Mediaboss Marketing

If Republicans take back some control of Congress in Novembers midterm elections, what could a divided Washington end up delivering?

GOP and Democratic politicians may feel like they have to do something about inflation, so you might see a move to suspend or reduce the federal gas tax, said Yuval Levin, an expert at the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute.

The White House previously has said that a gasoline RB00, -1.66% tax holiday is an option under consideration as the Biden administration seeks to give Americans relief from high prices, though analysts have cautioned that monkeying with that tax would take away funds that were supposed to be needed for major infrastructure PAVE, -3.30% projects.

The annual rate ofinflation rose to 8.6% in May, topping forecasts and marking a fresh 40-year high. High gasoline and food prices as well as rising rents helped drive up the latest reading for the consumer price index, or CPI.

There may be room for compromise on family policy, Levin also said, with his remarks coming Monday during a Bipartisan Policy Center event titled Previewing a Potential Republican Congress.

GOP Sen. Mitt Romneys child benefit proposal won some support from Democrats as well as from Republicans, and I think it might be an area where you could think about a reform or transformation of the child tax credit along the lines that he proposed.

The Biden White House in December expressed openness to working with Romney on child tax credit payments, as the Utah lawmaker called for a bipartisan approach on the issue. Romney has proposed a program similar to the monthly CTC payouts that ended last year due toopposition from Democratic Sen. Joe Manchinof West Virginia, who criticized other parts of President Joe Bidens Build Back Better plan as well.

Levin noted the bipartisan deal on new gun-safety measures that was reached over the weekend involves empowering local and state authorities, and that type of approach could get further traction after the midterm elections.

On crime, we may see some action, because crime is an area where again its possible to operate by empowering local authorities and giving them options, and it may be that theres room for compromise there, said Levin, whose title at AEI is director of social, cultural, and constitutional studies and Beth and Ravenel Curry chair in public policy.

And actually President Biden has real experience on that front as a legislator himself in advancing ideas that did win a lot of Republican support in the 1990s.

To be sure, Levin said its tough to predict what a divided Washington could accomplish and he sees a strong likelihood of little action next year as both parties start to focus on the 2024 presidential election.

Youre also going to see a lot of posturing and a lot of messaging bills where Republicans just try to put Democrats in a tough place looking to 2024. Its hard to avoid thinking that thats a lot of what a Republican Congress would end up doing, he said.

Republicans are widely expected to regain control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the midterm elections, and the GOP is getting good odds for taking back the 50-50 Senate, too.

See: Republicans may win not just House but also Senate in midterm elections here are 2022s Senate races to watch

And read: Biden talks up his efforts to tame high prices, as analysts see rough midterm elections for him unless inflation abates

U.S. stocks SPX, -3.12% DJIA, -2.26% traded sharply lower Monday as financial markets continued to reel from a surprise acceleration in inflation just days ahead of a Federal Reserve interest-rate decision.

Read more from the original source:
If Republicans win in midterm elections, watch for action on gas tax holiday, child tax credit and crime, expert says - MarketWatch

Las Vegas Republicans will decide on Tuesday which of three candidates with three distinct profiles will go on to the general election in Nevadas newly competitive Las Vegas-area 1st Congressional District.

Leading the Republican field are Carolina Serrano, a former organizer for Latinos for Trump who has promoted conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and the Jan. 6 Capitol riot; Mark Robertson, a 30-year military veteran; and David Brog, the CEO of the Maccabee Task Force and former head of Christians United for Israel, who associates himself with the populist National Conservatism movement.

Serrano told Jewish Insider that she was largely disconnected from politics until former President Donald Trumps entry into politics, when she found herself attracted to him because he championed American citizens in a way that politicians really hadnt before. She went on to intern for Rep. John Katko (R-NY) and worked briefly as a field organizer for the Republican National Committee in Nevada.

Its important to take the [Republican] message out to more people. Specifically, Im Hispanic I really realized were kind of all voting against our own interests because my values align more with the Republican Party, she said. And thats the mission that I had.

Serrano said she now has no thoughts towards Katko, who voted to impeach Trump following the events of Jan. 6, describing him and his office as very nice.

I think what [the internship] opened my eyes to is [that] personnel is policy, she said.

Serrano said shes focused on two issues she sees as obviously tied together: undocumented immigration and inflation.

Robertson, who retired as a colonel after three decades in the military, was deployed to 10 countries, including to Afghanistan, Kuwait, Iraq and Syria. He said he joined the race after Democrats gained a trifecta in Washington in 2021 taking the White House and both chambers of Congress as well as control in Nevadas capital. I dont like the direction of our country [this] headlong dive into socialism that the Democrats are taking us, he explained.

