House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) tore into leftist policies Sunday, claiming the American people are “fed up with the far-left shift” in the country.
Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Rep. Scalise touted the House Republicans’ Commitment to America agenda while saying the American people are looking for a “check and balance” to the leftist agenda being advanced under Democratic leadership.
“They’re not looking at the Democrats’ agenda saying they want more of it,” Scalise said, referring to high inflation. “They’re saying they’re fed up with the far-left shift that both Biden and [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi have taken us,” he continued, “Not down a liberal road but down a socialist road. That’s what people are rejecting, and that’s what we’re proposing an alternative to with the Commitment to America.”
The Commitment to America, introduced last month by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), outlines the agenda House Republicans would pursue should they retake control of the chamber after the November midterm elections. Republicans are favored with a 71% chance of winning the House, according to a forecast by FiveThirtyEight.
The GOP plan has four themes: “An Economy That’s Strong,” “A Nation That’s Safe,” “A Future That’s Built On Freedom,” and “A Government That’s Accountable.” The proposed agenda includes goals of fighting inflation, making America energy independent, and securing the border.
Scalise claimed that Americans “want a check and balance on this far-left agenda,” referring to Democrat policies on crime, cashless bail, and energy. He said Americans are “furious about rising crime, because Democrats embrace, not only the defund police movement, one of the craziest ideas I’ve ever heard, but now they’re going to cashless bail.”
According to a Monmouth University poll released in early October, 72% of Americans thought that crime was “extremely or very important,” following 82% who felt the same about inflation. In the survey, President Biden’s approval on crime was at 32%. According to a Reuter’s/Ipsos poll released this month, voters prefer Republicans to solve the crime problem over Democrats, 40% to 32%.
Host Shannon Bream revealed during the segment that according to Fox News polling released Sunday, Democrats lead Republicans 44% to 41% in congressional vote preference. Additionally, 26% of Americans are in favor of the Commitment to America, while 21% view it unfavorably, and 52% are unfamiliar with it.
Bream asked Scalise how worried he was about “heated political rhetoric” on both sides of the aisle, to which the congressman said that one of America’s strengths is “that we can disagree. The other side is not the demon or the enemy if they’re having a different viewpoint.”
Notably, Rep. Scalise was shot at a congressional baseball practice by a politically motivated gunman in 2017.