August 2, 2022

ICYMI: Tiffany Smiley takes run at 5-term Senate veteran Patty Murray with money, few specifics – more from the Seattle Times HERE

ICYMI: FOX13’s Matt Markovich notes Smiley was “light on specifics” in two hour interview – more HERE

(Seattle, WA) – You might really have missed it because extreme Republican Tiffany Smiley is going out of her way to avoid “tough” questions–but the reality is,  Smiley’s views are as extreme as any MAGA Republican–and she’s running to put Mitch McConnell back in power and rubber stamp their radical agenda.  

“Tiffany Smiley is trying to hide it from voters now, but she made a choice at the start of her campaign to embrace Donald Trump, endorse one of the most extreme and draconian abortion bans in the country, support Mitch McConnell for majority leader without batting an eye, promote dangerous conspiracy theories about nonexistent voter fraud, and more,” said Caitlin Harrington, Washington State Democratic Party spokesperson. “There’s no escaping the facts: Smiley is too extreme for Washington state and voters won’t support an anti-choice, anti-democracy, MAGA Republican this November.”

Despite trying to present herself as a moderate, Smiley is anything but. Here are Smiley’s most extreme positions on major issues—all of which put her out of touch with Washington state voters.

• PROMOTES BASELESS LIES ABOUT ELECTION FRAUD: Smiley has backed baseless claims that the 2020 election was marred by voter fraud. Her campaign website reads that “The 2020 election raised serious questions about the integrity of our elections,” and continued that Smiley believes “courts have an obligation to give all evidence of voter fraud a full and fair hearing,” no matter how patently untrue the claims of voter fraud may be.
• PROUDLY ANTI-ABORTION AND PRO-FORCED BIRTH: Following the Dobbs v. Jackson Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade and eliminated the constitutional right to abortion, Smiley released a statement praising the Supreme Court’s decision, declaring in a press release that the decision “gives the PEOPLE the final word, not unelected judges.” Notably, Smiley has also previously endorsed a Texas-style abortion ban.
• UNASHAMEDLY PRO-TRUMP AND ANTI-DEMOCRACY: Smiley aligned herself with former president Donald Trump, saying that “ if  the president wants to support us, that’s awesome.” Even in light of the growing and undeniable evidence that Donald Trump methodically planned and incited an insurrection to overturn a free and fair election, Smiley is choosing to back up Trump’s lies. 
• BACKED BY MAGA REPUBLICANS WHO KNOW SHE’D BACK THEIR EXTREME AGENDA: Smiley has touted the support she received from extreme MAGA Republicans like Elise Stefanik and Rick Scott. Following Representative Stefanik’s decision to endorse Smiley, Smiley called Stefanik a “groundbreaking leader in the Republican Party.” Stefanik, a self-avowed “ultra Trumper”  campaigned on the dangerous and racist “replacement theory” conspiracy in a political advertisement.  Smiley’s campaign has touted in multiple press releases that Senator Rick Scott had held a fundraiser and overflow reception for Smiley. Scott is leading the charge on the Senate Republican policy agenda which could eliminate Medicare and Social Security in five years.
• A RUBBER STAMP FOR MITCH MCCONNELL: In an interview with McClatchy, Smiley gushed about how she told Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in a meeting that it would be great for Washington to be the state that flipped control of the Senate in 2022–making clear that Smiley will be just another rubber stamp for Mitch McConnell’s extreme agenda. 
• ANTI-LGBTQ AND BUDDY, BUDDY WITH CHRISTIAN FUNDAMENTALIST GRAHAM FAMILY: Smiley has repeatedly praised radical far-right extremist Billy Graham and his family on social media, despite their egregious history of anti-LGBTQ+ activism. Smiley called Billy Graham an “amazing man of God,” said it was great to see Franklin Graham, and that she loved sharing her story with the Billy Graham Association. However, NBC News noted that Billy Graham was known for being a “crusader” against LGBTQ+ rights, that Franklin Graham claimed Satan was behind LGBTQ+ rights, and that the Billy Graham Association provided a platform for “virulent homophobia. Smiley also echoed the Graham family’s transphobic beliefs. Smiley retweeted Franklin Graham’s claim that “God created two different genders.” She also quote tweeted Franklin Graham’s praise for Trump’s ban on transgender people serving in the military, adding that “Under Obama admin you could be trans in the military but not a Christian.”
• ANTI-OBAMACARE WITH NO REPLACEMENT OR PLAN: Smiley said in 2021 that she had seen the “failures of Obamacare” and argued against “expand[ing] the reach of the government or the bureaucrats” further into healthcare. She touts “opposing the government takeover” of health care  Notably, Senate Republicans have no health care plan besides to defund Medicare. 
• IN THE POCKET OF THE ANTI-PUBLIC SCHOOL DEVOS FAMILY: Smiley accepted $5,800 from Richard “Dick” DeVos, the husband of Trump’s Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. Betsy DeVos said in 2022 that she thought “the Department Of Education should not exist.” Rick Scott’s policy agenda also included abolishing the Department of Education and the federal funding it administered.
• OPPOSED HISTORIC TAX CUT FOR MIDDLE-CLASS FAMILIES: Smiley opposed the American Rescue Plan, claiming it would “Saddl[e] all of our children with a debt none of us can fathom.” However, the American Rescue Plan expanded multiple tax credits which benefited low-income and middle-class Americans, including the historic expanded Child Tax Credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit.

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