Jason Smith: Democrats talk about unification, but they're only trying to unify their party

 

(From Eighth District Congressman Jason Smith)

I have always kept one motto in my heart as I approach the job of being your representative: Put people before politics. Unfortunately, what we are seeing from the Leaders of the Democratic party is the exact opposite; it is all politics.

This week, Washington Democrats made clear that for all President Biden’s talk of unifying the country, these words were all hat and no cattle. 

In their first chance to show the country how we can work together, Democrats chose to pass a Budget Resolution that will only go to rescue or reward their political allies in blue state capitals across the country. 

The plan will ram down billions of dollars in bailouts they have proposed for state governments that have locked down their local economies, told main street to board up, and left families struggling even more to make ends meet. This is wrong.

In fact, the only unity in Washington this week was the bipartisan opposition to this budget.

This budget puts in motion a process to spend trillions of dollars on a progressive wish list. All of this they want to somehow hide from the American people by calling it “essential aid for pandemic relief.” In reality, it is the first step in allowing Speaker Pelosi and her allies in Congress to jam this radical agenda through Congress at lightning speed.

Where was the rush to help American families when Nancy Pelosi was holding up support for direct aid to working-class families last spring, summer, and all fall, eventually dropping her price tag and objections only after the 2020 Presidential Election. The hypocrisy is appalling.

We know that all five of the previous COVID-related bills were passed with bipartisan support. This week began with a framework laid out by 10 Republican Senators as a path to a potential compromise. But after agreeing to meet with these senators, President Biden proved the meeting was nothing more than a photo-op, broadly rejecting any sort of discussion. 

This must be because they know there is not a bipartisan consensus in this country for the socialist policies they want to include, giveaways to their base, the far left and the coastal elites.

I serve as the Republican Leader of the Budget Committee, so I’ve had a front-seat view to the Democrat Majority’s recklessness and leading the charge to fight against it. 

For the first time in more than 30 years, House Democrats completely skipped the committee to bring their product to the House Floor instead of going through the normal process on a budget they wrote. The only explanation I can come up with is they really must not want us finding out what’s in this plan before they pass it.

Just look at what is being discussed by them. They now talk openly to grant mass amnesty; to give Washington bureaucrats the power over your health care decisions; to pass the Green New Deal which will drive up the cost of your electric bill; and guaranteeing a universal basic income for people who choose not to work.

The Democratic elites talk about unification, but they are only working to unify their party instead of unifying the country. 

Even President Joe Biden stood in front of the capitol and talked about the power of example. But their actions don't match their words, and the value of every word they say from this point forward becomes increasingly meaningless. 

The actions of the Democrat majority, to start a process which will only end in more divisive partisanship, is the exact opposite of what our country is asking for right now.