Gowdy outlines game plan for Republicans heading into midterms: It's about 'government competence'
Republicans once represented the party of conservatism and smaller federal government, Gowdy said
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News host Trey Gowdy said Sunday that Republicans must clarify their message and effectively communicate the ideals of the party if they want to win back the House and Senate in the upcoming midterm elections.
Gowdy pointed to President Biden's recent press conference, where he appeared to foreshadow the Democrats' strategy to dominate the GOP as they head into what is expected to be a highly contentious election season.
"He [Biden] repeated the same question, in different forms, multiple times: what are Republicans for? What do Republicans stand for? What are the Republican ideas?," Gowdy said on "Sunday Night in America."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., speaks to reporters after a Republican strategy meeting at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
"When someone foreshadows a strategy ahead of time, we are wise to prepare," the host went on. "So what’s the answer? What are Republicans for? What are the ideas on the other side of the ideological aisle?"
Republicans once represented the party of "conservatism," and smaller federal government, Gowdy said.
"Republicans used to make the argument that the constitution sets out the powers of the federal government and whatever was not listed was left to the states or the people or the individual. It’s an age-old question: is this the responsibility of the federal government, the state government, the community, the church, the private sector, the family or the individual?"
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}MCCONNELL FOCUSED ON BIDEN, NOT TRUMP, AS GOP AIMS TO WIN BACK SENATE IN MIDTERMS
"We don’t hear the argument for conservatism made much anymore," he continued. "The argument is now centered toward size and scope. Republicans don’t talk about closing government departments as much as they do making them smaller. Republicans don’t talk about ending government programs as much as they do making those programs more efficient.
Gowdy said it seems as if "the argument has morphed from one of a smaller federal government to one of a more competent, but larger, federal government."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"This time last year, prominent Republicans were advocating for even larger COVID relief payments to qualifying Americans," he emphasized. "Republicans themselves now offer federal legislation on school curriculum, tort reform, state and local police departments.
President Biden hinted at the Democrats' plan to maintain control in the upcoming midterm elections. (Getty Images)
"To carry the day with any argument you have to know what that argument is," he said. "Are Republicans running on a platform of a smaller federal government or are Republicans now arguing for a slower rate of government growth coupled with competency?
Gowdy said that Republicans must consider that "no matter your position, government competence should be part of the argument," if they want to win back the House and the Senate.
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"A government that doesn’t send COVID relief funds to the wrong people, a government that can actually keep people in jail on bond that have lengthy criminal records, a government that can drone the right car in Afghanistan, a government that can secure the border, fix the supply chain, and crack down on violent crime. We shall see what arguments are made this fall," he concluded, "but first we need to know precisely where those arguments will be made."