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The House Freedom Caucus’ incoming chairman said that congressional Republicans have to devise a clear agenda and messaging ahead of the 2022 midterm elections in order to convince voters that there are distinct differences between them and establishment Democrats “in an era of freewheeling spending and large government,” Just the News reported.
“We need to be in contact with more individual citizens and every single district in every state bringing the message to them so that they understand what the difference is and that there is a true difference,” Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) told the outlet.
“A lot of people say, ‘Well, look, there’s not a dime’s worth of difference between Republicans and Democrats,” he told Just the News founder John Solomon.
“And you know this, John, when it comes to the establishment cartel in Washington that can’t stop spending taxpayer money, there is some truth to that,” he said, adding that “we should be here to say, ‘Just do what you said you were going to do.'”
The outlet continued:
One way House Republicans can distinguish themselves in next year’s races is to pledge to impeach Attorney General Merrick Garland if they take control of Congress, showing voters there will be an overhaul of the Justice Department after years of politicization and prosecutorial overreach ranging from the Russia collusion probe to the targeting of parents protesting school board policies.
The country “needs a new chief executive, or somebody completely different at the top of the Justice Department, which is why I’ve called for and introduced articles of impeachment for Merrick Garland,” Perry said.
“Whether it’s overly politicized use of the Justice Department on political adversaries, to going after parents, he’s got to go, but we can’t just have another replacement for him, we need a wholesale review and cleaning of half in the Justice Department,” said Perry, who was elected to serve as head of the 10-year-old caucus that now has nearly 30 members.
He added that next year, Republicans must give the voting public a clear choice: Do they want big government socialism or free-market capitalism and limited government?
“I know it’s hard to accept, but [the Democrats] want to tear down the system that you love, that works great,” he said. “That’s the free market, competitive market system. And they want to replace it with a socialist, top-down government system that decides what you’ll get, and how much you’ll like it, including the car you drive.”
Some of the agenda items that would distinguish Republicans from Democrats is support for “energy independence, law, and order, funding the police, securing the border, reducing spending and opposing encroaching government regulation that drives up inflation and harms workers,” Just the News reported.
For any candidates who espouse those views, “the Freedom Caucus is going to articulate those messages right alongside you, but then also encourage you to stand by those promises by voting for them,” he said.
Perry also said that one of his objectives for next year is “showing everybody that even in marginal districts, people support candidates and representatives that do what they said they were going to do.”
He said Republican incumbents and candidates have to be prepared to take control of narratives such as explaining to voters how the supply chain crisis has gotten worse thanks to laws like Assembly Bill 5 in California, which banned independent, non-union truck drivers from accessing the state’s ports.
“They have created the supply chain shortages, by policies like AB 5 in California, which outlaws independent truckers,” said Perry. “And we wonder why we can’t get our goods to market, it’s because they fired everybody.”
