outright lied to her constituents about her record, apparently finding it impossible to defend the votes she has taken in Congress. Following the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal, which brought historic investments to Orange County’s roads and ports, Michelle Steel touted the millions of dollars of funding after voting against the bill itself.
MICHELLE STEEL: THE MAGA RUBBER STAMP
Michelle Steel’s derision for bipartisanship has turned her into a veritable MAGA rubber stamp as congressional Republicans push a radical, anti-middle class agenda. This spring, Steel campaigned side-by-side with Rick Scott, the architect of the Republican plan to raise taxes on millions of Americans and sunset away essential programs like Social Security and Medicare. If Steel and Republicans take control of Congress this November, Orange County middle-class families would see their taxes rise.
Steel supports extreme MAGA positions that fly in the face of universally popular issues like access to abortion and the preservation of gay marriage. In Congress, Steel voted against the Women’s Health Protection Act which would codify Roe v. Wade, and even signed an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to overturn Roe and Casey. Outrageously, she co-sponsored the Life at Conception Act, the federal personhood bill that would ban all abortions and even certain types of birth control such as IUDs.
With the Supreme Court set to overturn Roe v. Wade this June and Republicans frothing at the mouth to install a nationwide abortion ban if they retake majorities in Congress, the stakes have never been higher for Orange County voters to send a champion of choice to Congress. A recent California statewide poll reveals Roe v. Wade is supported by Democrats, independents and Republicans; while experts predict reproductive rights will be a mobilizing factor among California swing voters this November.
The Supreme Court’s pending decision has also sparked fears over the legal foundation of established rights for LGBTQ individuals. In such a precarious environment, Steel’s documented record of anti-LGBTQ bigotry is all the more troubling. In 2020, Steel garnered criticism for withdrawing her daughter from the University of California Santa Cruz after she began voicing her support for equal marriage. When asked this year if she would commit to protecting gay marriage, Steel refused.
Steel has also faltered in the face of the gun violence epidemic gripping our country. In the wake of the Uvalde shooting and a mass shooting mere miles away from her district last month, Steel’s opposition to common-sense gun violence reform is unconscionable. In 2021, Steel voted against enhanced background checks. Steel’s extreme MAGA votes are a slap in the face to her constituents who have been devastated by a lack of commonsense gun control.
MICHELLE STEEL: A PATTERN OF CORRUPTION
Michelle Steel has a long, shady history of greenlighting sweetheart deals and legislation beneficial to her wealthy campaign donors. She once considered a wildly unpopular plan to expand private jet construction after receiving campaign donations from a private jet operator and pushed a deal to allow a campaign donor to purchase Orange County public land for pennies on the dollar. Orange County residents demanded the deal be stopped.
She has politically aligned herself with deeply concerning figures. Last month, her political ally and campaign donor Anaheim Mayor Sidhu was forced to resign following an FBI investigation for public corruption. Steel previously endorsed Sidhu, calling him ‘the one candidate I trust to work for the people of Anaheim.’
Steel’s donor Anton Lazzaro was arrested after being indicted on five counts of child sex trafficking, while fundraising partner Rep. Matt Gaetz is under investigation for child sex trafficking, and supporter Steve Wynn has been accused of a decades-long pattern of sexual misconduct. In addition to being an alleged sexual predator, last month Wynn was named a Chinese foreign agent by the Justice Department. Michelle Steel has remained silent.
PATH TO VICTORY
After squeaking out a win in 2020 in a more favorable district, Michelle Steel is now one of the most vulnerable Republicans in the country. California’s 45th Congressional District voted for Biden by six points in 2020. Democrats hold a 5.1 point registration advantage over Republicans. Asian American and Pacific Islanders make up 40% of this district while Latinos make up more than 27%. Jay Chen, a Spanish and Mandarin speaker and the son of Taiwanese immigrants, has the profile and experience needed to be a champion for these Orange County families in Washington.
Michelle Steel’s voting record has made the case against her clear. At every opportunity, Steel votes against the interests of middle-class families, from cutting the costs of prescription drugs to critical infrastructure investments. As a first-generation American, veteran and community college trustee, Jay Chen understands what it means to fight to preserve the American Dream. With Jay Chen, Orange County families will have the bold leader they deserve in Washington. |
