TAMPA, Fla. – With one sentence, the Tampa Bay Times Editorial Board fueled the flames of destroying what little credibility the troubled newspaper has left.
On Wednesday, the Times published their six recommendations for U.S. House races. When it came to Florida’s 15th Congressional District, the paper made a sweeping and outright insane statement when they said, “There’s not a single reason for Republicans to replace incumbent Rep. Laurel Lee as the GOP nominee for Florida’s 15th congressional district.”
The problem with that statement is that it is categorically false. There are many reasons why Republicans would want to replace Lee. In fact, there are reasons not to vote for every candidate on every ballot, including me. Here, in reality, outside of The Times’ editorial board meeting room, most Americans would agree that the perfect politician does not exist.
Now, let’s move onto those reasons why actual conservatives might not want to vote for Lee.
Not only did former President Donald Trump call for her replacement in March, but Lee’s record is full of examples for why she should no longer represent Republicans.
Since becoming a Congresswoman, Lee has voted with Democrats on every single major funding bill, including the latest $1.2 trillion spending package. Additionally, she voted in April to give another $95 billion to Ukraine, despite outcries from her Republican constituents.
As if the first sentence of their glowing endorsement wasn’t enough, the Tampa Bay Times Editorial Board doubled down on their efforts to propagandize their audience by claiming, “Lee has been a solidly conservative voice in Washington whose experience, temperament and commitment to service reflect well on her constituents.”
This assessment by the Times is also an outright lie.
Conservatives throughout the district have been repeatedly outraged by Lee‘s atrocious voting record, and rightfully so.
According to the Freedom Index, Lee has a 53 percent lifetime score of voting in line with the Constitution. That is a failing grade by every measure and ranks terribly compared to her Conservative counterparts in the House Freedom Caucus like Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ) who earned a 97 percent score, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) who scored 94 percent, and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) who scored 96 percent.
According to the Times Editorial Board, Lee is allowed to cheat on her Republican constituents with Democrats about half of the time, yet somehow there’s “not a single reason” for Republicans to replace her.
Lee’s negative scores are not isolated.
The Club for Growth, one of the most influential conservative advocacy groups known for promoting fiscal conservatism, awarded Lee a 66 percent score (basically a participation trophy), while Crane, Donalds and Luna all earned 100 percent scores for being fiscally conservative.
Additionally, Lee sponsored legislation in support of FISA, which would allow continued warrantless spying on Americans. According to the Times, nothing says “conservative” like allowing government access to every single detail about your personal life, inside and outside of your home! The FISA measure, of course, was strongly opposed and condemned by Lee’s actual conservative colleagues in the House.
As if that wasn’t enough, Lee voted in 2023 to fund forced indoctrination of U.S. military service members. The training instructs them that it is normal, natural and healthy to be transgender. Additionally, she voted to fund training that promoted the idea that people should be hired not because of merit, but because of their gender and ethnicity.
If Lee supports DEI, she should just come out of the Democrat closet and pledge her fealty for our DEI Vice President Kamala Harris, who is now the presumptive Democratic Party nominee for president. After all, we already know that Lee refused to support President Trump until he called for her replacement. Now, she’s posturing as a solid Trump supporter. Isn’t such blatant flip-flopping a reason in itself to not vote for her?
Just this month, as Republicans attempted to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt, Republicans in the House came up shy by just six votes. Lee was one of 15 representatives who didn’t vote.
None of this comes as a surprise, though, when one takes a look at where Lee’s funding has come from.
In her short stint in Washington, Lee has accepted hundreds of special interest contributions from organizations including BlackRock, Facebook and Google, which have worked repeatedly to censor conservatives, while promoting DEI and LGBTQ initiatives.
Instead of voting for Lee, who has demonstrated she is not a true conservative, Republican voters do have a real conservative choice in August.
My name is James Judge, and I am a Christian, businessman, military veteran and lifelong Republican who was born and raised in the Tampa Bay area. I served in Iraq with the U.S. Coast Guard and later in Afghanistan with the Department of Defense.
Unlike Lee, I have refused to accept contributions from special interest groups, and I will focus on securing the border, balancing the budget and shrinking the size of the federal government.
In response to The Times’ “six recommendations for U.S. House candidates” in Florida, I have my own recommendation to those reading this piece: you’d be better off lining your birdcages with the Times, which has become the Tampa version of Pravda.
While Rep. Lee has already proven that she will consistently compromise with Democrats, I am asking for your vote to have a chance to prove to you that I am the best candidate to represent conservative values. It’s your choice: more of the same, or to give the only veteran running in this race a chance to go fight in Washington.
For a real conservative, vote James Judge on August 20, 2024! Learn more at judgeforcongress.com