Republican Senator and National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) chairman Rick Scott of Florida reinforced the GOP's embrace of far-right attitudes and outright disinformation with his latest 11 point plan to "rescue" America. The plan comes after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said the GOP wouldn't release an agenda ahead of the 2022 midterms, saying it would be a "mistake," according to Axios.
It looks like McConnell may have been right.
Senator Scott's unhinged document presents a list of actions Americans "must do to save this country," but it seems written with only one American in mind: former President Donald Trump.
Throughout the 2016 campaign and beyond, Trump repeatedly promised a wall at the southern border, falsely promising that Mexico would pay for it. In his four years in office, the Trump administration endorsed a government shutdown to secure border wall funding, but only secured 80 miles of brand new wall.
Nevertheless, in a section detailing Republican immigration policies, the wall takes top priority:
"We will secure our border, finish building the wall, and name it after President Donald Trump."
But while the party's quixotic pursuit of a wall at the southern border—and naming it after Trump—is little more than a vague gesture, other points laid out in the plan would have devastating consequences for Americans across the country.
For starters, the plan vows to take a "colorblind approach" to race in America. It emphasizes that no government document will ask Americans to disclose their race—not even on a census form, despite these measures being vital at measuring racial progress as Black Americans and other Americans of color still face wildly disproportionate rates of violence, poverty, and other systemic disenfranchisement. It would also ban diversity training of any kind in the Military.
The same goes for LGBTQ Americans, promising to eliminate any questions on "gender identity" and "sexual preference" on government documents. And though the "nuclear family" dogwhistle is used multiple times throughout the plan, "LGBTQ" or any other iteration isn't used once.
It goes on to take extreme right stances on abortion, election security, education, taxation, and a host of other issues.
In a letter introducing the plan, Scott warns it is "not for the faint of heart," adding:
"It will be ridiculed by the ‘woke’ left, mocked by Washington insiders, and strike fear in the heart of some Republicans. At least I hope so."
That the plan would be ridiculed is one of the few truthful statements in the 30 page document.
this “11-point plan to rescue america” from rick scott and the NRSC is legitimately one of the wildest things i’ve read in a minute. https://t.co/tWBkMwrw3c
— b-boy bouiebaisse (@jbouie) February 22, 2022
The GOP’s plans for trans people is essentially to wipe us from legal recognition and existence. https://t.co/UsggIqCNyl pic.twitter.com/LKHiqMdVsp
— Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) February 22, 2022
I can say in all seriousness that I have read less extreme political manifestos from the John Birch Society than this document from Rick Scott and the NRSC. https://t.co/6qs1IJiQUM
— David 2022-RELATED PUN Walsh (@DavidAstinWalsh) February 22, 2022
Bold move by the Republicans to pivot from their 2017 "cut taxes for millionaires" to 2022's "raise taxes on minimum-wage workers, seniors, and kids" https://t.co/Kc6WtZgIgA pic.twitter.com/9qaWjqEf0e
— Aaron Strauss (@aaronstrauss) February 22, 2022
Shot: McConnell says releasing a GOP agenda before the midterms would be a liability
Chaser: Rick Scott releases an. agenda with a proposed tax increase on half of Americans, seemingly including retireeshttps://t.co/Wm8ksgttcf pic.twitter.com/kVJ5oYuwv4
— Andrew Prokop (@awprokop) February 22, 2022
Sen. Scott's 11-point GOP plan includes this piece on "Safety/Crime," pledging a reversal of sentencing reform and appearing to threaten progressive state and local prosecutors with federal oversight. https://t.co/qA14evZF5i pic.twitter.com/amhXjXq7ak
— Ames Grawert ☃️ (@AmesCG) February 22, 2022
Once again, I am begging Republicans to learn literally any other line from Martin Luther King Jr’s vast body of work.
Here we have Rick Scott quoting MLK’s “character” line — not once, but twice! — to argue against affirmative action programs that MLK explicitly championed. pic.twitter.com/Z6Ej5Gv8SQ
— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) February 22, 2022
The initiative only heightened the urgency for Democrats to expand congressional control in the November midterms.
The Rick Scott Manifesto should strike fear in the hearts of sane Americans and rev up Democrats to vote in midterms. Republicans played their hand too soon by releasing their homophobic, racist, theocratic plans for America if they win back the Senate.
— Jennifer Tromans (@JenTromans) February 22, 2022
If Democrats can’t get their messaging together to show the American people how idiotic and dangerous Rick Scott’s 11 point plan is they don’t deserve to keep the House and Senate in the midterms.
— Clifford Burns (@CBurns20) February 22, 2022
If Democrats somehow avoid an epic midterm wipeout, we can thank Rick Scott's 11 point plan. Raise taxes on the poor is a helluva strategy. Classic own goal. 🥴🥴
— Bert (@RW_Bert) February 22, 2022
In light of historical trends and conservative state legislatures' efforts to limit ballot box access, Republicans currently have the advantage in 2022. It's unclear if embracing these far-right stances will prove vulnerable in November.
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