Virginia Republican hits back at 'appalling' NY Times piece
Virginia congressional candidate Yesli Vega (R) pushed back against NY Times piece arguing the term 'American dream' is being ‘repurposed’ by the GOP
Virginia GOP candidate Yesli Vega pushed back Monday on an "appalling" New York Times article that argued the notion of the "American dream" has been "repurposed" by minority Republicans.
"You have a Democrat Party that for very long has been championing the empowerment of women that look exactly like me, that have such a powerful story. But the moment that we rise, they want to do everything in their power to discredit us. Why? Because we're absolutely a threat to the rhetoric and the narrative that for far too long they've been pushing and is no longer working" Vega told "America's Newsroom" hosts Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino.
GOP congressional candidate Yesli Vega speaks at CPAC 2022 in Dallas, Texas on Friday, Aug. 6, 2022. (Photograph by (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
New York Times reporter Jazmine Ulloa published an article Sunday about how the term "American dream" has become distorted by minority Republicans.
"A touchstone of political and social discourse, the nearly 100-year-old phrase "the American dream," is being repurposed — critics say distorted — particularly by Republicans of color," read the subtitle of Ulloa's piece.
"For decades, politicians have used the phrase 'the American dream' to describe a promise of economic opportunity and upward mobility, of prosperity through hard work," she wrote.
"In the same way that many Trump supporters have tried to turn the American flag into an emblem of the right, so too have these Republicans sought to claim the phrase as their own, repurposing it as a spinoff of the Make America Great Again slogan," Ulloa wrote.
Vega said the "American dream is very much alive today, as much as it's ever been."
She went on to tell the story of her parents and how it led her to run for Congress.
"My story begins with my parents who fled war-torn El Salvador, came to this country with nothing and through hard work and dedication, have accomplished everything. I'm running for Congress because I love this country, because we live in the greatest country in the history of the world, and because we have to fight to take it back from the radical left."
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U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) speaking at a press conference sponsored by the Problem Solvers Caucus and the Common Sense Coalition to announce "principles for legislation to lower prescription drug prices" at the US Capitol in Washington, DC. (Photo by Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) ((Photo by Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images))
Vega shared her confidence about her upcoming election and expressed concerns about the views of her Democratic opponent, Rep. Abigail Spanberger.
"She's taking money from AOC's Defund the Police PAC. And we're staying the course. Folks are fired up. I'm not just talking about Republican voters. I'm talking about independent voters, Democrat voters who are ready for change. And we're going to deliver that change for the people of the seventh district, and we're going to win big on November 8th."
Fox News' Joe Silverstein contributed to this report.
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