'The ads write themselves': How Dems are using GOP’s 'political reversal' to their advantage
Days after House Republicans smacked down bipartisan border legislation, Democrats are rallying to use the GOP's failure to their advantage in the coming weeks, according to a Sunday Politico report.
"They are only playing politics. So we should drill that home for sure,” Queens Democratic Party Chair Rep. Greg Meeks (D-NY) told the news outlet. "The independent voters, etc. They are watching, they’re paying attention."
Politico reports, "Immigration is taking center stage in the 3rd Congressional District special election on Long Island, where Republicans are pummeling Democratic nominee Tom Suozzi on the migrant crisis that has sent some 160,000 migrants to the New York City area. His GOP opponent, Mazi Pilip, came out against the proposal. Suozzi has said he would support it."
READ MORE: Trump touts defeating immigration deal — says America has fallen into ‘cesspool of ruin’
The refusal to compromise, the news outlet also notes, is "a remarkable political reversal for Republicans, who have long clamored for border legislation and succeeded in getting Democrats to make big concessions in the current package. To unlock more Ukraine money, Democrats dropped their demands for a path to citizenship or legalization for some undocumented immigrants, instead embracing a border-security-first ethos that they long rejected. It’s a dynamic that Democrats hope will help them defend vulnerable seats they’re holding in red states, take back the House and — just maybe — keep President Joe Biden in the White House."
US Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) said if the GOP believes "we aren’t going to talk about their unbelievable hypocrisy, they’re wrong. The minute Donald Trump came out and said that he wanted to preserve chaos at the border, they ran for the hills. That is a story that’s very easy for this country to understand.”
Politico reports the "House Majority PAC, Democrats’ top House super PAC, plans to 'use the bill extensively in our ads against them this fall,' according to spokesperson CJ Warnke. Similarly, Senate Democrats' campaign arm spokesperson David Bergstein emphasized, "It will be a major line of attack against their candidates. The ads write themselves."
READ MORE: 4-term House Republican announces retirement, joining growing GOP congressional exodus
Politico's full report is available here.
