Vega responds to Spanberger ad and NY Times article
Vega attacks Democrats after the Times notes that Republicans use a negative tone with the 'American Dream'
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Vega talks “American Dream” and Spanberger’s defund the police ad during a TV interview
A recent article from the New York Times looks at how the use of the phrase “American Dream” has shifted from positive to negative in political campaigning during the last several decades.
The phrase was once intended as a positive notion by politicians and something for individual Americans to look forward to in life. The article from the NY Times notes that Republicans recently have shifted towards using the phrase with a pessimistic tone by implying that the “American Dream” is in danger due to things like “rampant crime, unchecked illegal immigration, burdensome government regulations and liberal social policies.”
In 2015, Donald Trump said the “American Dream” is dead.
The NY Times article mentioned that a lot of the Republican candidates using this rhetoric now are people of color. VA-07 Republican candidate Yesli Vega was mentioned in the article as one of those candidates — her parents are refugees from El Salvador. Vega is running against two-term incumbent Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D).
“I personally find it appalling,” Vega said during an interview with Fox News Monday night. “You have a Democrat[ic] party who that for very long has been championing the empowerment of women that look exactly like me that have such a powerful story but the moment that we rise they want to do everything in their power to discredit us. Why? Because we are absolutely a threat to the rhetoric and the narrative that for far too long they have been pushing and are no longer working.”
“The American dream is very much alive today as it has ever been,” Vega continued.
Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears and Attorney General Jason Miyares won in Virginia in 2021 and the NY Times also mentioned their campaigns as examples of Republicans using the threat to the “American Dream” as a tactic.
“‘The American dream’ was a marquee theme in two winning Republican campaigns in Virginia last year: the races by Winsome Earle-Sears, a Jamaica-born Marine veteran who is now the first woman of color to serve as the state’s lieutenant governor, and Mr. Miyares, the attorney general. ‘On the campaign trail, I used to say, if your family came to this country seeking hope there is a good chance that your family is a lot like my family, and it would be the biggest honor of my life to be your attorney general,’ said Mr. Miyares.”
Anchors during the interview also asked Vega about Spanberger’s recent ad knocking Vega for her votes against additional police funding while on the Prince William Board of Supervisors. Spanberger’s campaign cited these three votes.
“She is absolutely desperate, she is running scared, that allegation is laughable,” Vega said Monday. “I am a member of law enforcement, I still am, and the fact that she is making those claims and running ads clearly shows that she is afraid. She can run but she cannot hide from her disastrous voting record.”
Watch Vega’s full appearance with Fox News below:
Here is a brief poll from last week on VA-07.
Here is a reminder of the electorate profile after an analysis of new districts from VPAP:
VA-07
Glenn Youngkin won VA-07 with 52% of the vote in 2021
Tim Kaine won VA-07 with 55% of the vote in 2018
Ralph Northam won VA-07 with 52% of the vote in 2017
Executive Schedule
9:30 AM GOVERNOR GLENN YOUNGKIN VISITS THE VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF FIRE PROGRAMS
LOCATION: Virginia Department of Fire Programs HQ
CLOSED PRESS
11:30 AM: GOVERNOR RECEIVES BRIEFING FROM CHIEF TRANSFORMATION OFFICER ERIC MOELLER
LOCATION: Patrick Henry Building
Youngkin plans midterm campaign stops — including a 2024 early state - Politico
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is set to make a campaign stop next month in Nevada, his first appearance in early 2024 nominating state and part of a broader midterm push that’s coming amid speculation he’s weighing a presidential bid.
Youngkin, a Republican who took office this year after winning a November 2021 election, is slated to campaign and fundraise for Nevada gubernatorial candidate Joe Lombardo on Sept. 15, according to campaign plans shared first with POLITICO. While the governor has campaigned aggressively for Virginia Republicans, he has yet to take the step of campaigning in a state that will play a key role in deciding the party’s 2024 nomination.
Youngkin unveils unusual partnership to fix problems in Petersburg - Washington Post
by Greg Schneider
Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) said Monday that he is committing his administration to an unusual partnership with this economically distressed, violence-prone city south of Richmond, to revitalize its fortunes and improve the quality of life for residents.
In an extraordinary two-hour ceremony, Youngkin and seven of his Cabinet secretaries detailed 42 initiatives they pledged to undertake with Petersburg officials and faith, civic and education leaders.
A Virginia skill-game company has sued convenience stores nearly 150 times - Virginia Mercury
by Graham Moomaw
Queen of Virginia, one of the main skill-game companies operating in the state, has long characterized its enterprise as a way to let small business owners get a piece of the new moneymaking opportunities that have come with Virginia’s newly relaxed approach to gambling.
By agreeing to host the company’s slots-like machines, convenience stores and restaurants would get a share of the profits, an opportunity many business owners have said helped them get through the pandemic. But those deals don’t always end on friendly terms.