Robertson also called immigration and inflation his top issues, and blamed government spending,which he pledged to reduce,and paying people not to work for current inflation rates.

Brog, who currently leads the Maccabee Task Force, a nonprofit funded largely by the late Las Vegas billionaire and GOP megadonor Sheldon Adelson that combats campus antisemitism, called his congressional run a continuation of the last few decades of fighting the woke left, a distillation of the message he expressed to JI in an interview earlier this year.

Brog said his longtime advocacy work on key policy priorities makes him the best candidate for the district.

I was there that day that critical race theory sort of had its coming out party when [former President] Barack Obama introduced professor Derrick Bell at a rally and Derrick Bell said he was leaving his tenured position, Brog told JI last week. That was an awakening for me. And in various roles and capacities Ive been fighting wokeism ever since then.

Brog, who once served as a staffer for former Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), also frames himself as having been in the vanguard of the Republican Party in seeking to protect American industries and the working class from competition abroad.

I was ridiculed at the time, I was [an] outcast. At the time, we were RINOs [Republicans in Name Only], squishes because we went against the free-market orthodoxy of the day, Brog said, which he said was his impetus for shifting his focus to pro-Israel advocacy.

Of the three candidates, Brog is the newest to the district, having moved to Nevada to lead the Maccabee Task Force, which was founded in 2015. He argued that voters care more about the depth of dedication to their conservative values where he said he has the tenure that matters most.

Robertson touted his deep ties to the community, having raised his family in the community for 30 years. He also argued that his decades of military service at home and abroad including a stint at the Pentagon in the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy and time spent teaching finance at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, make him a strong candidate for the seat.

Serrano sought to claim the mantle of being the most pro-Trump candidate in the field, pointing to her work to support his 2020 reelection campaign. She touted her experience with Latino outreach, which she said contributed to the record-high Latino voter turnout for the GOP in the state. Trump has not endorsed anyone in the race.

I was the first one to see the weakness in Dina Titus and the disconnect between her and that district, Serrano said, referencing her field work for Trump in 2020. Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) has represented the district since 2013, and served one term in another district from 2009 to 2011.

And Serrano said shes the only candidate who has visited the southern border and is taking [border security] seriously, as well as the only one talking about election integrity, who worked on efforts to re-litigate the 2020 presidential election results.

Serrano claims to have discovered a fraudulent mail-in ballot submitted in a family members name during her post-election work, and said that state officials ignored concerns raised about tens of thousands of ballots. She further claimed she saw and heard from other observers about ballot counting irregularities at polling places which state officials attributed to technical issues across the state.

She has also referred to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot as a fedsurrection, promoting discredited conspiracy theories claiming the riot was instigated by federal agents, and called to dissolve the FBI and Justice Department. Asked about these claims, Serrano urged JI to read Revolver News, a far-right website that has helped spread Jan. 6 conspiracy theories and is run by former White House staffer Darren Beattie, who was fired by the Trump administration after appearing on a panel at a conference attended by white nationalists.

Robertson said unequivocally that he believes that President Joe Biden is the rightfully elected president. He said he could not answer whether he would have voted in favor of certifying contested election results in 2020 because he had not seen the evidence presented on the issue.

Humberto Sanchez, a reporter for The Nevada Independent, told JI the race is pretty wide open right now.

I think that anything happening now, between now and Tuesday, could move it in any of those three directions, Sanchez said late last week. I really think its a three-way race at the top right now.

Serrano led the field in fundraising as of May 25, having brought in $568,000, trailed closely by Robertson at $543,000, with Brog in third at $381,000. Serrano is also on top in total cash on hand as of the end of the filing period with $208,000 although she reported $116,000 in campaign debts, followed by Brog with $174,000 and $50,000 in debt, and Robertson with $130,000 on hand.

Brog noted to JI that he is the only candidate currently running a television advertisement. He has also been endorsed by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Although the bulk of the funding for the Maccabee Task Force has come from the Adelson family, GOP megadonorMiriam Adelson has not donated to Brogs campaign, according to FEC filings. A super PAC called the Nevada 1st PAC has spent $23,500 supporting Brogs campaign, but it is unclear who is funding that effort.

