On Hillary Night, Velazquez Pushes a Small-Business Attack

Representative Nydia Velazquez picked a theme and stuck to it in her high-ish profile slot last night at the Pepsi Arena: Small business will take a beating in a McCain administration (and prosper in an Obama-led White House).

"John McCain would not just hold back female entrepreneurs, he would hurt all small businesses," she said. "He has pledged to continue the Bush tax cuts that favored Fortune 500 companies over entrepreneurs."

One of few New Yorkers with a prime time convention speaking slot, did not directly address Latino voters in her speech (though she did conclude it in Spanish) Velazquez has previously said that "there is a problem of connecting with Latino voters from the Obama camp." The speech followed an op-ed she co-authored in the Daily News with Representative Anthony Weiner, in which the two called for tax incentives for small business and beefing up the federal Small Business Administration.