WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Rick Scott spoke on the Senate floor ahead of the vote, led by Senate Democrats, to fundamentally change the legislative filibuster and destroy the rights of the minority party in the Senate. Last week, Senator Scott wrote an op-ed for Fox News in response to President Biden and Senate Democrats complete hypocrisy shown in their attempts to end the filibuster rule.

See more in the video or Senator Scott’s full remarks below.

“Like many of my colleagues, I often speak about my family here on the Senate floor. As most of my colleagues know, I grew up poor and spent years of my childhood living in public housing. I never knew my biological dad, and my mom and adopted father did the best they could for our family with the very little we had. I think that small part of my life is well known, but what may be new to some people is to learn that my parents were Democrats.

“Sadly, the Democrat Party my parents belonged to no longer exists. Today’s Democrat party would be totally unrecognizable to my parents, just as it is to millions of Americans all across our country right now.

“I am a proud Republican, and it’s no secret that I am trying to expand my party, but I still believe in the benefits of our centuries old two-party system. It makes our nation stronger, pushes us to listen to both sides, work together and leads to progress. That’s why the filibuster is so important.

“As a rule, the filibuster embodies what is most essential to the survival of our Republic – it weakens the sometimes-attractive nature of tribalism and bolsters the importance of, and need for, consensus when crafting policy. The filibuster protects our democratic process – that’s why the founders designed the Senate to operate this way – as a cooling saucer that could resist the temptation of political expediency that leads our country to wild swings in policy and position.

“I make this point not only to highlight the foolishness of doing away with this rule, as my Democrat colleagues would like to do, but to draw attention to the gravely concerning abandonment of democratic principles we see in today’s Democrat Party.

“I take no joy in saying this, but today’s Democrat Party has become the new Anti-Democracy Party. The terrifying examples of this are all around us: packing the Supreme Court, pushing a radical federal takeover of state elections, ignoring our laws on border enforcement and criminal prosecution; and forcing unconstitutional vaccine mandates on American workers. None of these things give more power to the people we are elected to represent.

“What these dangerous ideas show is that today’s Democrats don’t believe the people are capable of getting it right. Democrats don’t think their ideas can win enough elections to control a majority in the Senate. Senator Schumer said as much just last week. He said that if the Democrats don’t pass their Corrupt Politicians Act, they will lose their majority. A party that once prided itself on being a voice for working Americans is now turning to authoritarian tactics to impose its will on government by force because it does not trust the decisions voters will make.

“In trying to pack the Supreme Court, Democrats are saying they do not trust the decisions of state legislatures – bodies comprised of the people’s elected representatives.

“In pushing their federal takeover of state elections, Democrats are showing that they know their ideas are too radical to win the approval of voters, so they need to leave the back door open for fraud and the dilution of votes to win elections and stay in power. That’s why they want to give non-citizens, those here illegally and who may be dangerous criminals, the sacred right to vote.

“In pushing an unconstitutional vaccine mandate, Democrats are making clear that they don’t trust the American people to make smart decisions for themselves and their families when it comes to their own health.

“In the eyes of today’s Democrat leaders, disagreement is intolerable. There are no more opponents, only racists. They allow no room for compromise because all who disagree are evil, bigoted and backward. When the ruling class strips the people of their voice, Democracy dies. When the elites in Washington decide they know better than the families they are supposed to represent, our American experiment fails.

“It is a sad day when I think about how unrecognizable today’s Democrat Party would be to my parents. Not because it has naturally evolved or modernized, but because it’s abandoned the principles it once fought so hard to protect. I know these words will upset many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. I hope they do, and I hope it drives them to refocus their party back where it belongs – on the needs of American families.”

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