Nevada 1st PACs listed treasurer is affiliated with several other PACs in other states with which it shares the same address that of a shipping store in Alexandria, Va. The PAC appears to be linked to the campaign of fringe gubernatorial candidate Fred Simon, according to The Nevada Independent, and also hosted a conference featuring Simon and COVID-19 conspiracy theorists.

The district is a prime target for Republicans this year, having been redistricted from a reliably Democratic seat to one The Cook Political Report rates as a Toss Up, in an effort to shore up more vulnerable Democratic districts. The district, previously concentrated in the heart of Las Vegas, now includes more suburban and rural outlying areas that trend more conservative.

In a normal year you would expect a Democrat to win, particularly an incumbent, Dan Lee, a political science professor at UNLV, told JI. But, Lee noted, this is a highly favorable environment for Republicans and a lot of these voters dont know [Titus] she wont have as much of that incumbency advantage as she would normally have.

Titus will also have to survive a primary challenge on Tuesday from progressive organizer and Democratic Socialists of America member Amy Vilela. In an endorsement questionnaire for the local DSA, Vilela expressed support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. She was endorsed on Thursday by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on whose 2020 presidential campaign she worked.

Sanchez described Titus as the odds-on favorite to win the primary and said Vilela has not really seen much momentum.

Vilela has run for the House once before, in 2018, finishing in third with 9% of the vote in the Democratic primary in a different Nevada district. She has raised $490,000, but spent nearly all of it in the primary, with just $53,373 remaining on hand at the end of the quarter and $53,009 in campaign debts. Titus has $1.28 million remaining on hand heading into the general election, but has been outspent by Vilela, $437,000 to $329,000.

Sanchez noted that with his long career in pro-Israel activism Brog has also been playing up his pro-Israel bonafides in the race.

Robertson, who is a graduate of Brigham Young University, a Mormon institution, and described himself as a devout Christian, also characterized himself as a very supportive of Israel, noting that hes also a member of the Republican Jewish Coalitions leadership council.

Judeo-Christian values are an important part of what makes the United States the great country that it is, Robertson said. And I think Israel being the lone democracy in the Middle East, that we have much in common with Israel and it is in Americas national interests to [continue] supporting Israel.

He traveled to Israel in 2017 and said he was amazed to see Israelis and Palestinians working side-by-side and living together in Jerusalem. Robertson added, however, that there cannot be a political settlement as long as the Palestinian leadership denies Israels right to exist.

The United States needs to make it clear to the Palestinian thats a non-starter, that we support Israel, he said.

Robertson continued, Im supportive of Israel and if Israel determines that a two-state solution is in their interest, I would support that but its got to be one that ends the violence. He also questioned why neighboring Arab states are not offering the territory for a Palestinian homeland.

Serrano expressed little interest in discussing foreign policy.

Im more focused on domestic issues. Obviously, Israels a great ally of the United States and I respect and support that, she said. And I just dont really have many thoughts beyond that.

Robertson called the 2015 Iran nuclear deal a huge mistake and said Trump was correct to withdraw from it and reimpose sanctions.

The crippling sanctions we had before Obama removed them are making a huge impact, Robertson said. He said the sanctions have not seen similar effects since the Trump administration reimposed them because other countries have not followed suit.

He said there ought to be a strong effort to work with other countries to reimpose sanctions, but acknowledged that itd be impossible to get Russia on board.

Robertson speculated that, within the United States, overall increases in crime rates which he blamed on the defund the police movement and the installation of liberal prosecutors who let violent criminals out could be linked to the rise in antisemitic incidents, but said he was not well-versed on the issue.

Serrano said she does not see any way that Congress or the federal government can curb recent increases in antisemitic activity, pinning the blame on the media.

Theres not a law that we can pass to make people, you know, do or or behave a certain way, she said. I do think that the media plays a big part in fanning flames I think that the media has a responsibility in the way that they present stories and the way that they speak about certain things.

Both Serrano and Robertson said they didnt see antisemitism as an issue in their party.

Looking toward November, The Nevada Independents Sanchez said, Its going to be a challenge but [Titus] seems up to it, adding, however, it [will] also depend on who the Republican is. Independents the fastest-growing group in Nevada are set to play an important role, he said.

Read more here:
All bets are off in the Republican congressional primary in Las Vegas - Jewish Insider

This is a guest opinion column

What admirable qualities are held by historically accomplished leaders such as George Patton, Nick Saban, and Oprah Winfrey? Its not just intelligence and work ethic. They all possess two key traits: (1) the ability to remain open minded and adapt to changing conditions, and (2) they bring out the best in those looking to their leadership. Lets apply this standard to Alabamas political leaders.

