Sen. Rick Scott at CPAC said Republicans who don’t think the party needs a specific policy agenda for taking back Congress in the midterm elections ‘don’t deserve to govern.’
The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) chair touted his own 11-point policy agenda plan released this week, as he said: ‘If the Republicans return to Washington’s business as usual, if we have no bigger plan than to be a speed bump on the road to America’s collapse, we actually don’t deserve to govern.’
‘Washington is full of do-nothing people who believe that no conservative change can ever happen,’ the Florida Republican said in an address at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
It is a clear break from Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has held off on releasing a GOP agenda in hopes that Democrats will run themselves into the ground.
In January, asked what the party’s plan was if it came back to power, the Kentucky Republican quipped: ‘I’ll let you know when we take it back.’
‘Washington is full of do-nothing people who believe that no conservative change can ever happen,’ Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott said in an address at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC)
Scott touted his own 11-point policy agenda plan released this week, as he said: ‘If the Republicans return to Washington’s business as usual, if we have no bigger plan than to be a speed bump on the road to America’s collapse, we actually don’t deserve to govern’
Scott takes a photo with an adoring fan at CPAC, the yearly gathering of conservatives hosted in Orlando, Fla.
‘I’m a business guy,’ Scott said. ‘I believe we simply have to have a plan. We can’t just do our best and simply hope for the best.’
The agenda includes a mix of classic Republican priorities – shrinking the federal government and enacting national voter ID laws – and culture war measures, such as declaring that there are ‘two genders,’ completing the border wall and naming it after Donald Trump and limiting most federal workers, including members of Congress, to 12 years of service.
Democrats seized on a portion of the plan that required all Americans to pay income tax. ‘All Americans should pay some income tax to have skin in the game, even if a small amount. Currently over half of Americans pay no income tax,’ the plan said.
McConnell believes that the best way for Republicans to pick up the one Senate seat they need to take back the majority is to turn the election into a referendum on President Biden. With inflation, spending, the Afghanistan evacuation and now the Ukraine-Russia crisis, the president’s meager poll numbers are showing no signs of improvement.
So far 30 House Democrats have called it quits in a show of low expectations for the midterm elections, compared to 13 Republicans.
But other priorities in Scott’s plan include requiring students to say the Pledge of Allegiance every day, requiring them to stand for the National Anthem, banning government from asking race on application documents and to ‘refund’ law enforcement.
Scott also launched a full-throttle attack on Democrats during his remarks at CPAC.
‘The militant left wing of our country has become the enemy within,’ Scott said. The militant left has now seized control of our economy, our culture and our country. When you turn on the news at night, do you recognize the country you see?’ he asked. The crowd shouted a resounding ‘NO.’
‘They want to end the American experiment,’ he said. ;The militant left are the modern day version of book burners. These are the most narrow-minded, intolerant people our country has ever seen.’
‘These Democrats who have no idea how the real world works are acting like they just invented socialism,’ he continued.
‘All of this makes you ask, is this the end of America?’ Scott asked. ‘Well it could be, but only if we allow it.’
Scott acknowledged during his speech that his plan may ‘strike fear in the heart of some Republicans,’ as the conservative priorities could turn off some Democrat and Independent voters.
However, he argues that his priorities are in line with those of American families. ‘This is what people think, by the way,’ he said upon releasing the plan. ‘If you talk to a normal, non-woke family, this is what they think.’
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is expected to release his own agenda in the coming weeks.
Scott did not criticize McConnell’s approach, and insisted that he has a ‘good working relationship’ with the GOP leader.
‘As a general rule, you know, probably this year’s election is going to be a lot about the Biden agenda. But I do believe we’re going to win,’ Scott said. ‘We ought to have a plan and what we’re trying to get done when we get the majority.’
And Democrats have seized on Republicans’ lack of an agenda.
‘We’re running right now against the Republican Party. And I think Mitch McConnell is quoted saying they aren’t running on any agenda whatsoever,’ said Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Gary Peters (D-Mich.) in a recent interview. ‘So, if you’re not running on an agenda, you’re not offering anything for the future, for the people in the country.’
Biden, in January, made a point to ask ‘What are Republicans for?’ after his plan for passing his Build Back Better agenda did not pan out.
‘I did not anticipate that there’d be such a stalwart effort to make sure that the most important thing was that President Biden didn’t get anything done,’ Biden said in public remarks. ‘Think about this: What are Republicans for? What are they for? Name me one thing they’re for.’
He quoted New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, R, who told the Washington Examiner that he’d decided against running for the Senate after chatting with GOP senators and learning that their plan for the next two years if they win back the majority centers on obstructing Biden moreso than pursuing any policy priority.
‘They were all, for the most part, content with the speed at which they weren’t doing anything. It was very clear that we just have to hold the line for two years. OK, so I’m just going to be a roadblock for two years. That’s not what I do,’ Sununu said.
