Florida Sen. Rick Scott on Thursday said his “11-Point Plan to Rescue America” does not call for raising taxes on half of the country, a statement that appeared to contradict his own written proposal.
Scott made the claim in an address at the Heritage Foundation, where he also took aim at Democrats as he waded into hot-button culture war issues.
“The militant left wing in our country has become the enemy within,” Scott said.
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Scott delivered a defense of his controversial agenda, arguing Democrats “are lying about the plan,” while Republicans “are parroting what they’re saying.”
“I’m not going raise taxes on anybody,” said Scott, pointing to his 2011-2019 governorship of Florida, during which several rounds of tax cuts were enacted.
Democrats are not the only critics of the plan Scott put forward, though not in his role as head of the Senate Republicans’ campaign arm. Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, have also criticized the proposal. McConnell said earlier Thursday during remarks at an event sponsored by Punchbowl News that “raising taxes on half the American people” will not be on the agenda should he become the majority leader next year.
But Scott’s remarks stand in contrast to his written plan, which states, “All Americans should pay some income tax to have skin in the game, even if a small amount.”
“Currently over half of Americans pay no income tax,” the document says.
Critics of the plan, including the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm, argued that those not currently paying taxes, including low-income working families that don’t currently meet thresholds to pay federal income taxes, would have to do so.
Scott said there were those “sitting on [their] butt,” taking advantage of government entitlement programs, but he did not directly address how the implementation of his plan might affect the working poor. He said that he grew up in public housing, but his mother always insisted on donating some money at church every week, even if it was just pennies.
“I believe in this country, we all have to be participating,” he said.
Turning to the elections this fall, Scott said Republicans will deliver a “complete butt-kicking to the Democrats this November” because the country needs “a new plan.”
Scott waded into cultural issues, too.
“The Left now controls the Democrat Party, the entire federal government, the news media, academia, Big Tech, Hollywood, most corporate boardrooms, and now even some of our top military leaders.” Scott said liberals are “trying to destroy American history, patriotism, border security, gender, traditional morality, capitalism, fiscal responsibility, opportunity, rugged individualism, Judeo-Christian values, free speech, law enforcement, religious liberty, parental involvement in schools, and even private ownership of firearms.”
Scott even charged that the same forces are trying to “end the American experiment” in a bid for greater control.
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The former healthcare executive, who won his Senate seat in 2018 while finishing his governorship, said Republicans offer an alternative. That includes recognizing there are two biological genders, Scott said. He also vowed Republicans will build former President Donald Trump’s proposed wall on the Mexican border and name it after him.
