We didn’t seek the “Freedom Force” mantle, but we’re ready to take it up
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By Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, Rep. Carlos Gimenez, Rep. María Elvira Salazar, and Rep. Victoria Spartz. As published on RollCall.com
While the 2018 elections resulted in the formation of the socialist “squad,” the 2020 elections will undoubtedly be remembered as the moment that voters sent a strong response to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and the rest: that socialism in any form is a political ideology unacceptable to the American people.
Last cycle, Americans voted to send a new brand of Republican to Washington. Some of us know the oppression of socialism from living it, while some of us know it from our parents and families. But all of us know the promise of liberty that drew us to America. Somewhere between our elections and taking our oath of office, folks started calling us the “Freedom Force.” It’s a title we did not ask for — but we’re ready to take up the mantle.
Rep. Carlos Gimenez was born in Cuba, coming to the United States with his family when he was 6 years old. The families of both Reps. Nicole Malliotakis and María Elvira Salazar fled Cuba in search of better lives and greater economic opportunity. Rep. Victoria Spartz was born in Ukraine under Soviet rule and emigrated to America solo at the age of 21. We’ve all seen the destruction caused by socialism. That’s why Americans elected us to uphold the freedom we love and to fight against the socialism that threatens it.
Curious how this poisonous ideology introduces itself? Take a look at the $93 trillion Green New Deal. When the deal was first announced, it was viewed as a pipe dream. Less than two years later, the deal has 93 House co-sponsors.
House Democrats’ HR 1 would demand public financing of political campaigns, costing American taxpayers billions of dollars and forcing the public to donate to candidates they may or may not support. And this comes on top of their push to pack the courts. Make no mistake, if passed, these measures and others will allow government control over private businesses and extend the government’s reach further into Americans’ wallets.
Last month, the San Francisco school board voted to rename 44 schools — including some named after George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and, yes, even Paul Revere — a controversial decision drawing criticism from both sides of the aisle. It’s ironic though that the Founding Fathers, former presidents and historical figures the left attempts to cancel by changing school names and tearing down statues are the very figures who gave them their First Amendment rights. If the squad’s socialist policies came to pass in the United States, they wouldn’t have the freedom to protest anything, let alone change school names.
And in New York City, socialists have their eyes set on capturing six more seats on the already left-leaning City Council — an achievement that would give them control over the city’s massive $92 billion budget. The City Council has already turned over the streets of New York to career criminals, slashed the NYPD’s budget by $1 billion, stripped citizens’ Second Amendment rights and property rights, and exerted more control over businesses. Are these the policies the squad wishes to unveil at the federal level?
It is the Marxist way to incrementally change policy to the point where full-blown socialist rule is palpable. Now that these self-proclaimed socialists have won at the ballot box, they are slowly and surely chipping away at our fundamental rights. Something must be done before these seemingly small changes create a country that is far from the ideals of our Founding Fathers and closer to the writings of Karl Marx. With the recent acts of censorship by Big Tech companies against conservative voices, our country is spiraling toward socialism faster than we may think.
Socialism is a losing bet. It kills free enterprise and free markets. It seizes private property and destroys dreams. Most importantly, it punishes its own people and forces them to flee the land of their birth in search of freedom.
We will counter the sugarcoated versions of socialism with the real facts. We will talk about our relatives still living in Cuba who struggle to get by, asking us to send them basic necessities like rice, beans, soap and aspirin. We will point to how Venezuela went from the wealthiest nation in South America to the poorest. We will remind Americans of the Iron Curtain that divided Europe for over four decades and the Iron Fist now imposed on the freedom-loving people of Hong Kong.
We will take our message to the floor of the House. We will debate our socialist colleagues in the Capitol and in our communities until every ear in America hears our voice. We believe freedom and democracy will prevail, and we will not stop until the rights and freedoms we love are secure.