Rep. Brandon Gill used his address at the Republican National Convention in Texas to frame the upcoming midterm election as a choice between what he called mainstream American values and an increasingly extreme Democratic Party.
Gill opened with his own version of a land acknowledgement, focusing on the Americans who built and defended the country.
“I’d like to acknowledge that we stand here today in the great state of Texas and the United States of America, the ancestral homeland of great American patriots, pioneers, and explorers who put down roots, fought for freedom all over the globe, and bled and died to build the greatest civilization ever known to man,” Gill said.
Gill said Republicans were using the midterm convention to present their record and President Donald Trump’s accomplishments directly to voters.
His central theme was that the November election represented “the mainstream versus the extreme,” a characterization also reported from his convention address.
Gill directed much of his speech at Democratic candidates and their positions on America, Christianity, capitalism and gender.
“They sometimes call themselves socialists, some even call themselves communists, but most of them simply go by Democrats,” Gill said.
“They’re the ones who will tell you that your love for America is nothing but bigotry, that our heritage is rooted in white supremacy, and that your Christian faith is patriarchal and needs to be dismantled. That’s extreme.”
Gill singled out Democratic congressional nominees Daria Liza Chevalier and Claire Valdez before turning to Texas Democrat James Talarico.
He also criticized Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed as the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks approaches.
“Now we have to admit that every party has their crazies. The difference is that the Democrat Party is nominating theirs for Congress,” Gill said.
“How can people who have such a transparent disdain for this country be trusted to govern it?”
Gill then shifted to the Biden administration, criticizing its handling of immigration, inflation and cultural issues.
He argued that the previous administration’s policies had left Americans questioning the direction of their country.
“The last time Democrats were in power with Joe Biden in the White House, inflation hit 9% and we had a government that cared more about the color of your skin than the content of your character,” Gill said.
He also took a shot at Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez while warning about what he labeled “Woke 2.0.”
“Well, AOC, you were finally right about one thing: woke one was crazy, and we’re not going to let you get your hands on woke two,” Gill said.
Gill said political disagreements have expanded far beyond the traditional debates over taxes and spending.
“I think we can all remember the good old days when political debates were about marginal tax rates and government spending. Now we’re debating whether toddlers can become transgender, whether men can get pregnant, and whether your daughter should have to share a locker room with grown men,” Gill said.
Gill contrasted those issues with the policies pursued by Trump and congressional Republicans, pointing to border enforcement, tax relief and energy.
“By contrast, President Trump and Republicans in Congress lead with mainstream values. The president has secured the border, and Republican policies protect American citizens against dangerous criminal illegals,” Gill said.
Gill highlighted the Working Families Tax Cut, saying it included no tax on tips, overtime or Social Security, along with an expanded child tax credit and tax breaks for small businesses.
“Under President Trump, America has achieved energy independence,” Gill said.
“If Democrats have their way, we would be dependent on our biggest foreign adversaries, and our gas prices would just keep ticking up perpetually.”
He also said Republicans recently attempted to prohibit members of Congress from trading stocks, blaming Democrats and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for preventing the effort.
Gill closed by returning to the theme he established at the beginning of his address.
“This November, Americans have a very clear choice: it’s the mainstream versus the extreme,” Gill said.
“Our country will not go back to Democrats woke insanity. We will not go back to divisive, racialized politics. We will not go back to 9% Biden inflation, and we absolutely will not go back to open borders.”
Gill said his motivation was preserving the country and its values for his children.
“But we will go back to common sense, because this country is our home, and I want my children to grow up in a country that they actually recognize,” Gill said.
“I want them to grow up in the same America that I grew up in, and I want them to grow up with the same values that my parents taught me and that my my grandparents taught them, because we love this country, and America is worth preserving.”
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