Beth Davidson
Appearances
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem County Legislator Beth Davidson on Flipping NY-17
Well, we here in the 17th District know that Mike Lawler was a devotee of the late Michael Jackson, but it was another prophet of my generation, Generation X, M.C. Hammer, who said, you can't touch this. And that is what Mike Lawler seems to be implying, except I really thank Joe Scarborough for teeing that up for him to say, for he, Mike Lawler, to say it's not realistic.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem County Legislator Beth Davidson on Flipping NY-17
not to cut, not just Medicaid, which we already, you know, had concerns about for 230,000 people in the 17th congressional district, but he implies that Medicare and social security are also on the chopping block. And I'll tell you that I have constituents in Rockland County.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem County Legislator Beth Davidson on Flipping NY-17
I represent the 10th legislative district who are already reaching out to me, very concerned that our social security office in White Plains, the appeals office is going to be shuttered as of May 29th.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem County Legislator Beth Davidson on Flipping NY-17
And for those watching at home, Mike Lawler tried to blame that closure on the Biden administration, but whoops, the Doge memo of the week outlining all of their savings put that social security office on their docket. So we know who's to blame for this. We know who funded Mike Lawler's campaign hugely, $1.7 million.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem County Legislator Beth Davidson on Flipping NY-17
And that was one Elon Musk who, you know, you stole my line about the wrecking ball. That is what it feels like. And we're going to start feeling the impacts of that wrecking ball right here in CD17.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem County Legislator Beth Davidson on Flipping NY-17
Katie Sanchez is a friend. She is such an inspiration to me. She is a long distance runner. She's also running for president of her supportive house through ARC. So really proud of her. And look, she's speaking truth to power. I was at an event with the disability rights community a few weeks ago called Rally in the Valley.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem County Legislator Beth Davidson on Flipping NY-17
And when Mike Lawler got up to speak and talked about how he was going to protect Medicaid, he got booed. So, you know, he can say over and over again that he's not touching Medicaid, but we know what he's doing.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem County Legislator Beth Davidson on Flipping NY-17
He's now voted twice to put those entitlement programs on the chopping block that people have worked their whole lives for, including Social Security and including Medicaid, which, you know, not everyone understands that Medicaid helps, you know, people with disabilities, of course, seniors, children, half of all babies and moms in this country. And to think that
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem County Legislator Beth Davidson on Flipping NY-17
that anyone would put those programs up for grabs is just really despicable. And again, I'm hearing from it from my constituents. They're really concerned. And that's why you're seeing these huge rallies of three, four, five hundred, a thousand people pushing back against these cuts and specifically against Mike Lawler, Elon Musk and Donald Trump.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem County Legislator Beth Davidson on Flipping NY-17
Actually, CD17 narrowly went for Kamala Harris. It's one of only three districts in the entire country that voted for Kamala Harris, but did not elect a congressional Democrat.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem County Legislator Beth Davidson on Flipping NY-17
I think that we're seeing exactly who Mike Lawler is through his voting record, through his false promises, you know, along with cutting Medicaid, that continuing resolution also clawed back $33 million in community project funding that he claimed he had secured conveniently right before the 2024 election.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem County Legislator Beth Davidson on Flipping NY-17
So, you know, these are funds for law enforcement here in Rockland County where I live, for clean water in Putnam County, for sidewalk improvements in the town of Ramapo to protect pedestrians and improve pedestrian safety. So people are finding out again in their real lives, day-to-day lives, what these cuts have meant and what Mike Lawler's promises mean, which is, as it turns out, nothing.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem County Legislator Beth Davidson on Flipping NY-17
And what does he have to say about these cuts to Medicaid? What does he have to say about cuts to SNAP benefits? There was a huge report in our local paper this morning about how food insecurity and feeding programs are getting totally hit, as are the farms that supply them by these massive cuts to the Department of Agriculture and the worried, the worrisome coming cuts to SNAP programs.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem County Legislator Beth Davidson on Flipping NY-17
Our people to people food pantry director, Diane Sarator said, people thank us for doing God's work. And I say, we don't do God's work. We do what the government is supposed to be doing. And so I joined her in calling on Mike Lawler to do his job. And make sure that even more people here in District 17 and Rockland County, where I live, don't go hungry. It's wrong.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem County Legislator Beth Davidson on Flipping NY-17
As you're talking about, they're having $400,000 Birkin bag parties and people are going hungry in this district. It's disgusting. And I think people are going to see it and you're going to see a huge turnout next November.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem County Legislator Beth Davidson on Flipping NY-17
Sure, well, I've lived in Rockland County for 20 years. I've spent about almost half of that in public service. I served two terms on my school board here in Nyack and then was elected to the Rockland County legislature. I won a purple seat with 57% of the vote.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem County Legislator Beth Davidson on Flipping NY-17
He's got out, knocked 4000 doors, ran with a slate of candidates actually to with the express intention of winning a Democratic supermajority on the Rockland County Legislature. And three of us won. And we did win the first ever Democratic supermajority in Rockland County history on our county legislature.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem County Legislator Beth Davidson on Flipping NY-17
And so what that means is I'm probably one of the only Democrats in the country right now that can say I've cut taxes. and passed my own common sense gun safety legislation and preserved hundreds of acres of open space and not cut, but boosted funding for our nonprofits by 20%. So that's a record I'm really proud to run on.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem County Legislator Beth Davidson on Flipping NY-17
I'm currently the only elected official in this race and I'm ready to go toe to toe in real time on the issues that matter. Where Mike Lawler is falling short, I will be working very hard to make sure my constituents have what they need.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem County Legislator Beth Davidson on Flipping NY-17
in terms of, again, enough to eat, better sidewalks, better roads, and the security that if they vote for me, they'll have someone who wakes up every day, just as I do now, ready to go to fight for them, this time in Washington, D.C. I'm also a mom of two kids. One's going off to college, and one's in eighth grade. So I'm doing this for them, too. It's my family also.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem County Legislator Beth Davidson on Flipping NY-17
Sure. BethDavidsonForCongress.com.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem County Legislator Beth Davidson on Flipping NY-17
I'm on all the platforms.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem County Legislator Beth Davidson on Flipping NY-17
Thanks so much for having me. Have a great day.