TALLAHASSEE — Today, Progress Florida and Florida Watch, collectively known as the Florida Communications and Research Hub (the Hub), announced the launch of Scott Watch. This new joint accountability project will focus on the ways Florida’s junior United States Senator, Rick Scott, has let down the people he was elected to serve in order to advance his own personal political ambitions and to do the bidding of his wealthy corporate donors.
Scott Watch will offer rapid response messaging, original digital content creation, paid advertising, and grassroots social media and email campaigns to encourage Floridians to hold Senator Rick Scott accountable for his actions that put the well-being of his constituents at risk.
“Throughout his time as a self-serving politician, Senator Rick Scott has consistently focused on his own ambitions for higher office and the needs of his corporate elite friends and donors ahead of the people of Florida,” said Scott Watch Communications Director Anders Croy. “From the Panhandle to the Keys, Floridians work hard and they deserve to know they will be able to pay the bills, have a secure retirement, and build a better life for themselves and their families, but Rick Scott’s plans to give more tax cuts to the wealthy, end Social Security and Medicare as we know it, and institute a national abortion ban put those dreams at risk. At Scott Watch, we’ll work to ensure that Floridians are informed of the ways in which the Senator is failing them on his self-serving quest for power in Washington, D.C.”
In order to educate Floridians on Senator Rick Scott’s record, Scott Watch will be running Spanish-language radio ads in South Florida that illustrate the real issues facing workers and seniors in our state. The ad, titled “Protección,” imagines a conversation between a customer and a waiter at a ventanita in South Florida where each shares their concerns over the impact that cuts to Social Security and Medicare would have for those already struggling with rising costs. The ad ends with a call for Floridians to contact Senator Rick Scott and urge him to protect these vital programs for workers and seniors.
You can listen to the ad here.
The ad will run throughout the week of April 8 on Radio Mambi and Actualidad Radio in South Florida as part of their morning and afternoon drive time programming.
“While self-serving politicians like Rick Scott make hollow promises to our Latino communities, the reality on the ground is that his plans put our economic security at risk,” said Scott Watch Latino Constituency Communications Director Lisa Zayas. “We need elected officials who will fight for workers and seniors who are counting on the fact that the promises made to them of a secure retirement won’t be broken by people like Rick Scott. For Latinos who have worked so hard to achieve their version of the American Dream, it is time that we stand up to politicians who say one thing to our faces but turn their backs on us when the time comes to follow through.”
Full Transcript of Ad (English)
Ventanita bell rings
Waiter: Ana, it’s been a while! A croqueta and a coladita as usual?
Ana (customer): No chico, I just stopped by to check in. I don’t indulge in these pleasures anymore because I’m worried about losing my Social Security benefits, on which I depend to pay my bills!
Waiter: But, why are you worried about your Social Security? You earned your retirement!
Ana: Because some politicians, including our own senator, Rick Scott, want to put Social Security and Medicare at risk. Scott doesn’t understand what life is like for workers and seniors like us.
Waiter: Oh my God! They take it out of my paycheck, and I may not get it in my retirement?
Ana: Not only that, he cut taxes for the rich and powerful leaving working Floridians, including Latinos, having to fend for ourselves.
Waiter: What can we do?
Ana: I don’t know about you, but I’m not just standing by. My daughter told me to go to rickscott.senate.gov and tell him to protect Social Security and Medicare. Enough is enough!
Full Transcript of Ad (Spanish)
Sonido de campana de ventanita, avisando que hay cliente
Mesero: ¡Ana, estabas perdida! ¿La misma croqueta y colada de siempre?
Ana (cliente): No chico, ya no me doy estos gusticos porque me preocupa perder el beneficio del seguro social, del que dependo para pagar mis cuentas!
Mesero: ¿Por qué te preocupa el Seguro Social, si ese retiro te lo ganaste con tus aportaciones?
Ana: Porque ciertos políticos, incluyendo a nuestro senador Rick Scott, están arriesgando el Seguro Social y el Medicare. Él no entiende cómo es la vida para trabajadores y adultos mayores como nosotros.
Mesero: Tu me vas a decir, que me lo sacan del salario, y a lo mejor no lo recibo en mi retiro? ¡Por tu vida ¿Qué será de nuestros hijos y nietos?
Ana: ¡Yo que sé! ¡Él está empeñado en recortar los impuestos de sus amigos ricos y poderosos a costa de todos nosotros, incluyendo los Latinos!
Mesero: ¿Qué podemos hacer?
Ana: No sé tú, pero yo no me quedo de brazos cruzados. Mi hija me dijo que vaya a rickscott.senate.gov y le exija que proteja el Seguro Social y el Medicare. ¡Basta ya de abusos!