While we Alabamians are finally seeing significant progress in our states economic growth, we trail most of our fellow Southern states over the past 20 years. In order to finally match and surpass them, long-term, we must retain our hometown young talent and recruit skilled individuals from other states. Accomplishing this objective requires us to present a forward looking, welcoming image, especially at the highest levels. We have business leaders from Huntsville all the way south to Mobile who possess the innovative skills to succeed and to help us generate new sources of revenue for our state. We need more.

This growth, and resulting tax revenues, can support badly needed healthcare facilities in rural areas, which alone could save lives and allow thousands to get on a path toward better long-term health (leading to a virtuous rather than a vicious loop). Growth can also help level the educational playing field for students in underserved schools, allowing many more students to achieve their potential and reversing the cycle of poverty that plagues too many areas in Alabama.

Our current leadership, however, must rise to the occasion. Far too often, many of the accomplished students who attend our remarkable universities take their potential- and their tax dollars- to other states. Our own family has witnessed an exodus of children to Denver and Nashville. Why is this happening? The recent political season starkly illustrates part of the challenge we face.

Thank goodness we voters rejected messages from some Gubernatorial candidates filled with contempt toward gay and transgender individuals as well as Hispanic immigrants. On that last point, surely we can have productive discussions regarding the appropriate levels of immigration and ways we can reduce the flow of human and drug trafficking, while simultaneously expressing our deep gratitude for individuals of disparate backgrounds who have made Alabama their home.

Two of the most notable winners in the recent primary- Kay Ivey and Katie Britt- would be well served to engage in self-reflection regarding their messaging. My mom, who recently turned 88, cannot easily be shocked. Yet her reaction was visceral when we watched an ad from Governor Ivey which concluded with her whipping out a gun from her purse. Was she sending a subtle, or worse, message about how to resolve conflicts?

A few weeks ago our family was watching the local news when an ad from Ms. Britts campaign appeared. She spoke about the need to build the wall to restrict the flow of immigrants across the Mexican border. While that is part of an appropriate conversation, what happened next was not. In a nanosecond the ad shifted to a video of her firing a gun at clay pigeons. Our 10 year old grandson was startled and asked me, Is she going to shoot those immigrants? I told him of course not; she was now discussing a separate matter, the 2nd Amendment. Our grandson was still confused. Papa, I have a friend in school who is an immigrant. Will she be safe?

These are not the sorts of questions a 10 year old should be posing, nor the ones a grandfather should have to answer. As was the case with Governor Ivey, we are left to wonder, exactly what was the intended message? Seasoned political experts tell me they are hesitant to place these ads but fear for their political future if they do not. That wont cut it; these ads do not bring out the best in us, and they drive away many individuals who could help our state.

We Republicans need to take a stand. True leadership does not foment rage, does not play upon fear. Great leaders, be they in business, education, charities or sports teams, seek to inspire. They help mold us into a better team, better company, better society. Our Alabama leaders ask that we think the best of them. If we vote for and trust them, they in turn should avoid appeals to our worst instincts and instead demonstrate confidence in what Lincoln referred to as the better angels of our nature. Our future, especially for those most in need of progress, depends on it.

Bart Starr, Jr. grew up in Green Bay, WI, and has called Birmingham home for nearly 4 decades. He owns a small agricultural commodities business and supports a boys ranch founded by his parents, as well as other charities. He and his wife Elaena cherish the values and unselfishness that make Alabama such a wonderful place to live.

See the original post:
Bart Starr Jr.: We Republicans must demand better - AL.com

Two big issues dominate the congressional agenda right now. On the gun issue, it looks unlikely that Congress will do much about what more than 70 percent of Americans believe is a serious national crisis gun violence.

On the Jan. 6 insurrection issue, the opposite could happen. Congress could overreact to a long-ago event that many Americans do not see as a continuing national crisis. Two thirds of Americans accept the outcome of the 2020 election as legitimate.

Both reactions can be traced to the same cause: extreme partisanship.

Opposition to gun controls has become a defining issue for Republicans. Rep. Chris Jacobs (R-N.Y.) was pressured by his fellow Republicans into dropping his re-election campaign because he supports an assault weapons ban.

If you want to run for office as a Republican, you are expected to endorse the view that the 2020 election was fraudulent, that Donald Trump was the real winner and that the violent insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021, was not a threat to democracy but a legitimate political protest. To most voters, however, Jan. 6 is not a high priority. The issue is resolved: Joe Biden is president.

