OPINION:
I’m sure most people have seen the Capital One commercial with the catchphrase “What’s in your wallet?” After nearly four years of the Harris-Biden administration, I think a better question might be, “What’s left in your wallet?”
And I do mean Harris-Biden. The Democrats have attempted to absolve Vice President Kamala Harris of responsibility for the past few years of chaos, but the American people know better.
Anyone paying attention can see right through the Democrats’ and their mainstream media allies’ attempted coronation of Ms. Harris and their desperate attempts to paint former President Donald Trump as the reason for record inflation, a 38.4% increase in gas prices and a 3.4% decrease in real average weekly earnings since January 2021.
Americans are not falling for the “threat to democracy” trope or the absurd “Trump is Hitler” comparisons; they’re concerned about pocketbook issues and the safety of their families. The lies and hateful rhetoric the extreme left is peddling is just a diversion: Most Americans understand why this election matters so much. The outcome depends on whether the American dream of upward economic mobility can survive another generation.
As chair of the House Budget Committee’s Oversight Task Force, I’ve seen firsthand how much waste and bloat exist in our federal government — especially in our overgrown, unelected bureaucracy. This de facto fourth branch of government, made up of virtually unaccountable rulemakers, has done its best to run our lives without having to answer to voters.
To weed out the waste, we need firm and fiscally responsible leaders at the helm, steering the sinking ship of our economy into calmer waters and back to a place of prosperity. We need a resolute commander in chief who will secure our borders, protect our communities and make us a respected nation on the world stage again.
Since President Biden and Ms. Harris took office, our country has plunged into a nearly unrecognizable state of economic chaos and all the decay that it brings with it. Under Biden-Harris, we are approaching banana republic territory.
Michiganders are spending $13,300 more annually to buy the basics because of inflation than three years ago. There are 425,431 convicted criminal illegal aliens roaming our country, including more than 16,000 rapists and 13,000 killers — thanks to the failed border czar.
Over 30 tons of fentanyl has crossed our southern border — enough to kill approximately 14 billion people. We have lost about 50,000 manufacturing jobs this year alone, and as we stare down the barrel of unrealistic electric vehicle mandates, we stand to lose many more.
Our light as a shining city on a hill has been dimmed, but it has not been extinguished.
We can ensure that our families and communities thrive once again if we all get out to vote for those conservative leaders who will stand in the way of Ms. Harris and her accomplices’ job-slashing mandates, liberty-killing laws and economy-crushing policies.
Our nation was founded on the idea that everyone has the inalienable right to life and liberty. This idea went hand in hand with the belief that people could naturally flourish in pursuit of the common good with minimal government. These concepts informed our Constitution and led us to become the leader of the free world; they can lead us there again.
It’s crucially important that we send a resounding message at the ballot box. Let’s reject the Harris-Walz ticket’s call for bigger government and its plans for an oppressive tax-and-spend status quo, restrictive regulations and the political persecution of those who don’t buy into their groupthink.
For the sake of our children and grandchildren, I hope and pray that this American identity crisis will end as we fire Kamala Harris at the polls on Tuesday and send fighters to Washington who will stand for the basic ideas of freedom.
It’s imperative that we put personality contests aside and focus on what’s truly on the ballot: economic recession vs. revitalization, national security vs. emboldened enemies, safe communities vs. open borders wreaking havoc in our own backyards.
Let’s turn the page on the past 3½ years of turmoil and toward a brighter future of American exceptionalism.
• Jack Bergman is a retired Marine Corps lieutenant general. He represents Michigan’s 1st Congressional District.
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