U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., continued to slam Democrats and the “Green New Deal.”
Last week, as part of the “How Washington Wastes Your Money” series that he does with the Heritage Foundation, Scott released an online video ripping into the Green New Deal.
Scott’s office labeled the Green New Deal as “a socialist Democrat proposal that would cost as much as $93 trillion and destroy the nation’s economy.”
“What socialist Democrats fail to understand is that you don’t have to choose between caring about the environment or growing the economy – you can do both,” Scott’s office insisted before contrasting his record in Tallahassee with the Green New Deal. “Throughout his time as governor of Florida, Senator Scott made record investments in the environment, which he was able to do because of Florida’s booming economy.”
The Green New Deal is a familiar target for Scott. Back in March, he took to the Senate floor to weigh in on it.
“When it comes to bankrupting our country, the Green New Deal puts all other ideas to shame. It calls for rebuilding or retrofitting every building in America in the next 10 years, eliminating all fossil fuels in 10 years, eliminating nuclear power, and working towards ending air travel,” Scott said on the Senate floor. “This Green New Deal is not a serious policy idea; it’s a unicorn. Democrats fail to grasp something basic — Republicans and Independents care about the environment. We want clean air, we want clean water, and we want to take care of our environment and natural resources. At the same time, we also care about our economy, jobs for families in our states, and making sure that everyone in our country has the opportunity to succeed.
“We believe that taking care of the planet and working to create a better economy are objectives that can and must be pursued at the same time. You can’t afford to take care of the environment if you don’t have a strong economy. The Green New Deal would destroy our economy,” Scott insisted. “To embrace this Green New Deal plan is to be an enemy of the American economy and the American worker. Because when you stop and think about it – the ‘Green New Deal’ is, in reality, the ‘Green Job Killer.’ Some will say, ‘Why bother picking on this plan? It’s not like it has any chance of being enacted.’”
Scott also went after U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, the chief proponent of the Green New Deal in the speech.
“Here’s the problem: A socialist from New York City with a massive Twitter following introduced this non-serious plan and every single major Democrat running for president immediately embraced it. Let that sink in for a moment,” Scott said. “Climate change is real and requires real solutions. But the Democrat party has accepted this economy-destroying New Deal as a new commandment, to go alongside single-payer healthcare and higher taxes on job creators. But for most Americans, this plan is a declaration of war on the economy, our way of life, and the standard of living for working-class families across the country.
“And what does this mean for Florida? Well, it would mean the end of the tourism industry, massive job loss and unemployment. As for me, I love and cherish the environment; it’s what makes Florida so great. What I don’t love are naïve plans that would destroy Florida’s economy,” Scott continued. “During my time as governor of Florida, we made record investments in our environment. And we were only able to do that because Florida’s economy was booming and we had the resources to make these investments. The Green New Deal would reverse every ounce of progress we have made. The most incredible part of the Green New Deal plan is the statement that they will provide ‘economic security for all people of the United States.’ The government can never do that, to argue otherwise is a disservice to all hard-working Americans and nothing more than phony political posturing. I look forward to a time when we don’t have to argue about ridiculous proposals being amplified in the media and can actually focus on real solutions to protect our environment and build our economy.”
Scott also came out swinging at the Green New Deal back in May when he pointed to U.S. Sen. Cory Booker’s, D-NJ, call for a federal gun registry. Booker is currently running for the Democratic presidential nomination.
“The latest terrible idea to come out of the Democrats’ 2020 primary is a federal gun registry,” Scott noted on Twitter. “If you want to buy a gun, Cory Booker wants you to register with the federal government.
“This would be scary if Booker had any chance of becoming president,” Scott added.
Scott continued and threw Ocasio-Cortez and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in the mix.
“What’s next? Will we have to register sharp knives?” Scott asked. “Maybe AOC will make us register every time we buy meat as part of her Green New Deal.
“The Democrats are officially the Bernie Sanders party. They want America to be less prosperous and less free,” Scott added.
Ocasio-Cortez promptly returned fire.
“That a sitting U.S. senator can say something lacking so much critical thinking and honesty is embarrassing to the institution,” she insisted. “If you were a female candidate, maybe you’d be called ‘unlikeable,’ ‘crazy,’ or ‘uninformed.’ But since you’re not, this inadequacy is accepted as normal.”
Scott quickly responded.
“That a sitting congresswoman doesn’t understand sarcasm would be embarrassing to the institution if you hadn’t embarrassed yours to the point of irrelevance already,” Scott fired back. “America rejects socialism and will continue to.”
Reach Kevin Derby at kevin.derby@floridadaily.com.