The United States enjoyed peaceful transitions of power for over 225 years until 2020, when Trump claimed to be the victim of a stolen election. He called his supporters to Washington on Jan. 6, 2021, to protest the ceremonial confirmation of the electoral vote result. Be there, will be wild! Trump promised his followers.

Hundreds came and stormed Congress, following Trumps direction to Stop the Steal. The House investigating committee called it a coup attempt. One week before his term expired, President Trump was impeached for incitement of insurrection. The Senate voted 57 to 43 to convict Trump, ten votes short of the two-thirds majority required by the Constitution.

Last weeks congressional hearing felt like the third impeachment trial of Donald Trump. Of course, Trump is no longer president. He cant be removed from office.

The most dramatic outcome of the current investigation would be to uncover evidence that Trump committed a crime. That would make it impossible for him to run for president in 2024, which he gives every indication he is preparing to do.

In the 2020 election, voters rejected Trump but not necessarily Trumpism. Republicans did well in congressional elections, gaining 13 House seats and holding Democrats to a tie in the Senate. Illegal immigration was Trumps signature issue (Build the wall). Trump brought the Radical Right to power, largely by defining a hard conservative line on culture war issues like immigration. Hows this for pure culture war politics? Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) blamed the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting on a transsexual leftist illegal alien.

Gun rights have become central to conservative identity politics. Mark Joslyn and his colleagues at the University of Kansas have found that the correlation between owning a gun and presidential vote choice increased markedly from 1972 to 2012.

In his address to the nation on June 2, President Biden called for tough measures to curb gun violence: banning assault weapons and high capacity magazines; expanding background checks for gun buyers; removing legal immunity for gun manufacturers; requiring safe storage of firearms.

While the House has approved most of those measures, they are unlikely to get through the Senate because of the filibuster. A bipartisan group of senators is working on a far weaker compromise deal on guns. Bidens role in the Senate negotiations? Hes irrelevant, a Senate Republican aide told the Washington Post. The president of the United States is called irrelevant!

Why are conservatives so attracted to guns? The answer appears to be ideological. Many in the Radical Right see guns as their ultimate defense against a tyrannical and abusive federal government. The question came up some years ago when I appeared on an Australian television show called Planet America, a title that captures the alien nature of the U.S. to non-Americans. I explained that guns represent individual freedom something Americans value more than any other people in the world. If you are forced to give up your gun, you become less free.

I have been to gun shows and talked to gun owners. Often, they defend gun ownership as the ultimate guarantee of individual rights. Some of them told me, If Jews in Europe had had guns, there would have been no Holocaust. The idea that guns are the ultimate guarantee of liberty, I explained to my Australian hosts, is a uniquely American notion.

Total devotion to individual freedom is a marker for the Radical Right. Donald Trump brought them to power, and they are determined to get it back if not with Trump, then with someone who has Trumps conservative culture war values but not his ugly personal baggage. Trumpism without Trump.

Bill Schneider is an emeritus professor at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University and author of Standoff: How America Became Ungovernable(Simon & Schuster).

Continued here:
Guns, insurrection and the persistence of Trumpism in Republican identity - The Hill

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

A number of Democrats and Republicans have resoundingly dismissed the idea that Jan. 6 investigation and hearings will have a significant impact the midterm elections.

In exclusive interviews with Fox News Digital, multiple Democratic strategists, as well as Democratic and Republican members of Congress, expelled the notion that voters on either end of the political spectrum might be more motivated to vote as a result of the Jan. 6 Committee's actions, and instead pointed to "much bigger" issues, such as the economy, which they say will be a larger factor come November.

"The January 6th commission is very important for history and protecting our democracy, but we can't ignore the bread and butter economic issues," Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said. "What will win Democrats votes is an economic vision of revitalization and job creation."

The Jan. 6 Committee, made up of 7 Democrats and 2 Republicans, including Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., held its first public hearing late Thursday evening as part of its investigation into what led to the Jan. 6 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna speaks at a climate rally with presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders and Rep. Rashida Tlaib in Iowa City, Iowa, U.S. January 12, 2020. (REUTERS/Scott Morgan.)

TUCKER CARLSON: THE TRUTH OF WHAT HAPPENED ON JAN. 6 IS STILL UNKNOWN

The hearing is expected to be just one of several televised hearings from the committee, with the next already announced for Monday and Wednesday next week, that they're expected to use in an attempt to capture Americans' attention before the midterms.

Khanna's sentiment was echoed by Democratic strategist and Fox News contributor Jessica Tarlov.

