Campaign

Stefanik in ad says Democrats want ‘permanent election insurrection’

by Caroline Vakil - 09/16/21 4:00 PM ET

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), in one of several new campaign ads released on Facebook this week, claims that Democrats are planning “permanent election insurrection” by granting sweeping “amnesty” to undocumented immigrants.

The claim of a Democrat-led “insurrection” comes just days before a planned rally in Washington, D.C., calling for the release of mostly far-right protesters jailed for their involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

“Radical Democrats are planning their most aggressive move yet: a PERMANENT ELECTION INSURRECTION,” says one ad paid for by Stefanik’s campaign. “Their plan to grant amnesty to 11 MILLION illegal immigrants will overthrow our current electorate and create a permanent liberal majority in Washington.”

The ad included a photo of President Biden’s trademark aviator sunglasses reflecting what look meant to be migrants.

Another ad with same photo of Biden ran on Wednesday claiming, “Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Nancy Pelosi are attempting to flood our voter roles with 11 MILLION NEW VOTERS by giving illegal immigrants amnesty.”

Similar ads also ran in August.

The timing of the ads this month also coincides with the beginning of National Hispanic Heritage Month, which started on Wednesday. It also comes as Democrats are trying to include language in their reconciliation bill aimed at providing a permanent solution for immigrants who arrived in the country undocumented, a majority of whom are Hispanic.

The planned rally on Sept. 18 is expected to draw some 700 people to the Capitol to protest the prosecution of Jan. 6 rioters, who attempted to block Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election win. Roughly 600 people face charges connected to their role in the violent attack.

Lawmakers and Capitol Police have anticipated the event could turn violent, and workers began installing fencing around the Capitol late Wednesday.

Under the Democrats’ latest immigration proposal, undocumented immigrants would be given the ability to apply for legal permanent residency. However, it would still be a time-consuming process that could stretch for years. And immigrants would still not be able to vote until they’ve become naturalized citizens, an even longer process.

Stefanik’s campaign ads build on a running theme among Republicans that Democrat-led immigration-reform efforts are a cynical ploy to alter the electoral landscape in their favor.

The Democratic National Committee said that the ads point toward “replacement theory,” which has been promoted by conservative commentators including Fox News host Tucker Carlson. The theory posits that people who are not white will outnumber whites over time, stripping the historic U.S. majority of its power and privilege.

“As another right-wing mob descends upon the Capitol this weekend, Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik is echoing the same vile rhetoric that has led to several acts of violence in recent years,” DNC spokesperson Adonna Biel said in a statement on Thursday.

“Stefanik and the House GOP are recycling the same racist and xenophobic playbook they used in 2018 that ultimately cost them the House. Apparently, this is what it takes to become a member of House Republican leadership — xenophobia and a remarkable commitment to pushing the Big Lie that led to an actual insurrection,” she continued.

In a statement to The Hill, Alex DeGrasse, Chairwoman Stefanik’s senior advisor, argued that ads had nothing to do with the upcoming Sept, 18 rally.

“The online ads have been up for over a month and literally have nothing to do with any event at the Capitol. Democrats are on record supporting mass amnesty of illegal immigrants for at least 11 million people and are on record supporting dangerous legislation that would weaken election security, ban voter ID, and prevent states from properly auditing their voter rolls,” DeGrasse said in his statement.

“The DNC continues their sick desperate obsession with Congresswoman Stefanik because they know she is a massive threat to Nancy Pelosi’s lame duck and failing speakership that will be over next November when Pelosi is fired by the American people once and for all,” he furthered added.