VAMOS vs. Woke

Townhall

Op-Ed: Sen. Rick Scott

April 28, 2022

There is an old Spanish saying: “Camarón que se duerme se lo lleva la corriente”. Basically, it means if you snooze, you lose. This pretty accurately describes what’s occurred to the Democrat Party with Hispanic voters.

Recent public polling regarding Hispanic voters disapproving of Biden and rejecting the liberal agenda confirms what many of us have seen building over several election cycles. The Democrat Party has lost its way and still believes that simply running ads meant to illicit fear would be enough to capture Hispanic voters. You add to the tired playbook new extremist policies that have led to growing inflation, rising gas prices, and demoralizing law enforcement, and the end result is a 26% job approval for Joe Biden among Hispanic voters, lowest of any demographic according to the latest Quinnipiac poll.

You’d think they’d correct course, but they won’t. They double down on trying to fit their square peg into a round hole and want Hispanics to be something they are not. Democrats want Hispanics to share in their believe in dependence on government. But Hispanics believe in the values that America represents and work hard to create a better life for their children and grandchildren. They are aspirational. For them, the American Dream is a daily possibility. Republicans, like Hispanics, believe in the power of individual perseverance and not in the practice of resentment and fear. Bottom line: the Democrats’ “woke” agenda is incompatible with the aspirations of Hispanics across the nation.

The 2020 cycle confirmed that Hispanics were receptive to the Republican agenda because they saw the direct impact that President Trump’s policies had on their families – more jobs, tax cuts, deregulation, educational reforms, strengthening parental rights, energy independence, public safety and border security. Those policies where compatible with the values and aspirations of Hispanics.

When I became Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, one of my priorities was to make certain we established a robust operation to engage Hispanic voters in the battleground states to share the GOP’s opportunity agenda, in coordination the Republican National Committee and GOP states parties.

To that end, the NRSC this month launched “Operación ¡Vamos!”a seven-figure effort focused on taking the GOP record and message directly to Hispanic voters. I strongly believe thatVAMOSwill play a key role in helping to take back the majority in the Senate this November.

In states like Arizona, we’ve seen how the failed policies of the Biden Administration, with the backing of Senator Mark Kelly, directly impact the quality of life for Hispanic families, especially in the border communities. In Nevada, Senator Catherine Cortez Masto forgot the voters that elected her and signed-off on a Biden agenda that’s killed jobs throughout the state for struggling Hispanic families.

When I first ran for Governor of Florida in 2010, the pundits dismissed the possibility of me winning over Hispanic voters. I’ve always believed that Republicans have a better policy platform for Hispanics; we just needed a better way of conveying it. In my campaigns, we made certain to focus on truly engaging Hispanic voters throughout the state at every level, not just about checking a box by throwing some money on TV late in the election cycle. That approach proved successful in that race as well as my re-election for Governor and my subsequent election to the U.S. Senate in 2018.

You contrast that with Senator Ron Johnson who is engaging Hispanic voters throughout Wisconsin and pushing back on the Biden agenda. In Florida, Senator Marco Rubio knows the challenges of Hispanic communities and has worked tirelessly to create better opportunities for those families, while his opponent struggles to understand the array of issues Hispanics face.

This cycle, as Republican candidates prepare to compete for the U.S. Senate in these key battleground states, it’s clearly the Woke Agenda candidates of fear vs. the opportunity candidates that OperationVAMOSwill help to elect. My money is on VAMOS!

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