Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Banks is equipping members of the largest conservative caucus in Congress with points he feels GOP lawmakers can use to take aim at President Biden ahead of his first joint address to Congress.
An internal messaging memo obtained by The Post, sent to members and staff on Wednesday evening, slams Biden on an array of areas ranging from a lack of bipartisanship to his handling of the surge of migrants at the border.
The memo from the Indiana Republican leads off accusing the president of being more progressive than the image he sold to voters, stating: “With Biden, What You See is NOT What You Get,” in large red letters.
It goes on to cite former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s comments that, “The secret sauce is that [Biden’s] persona is reassuring and comforting to moderate and independent voters, and his polices are comforting and reassuring to progressive voters” in a recent Washington Post article as an example of the administration catering to the far-left while projecting a different message to centrists.
The Banks document accuses Biden of being “bumbling front man for Speaker Pelosi,” alleging that the president will attempt to present a message of unity but has failed to demonstrate a serious effort to incorporate Republican input on key issues in his first 100 days.
“His job is to present himself as a snoozy old moderate who’s saving the country while his administration teams up with the Speaker of the House to introduce socialism and radically change America.
“It goes like this: He gives a speech about a ‘COVID relief package,’ and then House Democrats spend more taxpayer dollars since the New Deal on liberal goodies. He talks about an “infrastructure bill” and then Pelosi sends Democrats’ ‘green energy’ donors billions,” the memo said.
“Expect more of the same tonight during his Joint Address to Congress… and remember this: With President Biden, what you see is NOT what you get. We simply can’t trust what he says is really going to happen.”
Banks then took aim at the Washington Post, accusing it of dismantling its “fact-checking database” for the administration, calling on members to point out any inconsistencies they might see in his speech.
“Especially since the Washington Post has dismantled its fact-checking database for President Biden, it’s OUR JOB to hold Democrats ACCOUNTABLE and TELL THE TRUTH to the American people about they’re really doing,” it said.
The memo said members should note that Biden “hasn’t worked with Republicans on a major piece of legislation,” adding that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has praised the president for exceeding “progressives’ expectations while laying out spending and infrastructure proposals that are “effectively devoid of Republican proposals.”
It then blasted the administration for proposing tax hikes on those making less than $400,000 despite asserting that wouldn’t be the case on the campaign trail and highlighted what Republicans argue to be missteps in the administration’s approach to the pandemic and infrastructure spending — which they argue does little to address the issues at hand while funding partisan priorities.
“Joe Biden falsely labeled his massive $1.9 trillion spending bill ‘COVID relief.’ Less than 1/10th of the funding in Joe Biden’s spending package had anything to do with public health. Over $1 trillion in bipartisan approved spending remained unspent when Democrats pushed Biden’s $1.9 trillion budget-buster, and it gave bailouts to teachers’ unions, EPA environmental grants, PPP dollars to planned parenthood, and more liberal goodies previously outlined by RSC,” the memo reads.
“Joe Biden falsely labeled his $3.8 trillion unprecedented expansion of the federal government as ‘infrastructure.’ His combined ‘infrastructure bill’ spends more on electricifying vehicles than on roads, bridges and ports combined. The plan is more expensive than the GDP of every country in the world besides the U.S., China, Japan and Germany.”
In the memo, Banks looks for members to hit Biden for not participating in a COVID conference call while “Pence did 40 and Trump did eight,” and accuses the administration of taking credit for the vaccine rollout despite the previous administration laying much of the groundwork.
The conservative Republican group also looks to place a strong focus on Biden’s handling of the border, alleging the change of course in policy has led to the humanitarian crisis.
“Biden, when asked if migrants are coming because he’s president: ‘Yeah. Well, here’s the deal. They’re not.’ Joe Biden is likely to double down on the border crisis tonight, by urging lawmakers to pass his amnesty bill.,” the memo said.
“Biden has been encouraging illegal immigration to the U.S .since before he took office: ‘I would in fact make sure that there is, that we immediately surge to the border — all those people are seeking asy lum…. We’re a nation that says, ‘If you want to flee and you’re fleeing oppression, you should come.’”
The memo also hits on Democrats for taking aim at the recent changes to Georgia’s election law, accusing the administration of misleading rhetoric, arguing that it doesn’t suppress voting rights.
“The voter ID provisions in GA’s election law were based on the bipartisan federal election bill, the 2002 Help America Vote Act which Joe Biden himself voted for. Biden claimed that GA’s voting law, “ends voting hours early.” In reality, GA’s law expands early voting days and allows counties to extend voting hours on election day,” it said.
“While millions at home listen to the slick rhetoric found in Vinay Reddy’s speech tonight, we need to be aggressive at pointing out the radical Democrats’ real goal: To make American families more dependent on Democrats for handouts (AKA socialism).”
The memo was teased to members on Monday and the talking points have been echoed by Republicans including former House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).