Republican Party United States Politicians

"The new cases of Covid are because of unvaccinated folks. Almost 100% of the new hospitalizations are with unvaccinated folks. And the deaths are certainly occurring with unvaccinated folks"

"I can encourage you to do something but I can’t make you take care of yourself"

"I completely disagree with the Supreme Court’s decision to let the mandate on health care workers move forward"

"Small business support trickles back down to opportunities for job creation, support for our schools, possibilities for new innovation"

"I believe that enforcement of the ETS may lead many Alabamians to quit their jobs and leave the workforce – in the middle of a substantial labor shortage, no less – or to seek work at businesses not covered by the mandate"

"Disruption would interrupt people's careers and threaten their livelihoods and the well-being of their families" and could "damage the productivity and bottom lines of businesses statewide"

"Should never have to choose between getting this shot and putting food on the tables for their families and I vowed fighting these mandates every step of the way"

"We must all work together to strengthen the safety net that women need not only for healthy pregnancies, but also as they build families where both they and their children thrive"

"Today, adoption is accessible and on a wide scale women attain both professional success and a rich family life, contraceptives are more available and effective, and scientific advances show that an unborn child has taken on the human form and features months before viability"

"The progressive policies of the past 100 years, and particularly the egregious policies of this current administration, have failed the very people they were intended to help: the working middle class. Instead, Washington has created a spiraling situation that will only take us deeper into debt. What’s worse, we have over $100 trillion in future unfunded liabilities related to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, federal pensions and interest on the federal debt."

"To create a new beginning, we must get back to our founding principles, articulated in our Constitution, that created this miracle called America in the first place: economic opportunity, fiscal responsibility, limited government, and individual liberty. When government grows larger, individual liberty declines. I believe that our Founders were committed to the concept of citizen legislators and could not perceive of the potential rise of career politicians."

"To create a new beginning, it’s time for this eminent body, the United States Senate, to rise above partisan politics and do the right thing. It starts with leadership. It starts with making hard choices. It starts with telling the American people the unvarnished truth. It starts with no longer kicking the can down the road. It starts with having the courage to actually solve these problems, independent of how it might affect our re-election chances."

"As an outsider to the political process, I am humbled by the privilege to serve my country as a U.S. Senator. I am sobered by the immense responsibility of representing the people of Georgia. And I am encouraged by the opportunities we have to solve this crisis of leadership and create a new beginning."

"Let us fight to find common ground to create a new beginning, for our country, for people back home who are struggling, and for the future of our children and our children’s children."

"[Under Texas law, homeowners can claim a homestead exemption — which exempts a certain amount of a home’s value from taxation — only on their primary residence. But homeowners may continue to claim the exemption if they] do not establish a principal residence elsewhere ... intend to return to the home ... [and] are away less than two years"

"Well, first of all, this election is more than Herschel Walker. This erection is about the people"

"But the way I look at the world: There’s state-controlled countries and there are self-determination countries. Now, there are different forms of self-determination. There’s social democracies, like France. There’s representative democracies, like ours. But in self-determination it’s pretty clear, it’s a monolithic model. And that is, a few people get power, and they dictate to the rest of the people what their – what life is going to be about."

"But if we cooperate from the standpoint of economic development of the world – think about this: There are 80 million people, refugees, today roaming the face of the Earth. Eighty million. We’re generating the next generation of terrorists around the world today. We’re doing that, the West is. And so by not addressing that issue collectively it’s going to overwhelm us."

"Like many Americans, I am outraged by Washington’s dysfunction, its fiscal irresponsibility, its lack of leadership in foreign policy, its intrusiveness and over reach, and its negative impact on hardworking Americans."

"There are basically two options. If you listen to what they say, China – they quote Confucius and they quote Sun Tzu all the time. I’m talking about the leader – the leadership now. Seven percent of the population of China are members of the Communist Party. And many of their leadership actually believes some of the propaganda that they put out today. But what they say – they quote Confucius a lot."

"We need to create a new beginning by dealing with the very real crisis of leadership we face today. It’s why I ran for the Senate in the first place because we need a new perspective in Washington."

"So we had two options in China. One, I think we can enter into another cold war, and we can slip into that very easily. In fact, I’m not sure we’re not in the early days of that right now. A cold war with an arms race. And if we sit here and think that we’re going to win the next arms race the way we won the last one – by not firing a bullet and by outspending our adversary – I personally, as a financial guy, I just don’t see that happening if it’s mano a mano. With 1.4 million people – billion people, and we’ve got 300 and something. That’s not the answer. And the answer is, even if that were the case what we’ve got to do is basically build our number-one asset. And that’s our allies around the world."

