Florida Democrats continued to pound Republicans for opposing the agreement ending the federal shutdown and raising the federal debt ceiling even as Republicans fired back.
Earlier in the week, the Florida Democratic Party trotted out Allison Tant, the chairwoman of the party, to label three Republican congressmen from Florida -- Steve Southerland, Dan Webster and Ted Yoho -- for opposing the deal. Tants attack on Webster was premature as that Central Florida Republican voted for the agreement.
On Friday, the Florida Democrats turned to their executive director Scott Arceneauxto continue the assault on Southerland and Yoho. But Arceneaux also set his sights higher and fired away at U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who also voted against the agreement.
On Wednesday night the tea party fell and they fell hard, Arceneuax insisted in an email to supporters on Friday. They didn't get the ransom they demanded for their outrageous demands that we defund Obamacare. Despite the American people clearly indicating that they wanted to reopen the government, Marco Rubio, Ted Yoho and Steve Southerland voted to keep the government closed.
Arceneuax took a page from the playbook of Democrats across the nation by looking to link the Florida Republicans to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Rubio and Cruz are both considered potential Republican presidential candidates in 2016.
The new de-facto leader of the tea party radicals in Washington, Ted Cruz, indicated that this fight is far from over, Arceneuax insisted before trying to rally Democrats. In fact it's just beginning, that is why it's on us to stand up and fight back against the tea party extremists. Together we can stand up and fight back against the tea party, it's just going to take all of us.
On his end, Rubio shows no signs of backing down. Reclaim America, a PAC with ties to Rubio, is now gathering petitions calling for the defunding of President Barack Obamas federal health-care law and bashing Democrats as responsible for Americas economic problems.
Late last night we reached the end of the latest Washington crisis, Rubio wrote supporters of Reclaim America late on Thursday. But the real crisis facing our country remains: the growing sense among our people that we are losing the American dream.
Why do people feel this way? Rubio continued. Because more than 4 million Americans have been out of work for six months or more. Because millions more find themselves stuck with jobs that do not pay enough to provide financial security.
This is the real crisis in our country: that our status as a land of opportunity is eroding and so many of our political leaders seem oblivious to it, Rubio insisted. And now, as we emerge from this latest standoff, we have done nothing to address it. Congress had an opportunity to undo one of the biggest threats facing our American way of life, but after running up against the stubborn resistance of Democrats, the opportunity slipped past. This threat is Obamacare.
Rubio labeled the unveiling of the law a fiasco and pointed to higher taxes down the road.
In the months ahead, a new insurance fee a new tax on hard-working Americans will be added to insurance policies, Rubio noted. People will be required to give up existing coverage they are happy with if it doesnt meet the standards created by Obamacare. And if they dont buy insurance, they will have to pay a tax that goes up to $695 or 2.5 percent of their income.
Rubio also pointed to higher taxes on businesses.
In the months to come, this law is going to hurt millions of people, Rubio insisted. Its going to cost them hours at work or even their job. It is going to cost them the insurance they have now and are happy with. It is going to force them to leave their existing doctors. It is going to raise rates for people who buy insurance for themselves. That is why I believe we should not waste one more cent on this damaging law.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com.