"I don't think that it's going to have that much of an impact on the midterms considering how important inflation, gas prices, and the economy are," she said when asked how she thought the ongoing hearings by the Jan. 6 Committee could affect voters' decisions at the ballot box.

"It's the economy, stupid. Carville's always right," she added, referencing a phrase coined in 1992 by veteran Democratic strategist James Carville.

Democratic strategist and Fox News contributor Jessica Tarlov. (Fox News)

REP. BANKS SAYS JAN. 6 HEARING WAS PRIMETIME DUD: THEY WANT TO THROW DONALD TRUMP IN JAIL

"January 6th is not going to be number one on the hit parade," Democratic strategist and Fox News contributor Leslie Marshall said. "I don't think it's going to affect voters."

She added that "much bigger" issues for voters would be the potential overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court, and the debate revolving around guns following the shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas last month that killed 19 students and two teachers.

Both Marshall and Tarlov predicted it was "very likely" Republicans would win control of the House of Representatives in November, but split on what that meant for the committee's investigation itself.

Tarlov expressed confidence the committee would have its work complete by November, but Marshall suggested the investigation, if not yet complete, "wouldn't continue" once the House came under Republican control.

Leslie Marshall, Democrat strategist and Fox News contributor (Fox News)

LIZ CHENEY SAYS TRUMP HAS CAUSED PERSONALITY CULT AMONG REPUBLICANS

Despite the gloomy outlook for Democrats' election chances, they each praised the work the committee was doing in conducting the investigation.

"The responsibility of the committee is to show the American people what their findings are," Marshall said. "That's very important for the American people to know the lengths that people went to try and overthrow a free and fair election."

"I think the American people need to have the knowledge whether they vote or not, and they should vote," she added.

Tarlov said the committee "serves a purpose," and that Jan. 6 itself was "a stark reminder of where the Republican Party is today."

"It's not going to be what's getting people to the polls," she added, noting, like Marshall, that Roe v. Wade and guns were "going to be bigger motivators" than the Jan. 6 hearings.

Rep. Mo Brooks speaks to supporters at his watch party for the Republican nomination for U.S. senator of Alabama at the Huntsville Botanical Gardens, Tuesday, May 24, 2022, in Huntsville, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

TRUMP-TARGETED CHENEY TOUTS CONSERVATIVE CREDENTIALS IN FIRST TV AD THIS YEAR IN RE-ELECTION BID

Republicans agreed that other issues, particularly the economy, would take center-stage in November, but took a more negative view of the committee itself.

"The socialist Democrats are going to use the witch hunt propaganda committee as best they can to help them and hurt Republicans in the November elections, but I do not believe they'll be successful," said Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., who spoke at Trump's rally outside the White House on Jan. 6.

Brooks, who is running to fill retiring Sen. Richard Shelby's, R-Ala., Senate seat and has not yet complied with a subpoena to appear before the committee, argued that the committee's work amounted to "a propaganda effort," and was "akin to the Russian collusion hoax."

Agreeing with Tarlov and Marshall, Brooks predicted voters care more about high gas prices, inflation, and the potential for a recession than they do about Jan. 6.

Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., argued that Washington, D.C.'s focus on Jan. 6, rather than issues affecting Americans in their everyday lives, could actually drive voters towards Republicans.

"If you're anybody last night, you're coming home from work, you just put a Benjamin in your gas tank, you're spending $300 to $400 more dollars a week on groceries, and you flip on your TV and Washington, D.C. isn't working on fixing those problems," he said. "They're doing a paid political advertisement on ABC and CBS That's literally all it was."

Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., conducts a news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center on the eviction of Congressional offices from Veterans Affairs Department facilities on Friday, September 20, 2019. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Mast described the committee as "a distraction, a misdirection, and a sleight of hand," before predicting Republicans would win the midterms and stop the "inherently unjust process" of the committee.

"When in Washington do we ever do a hearing at 8:00 p.m.?" he said, mocking what appeared to be the committee's intentional attempt to have their hearing aired on primetime television.

"Americans look at this and say, What are you doing Washington? I'm having to alter what I eat for dinner. I'm having to alter my driving habits. Because of the way this administration broke America and broke my bank account. The result of this is you're not paying attention to what's affecting my life. I'm voting for Republicans,'" he added.

Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

Brandon Gillespie is an associate editor at Fox News. Follow him on Twitter at @brandon_cg.

View post:
Republicans, Democrats dismiss impact Jan. 6 could have on midterms: 'It's the economy stupid' - Fox News