Tucson, Ariz. -- Today, Giffords for Congress is releasing a new TV ad, “He’s not looking out for my family.”

In the ad, Southern Arizona mom Rachel McMenamin describes how Jesse Kelly’s proposed 23% national sales tax on everyday items like food, gas and medicine would devastate her family.

“We’re really struggling at this point to make ends meet,” she says. “We could never afford to pay 23% more on groceries or gas.”

The ad begins airing tomorrow in the Tucson media market. A transcript of the ad is pasted below.

Jesse Kelly’s proposed 23% national sales tax would give a big tax break to millionaires and corporations that ship jobs overseas while raising taxes on working Southern Arizona families.

The Kelly tax on everyday items like groceries, gas and medicine would raise the overall tax burden paid by 80 percent of Arizonans by an average of more than $3,000 each year. At the same time, it would cut taxes for the wealthiest five percent of income earners by an average of more than $40,000 each year and eliminate corporate income taxes altogether.

While Kelly has recently tried to backpedal from his support of the so-called “Fair Tax,” he endorsed the 23 percent national sales tax enthusiastically for months.

Kelly reiterated his support for this abusive tax in this week’s Tucson Weekly cover story. When asked by a local senior if he supported the proposal, he is quoted as responding with a resounding, “Yes Ma’am.”

TRANSCRIPT of “He’s not looking out for my family”

[Rachel McMenamin]
We’re really struggling at this point to make ends meet. We could never afford to pay 23% more on groceries or gas.

[Text Graphic]
Rachel McMenamin
Tucson, AZ

[Rachel McMenamin]
Jesse Kelly’s sales tax is going to hurt my family and other families in the middle-class.

[Text Graphic]
Jesse Kelly’s 23% Sales Tax

[Rachel McMenamin]
People like Jesse Kelly are going to be supporting corporations over people.

[Text Graphic]
Jesse Kelly
Eliminate Corporate Income Tax

[Text Graphic]
Jesse Kelly
23% Tax on You

[Rachel McMenamin]
He’s not looking out for me. He’s not looking out for my family.

[Rachel McMenamin]
We could not afford Jesse Kelly’s tax. We absolutely couldn’t.

[Gabrielle Giffords]
I’m Gabrielle Giffords and I approve this message.

Gabrielle Giffords is a third generation Southern Arizonan and the only person in Congress with an active duty military spouse. Gabrielle is not like other politicians. She takes an independent view on the issues and was rated Arizona’s most moderate member of Congress by the National Journal in 2009. She’s voted against a Congressional pay raise every time one has come up, and she doesn’t make earmark requests for campaign contributors. Most importantly, Gabrielle stands up for Southern Arizona by working across the aisle to secure the border, protect our military and veterans and create jobs by investing in solar energy.
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