"I think we’re called to pray for our country, for our leaders, and yes, even our president. In his role as president I think we should pray for Barack Obama. But I think we need to be very specific about how we pray. We should pray like Psalms 109:8 says. It says, “Let his days be few, and let another have his office.”"

"I need you to do one thing. Stand with me, stand with our President [ Donald Trump ], and let’s make damn sure that the road to socialism never runs through the state of Georgia. God bless you guys."

"I grew up in a small military town in Middle Georgia, working on our family’s farms. My mom and dad were public school teachers and I grew up modestly, like most people there. I worked my way through college and was blessed with a business career that took me from the factory floor to become a Fortune 500 CEO. My story is not unique. It is the American story. Only in America is this possible thanks to hard work and self-reliance. It’s called the American Dream and it’s our job to make sure it lasts. Many people today believe this dream no longer exists and that we need big government to provide us with more and more financial security. I disagree totally. I believe our best days lie ahead, but we have to act boldly if we are to save this dream and our very way of life."

"Now guys, I’m just a dumb business guy for right over that hill, right there, and I can tell you, that is a lie right out of the pit of hell."

"But the most insidious thing that Chuck Schumer and Joe Biden are trying to perpetrate, and Bernie and Elizabeth and Kamala, or what? Kamala or Kamala or Kamala mala mala, I don’t know. Whatever. They’re trying to perpetrate a lie, and that is that socialism, this radical socialism that they’re trying to sell us, is better than our beloved democracy. We’re not going to let that stand."

"Our Founders got it right. They would remind us of that commitment and encourage us today to put our differences aside and work together to solve these sometimes overwhelming problems. Together, we can put our differences aside. Together, we can do the right thing. Together, we can create a new beginning."

"The bipartisan commitment to funding USAGM reflects continued congressional support for America’s role in promoting the free flow of news and information abroad, a long-standing foundation of its soft power around the world. Congress’s funding proposal comes after a dire year for USAGM. Trump signed an executive order in March calling for the dismantlement of the government agency, which oversees Voice of America and funds nonprofit groups including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia. To carry out the order, Lake placed more than 1,300 Voice of America staffers on paid administrative leave — many of whom are still not working — and halted broadcasting operations the same month. It was the first time VOA went dark since it was first set up in 1942 to combat Nazi propaganda. In response, VOA’s director, Michael Abramowitz, and a separate group of USAGM staffers sued the Trump administration, arguing that its actions were illegal. Lake, a former Arizona television anchor who lost high-profile races for governor and U.S. Senate in recent years, has defended the cuts and called for the agency’s eventual elimination. She told Congress in a June hearing that USAGM was “incompetent, corrupt, biased, and a threat to America’s national security and standing in the world.” She has also said USAGM is “not salvageable.” The White House did not respond to a request for comment."

"If the people Arizona elect me, I’ll make sure they never have to vote again"

"Lawmakers from both parties and houses of Congress have agreed to provide about $653 million to fund Voice of America’s parent agency, rejecting President Donald Trump’s demand to defund the international broadcaster and shut it down. A bipartisan spending bill released Sunday would allocate $643 million for broadcasting from the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees VOA, plus nearly $10 million for capital improvements. That figure is down from the $867 million appropriated for the agency each of the past two years, but it’s more than four times the $153 million Trump requested that Congress provide to “support the orderly shutdown of USAGM operations.” The outlay is included in a broader bipartisan spending deal negotiated by House and Senate appropriators. The package still requires House and Senate approval before heading to Trump’s desk. “We understand the realities of the appropriations process, but I am disappointed that Congress is proposing half a billion dollars more in funding than we requested,” Kari Lake, the deputy CEO installed by Trump to shut down the agency, wrote in a statement Monday. “While reductions from prior years are a step in the right direction, USAGM can still advance President Trump’s message and share America’s story globally without wasting so much taxpayer money.”"

"We vote for a full month in Arizona with early ballots. And on election day when the Republicans showed up the election day voting was sabotaged. It is shocking what they did. The man who runs Maricopa County elections ran a PAC, he actually started a PAC, raising thousands of dollars to defeat me. And he is running our elections. And then my opponent [Katie Hobbs] oversees all the elections in Arizona. It was a conflict of interests. And not only was Katie Hobbes working with big tech to censor people, the man who runs Maricopa County elections, they were also censoring people as well online."

"We will be presenting a lot of evidence. We have four whistleblowers. One that works for a company called Runback who said there were 300,000 ballots inserted into the system that had no chain of custody. Others who were in the voter signature verification department said tens of thousands of ballots were rejected because there were no signatures or scribbles and they somehow got thrown in and counted anyway."

"Our voters were showing up on election day. That was no secret and the minute the polls opened the wheels fell off. The ballot printers weren't working, there was not enough toner in the printers, the tabulators weren’t working. It became a debacle. And the lines started forming right away, some of the lines three hours, four hours, five hours. And the video of people walking out of line. People told us, and this is in our lawsuit, that they showed up and couldn’t find parking because the parking lots were full and the lines were long. And many people didn't even get to vote. And those who did vote when they went up to get the printer out, the printer didn't have toner in it, so the ballots weren't dark enough. And our voters were showing up and voting 3 to 1 for me on election day."

"I've read your work. That, is judgment, not journalism."

"There are a plethora of problems that went down in Maricopa County and if somebody doesn’t stand up and say we cannot have our elections being run this way, then we will never have another fair election. I mean, sixty percent of the polling places on Election Day were inoperational and not functioning. When do we stop and say enough is enough? Do we have to get to 80 percent, 90 percent, 100 percent? When do we say we need to have our elections run fair?"

"Speaking to an audience of Georgia Republican activists, Lake issued a warning for anyone "coming after" Trump, saying, "I have a message tonight for Merrick Garland, and Jack Smith, and Joe Biden. And the guys back there in the fake news media, you should listen up as well, this one's for you. If you wanna get to President Trump, you're gonna have to go through me, and you're gonna have to go through 75 million Americans just like me..."And I'm gonna tell you, most of us are card-carrying members of the NRA. That's not a threat, that's a public service announcement.""

"I served with some of the greatest men I've ever met in my entire life. And I truly believe that 99 percent of our military is Medal of Honor capable. Any soldier who is put in a position to bleed in order to save people would do exactly what I did. This is who we are and how we were raised in the Armed Forces. There are a million reasons why we're divided in this country, but I've never cared what your skin color was, who you worshipped, how you voted, or who you loved. Male, female, if you are willing to get shot at for me and my buddies, I will follow you, and I will lead you anywhere. We're family. That's what makes us elite American warriors. When I was younger, I thought I needed hate to win, hate and anger at my enemy to sustain myself. Now, as I look back, I recognize that we don't fight out of hate. We fight for love- love of our country, our homeland, our family, and our unit. That's stronger than anything the enemy has."

"I move along the roof to look over toward the northwest. A solitary figure stands in the street. He's cloaked in shadows, but I can see his outline, rigid and tall. He begins to chant. A surge of terror streaks up my spine. His voice is determined and full of passion. This one's a believer. I wonder if you're ready to die. He steps out of the shadows and into the orange dawn's light. His stride is measured and proud. He repeats his chant. His right arm holds a belt-fed machine gun. The ammunition is wound around his left arm, Rambo-style. He curls his fingers and beckons us to bring it on. We stare at him, stunned. He takes no cover. He seeks no protection. He strides through the middle of the street, his machine gun ready. He acts as if it weighs nothing. What is this man doing? He is begging to be shot. What sort of man throws his life away ike this? Up until now, I've had little but contempt for our enemy. Now as I watch this man, I have to respect him. He is a warrior, a man who believes that his cause has value and is worth his life. We have that much in common. But still he must die."

"Staff Sergeant David G. Bellavia distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty on November 10, 2004, while serving as a squad leader in support of Operation Phantom Fury in Fallujah, Iraq. While clearing a house, a squad from Staff Sergeant Bellavia’s platoon became trapped within a room by intense enemy fire coming from a fortified position under the stairs leading to the second floor. Recognizing the immediate severity of the situation, and with disregard for his own safety, Staff Sergeant Bellavia retrieved an automatic weapon and entered the doorway of the house to engage the insurgents. With enemy rounds impacting around him, Staff Sergeant Bellavia fired at the enemy position at a cyclic rate, providing covering fire that allowed the squad to break contact and exit the house. A Bradley Fighting Vehicle was brought forward to suppress the enemy; however, due to high walls surrounding the house, it could not fire directly at the enemy position. Staff Sergeant Bellavia then re-entered the house and again came under intense enemy fire. He observed an enemy insurgent preparing to launch a rocket-propelled grenade at his platoon. Recognizing the grave danger the grenade posed to his fellow soldiers, Staff Sergeant Bellavia assaulted the enemy position, killing one insurgent and wounding another who ran to a different part of the house. Staff Sergeant Bellavia, realizing he had an un-cleared, darkened room to his back, moved to clear it. As he entered, an insurgent came down the stairs firing at him. Simultaneously, the previously wounded insurgent reemerged and engaged Staff Sergeant Bellavia. Staff Sergeant Bellavia, entering further into the darkened room, returned fire and eliminated both insurgents. Staff Sergeant Bellavia then received enemy fire from another insurgent emerging from a closet in the darkened room. Exchanging gunfire, Staff Sergeant Bellavia pursued the enemy up the stairs and eliminated him. Now on the second floor, Staff Sergeant Bellavia moved to a door that opened onto the roof. At this point, a fifth insurgent leapt from the third floor roof onto the second floor roof. Staff Sergeant Bellavia engaged the insurgent through a window, wounding him in the back and legs, and caused him to fall off the roof. Acting on instinct to save the members of his platoon from an imminent threat, Staff Sergeant Bellavia ultimately cleared an entire enemy-filled house, destroyed four insurgents, and badly wounded a fifth. Staff Sergeant Bellavia’s bravery, complete disregard for his own safety, and unselfish and courageous actions are in keeping with the finest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the United States."

"David Bellavia was the first living recipient of the Iraq War to receive our nation's highest military award, the Medal of Honor. In June 2019, at a White House ceremony, David joined America's most exclusive and heroic club. He is one of only 3,525 individuals who have earned that illustrious award since its creation in 1861. David is grateful that he was nominated and selected for his actions in the Second Battle of Fallujah in 2004, while keeping things in perspective."

"A block away, machine guns echo through the night. AK-47s bark. M4s beat a response. The firefight grows."

"Close behind Cantrell comes Staff Sergeant Jim, driving that glorious Abrams. First Platoon has no doubt benefited from their service. That battle's under control. Now they've come to bail us out."

"They name me the first living recipient to earn the Medal of Honor for bravery in the Iraq War. A coworker of mine reads about the award. "Hey, some guy with your name is getting the Medal of Honor. Isn't that weird? How many David Bellavias are out there?" "I know, right? It's so weird," I say. It's surreal and unnatural to get credit when you've lived your entire life to be about the team. It's never about the individual. I'm not here to celebrate me. I decide to be the first guy to bring his entire unit to the ceremony. If I'm going to go through with this, I'm going to go with the guys that I did it with fifteen years ago. So I get the whole crew in. I bring thirty-two service members to the ceremony in the East Room at the White House in June 2019, including the twelve who were there with me on that night in 2004, plus five Gold Star families, the interpreter, and Mick Ware."

"The gunman on the roof was a teenaged boy, maybe sixteen years old. I could see him scanning for targets, his back to me. He held an AK-47 without a stock. Was he just a stupid kid trying to protect his family? Was he one of Muqtada al-Sadr's Shiite fanatics? I kept my eyes on him and prayed he'd put the AK down and just get back inside his own house. I didn't want to shoot him. He turned and saw me, and I could see the terror on his sweat-streaked face. I put him in my sights just as he adjusted the AK against his shoulder. I had beaten him on the draw. My own rifle was snug on my shoulder, the sight resting on him. The kid stood no chance. My weapon just needed a flick of the safety and a butterfly's kiss of pressure on the trigger. Please don't do this. You don't need to die. The AK went to full ready-up. Was he aiming at me? I couldn't be sure, but the barrel was trained at my level. Do I shoot? Do I risk not shooting? Was he silently trying to save me from some unseen threat? I didn't know. I had to make a decision. Please forgive me for this. I pulled my trigger. The kid's chin fell to his chest, and a guttural moan escaped his lips. I fired again, missed, then pulled the trigger one more time. The bullet tore his jaw and ear off. Sergeant Hall came up alongside me, saw the AK and the boy, and finished him with four shots to his chest. He slumped against the low rooftop wall. "Thanks, dude. I lost my zero," I said to Hall, explaining that my rifle sights were off-line, though that was the last thing going through my mind."

"Today is my birthday. I'm twenty-nine. It's November 10, 2004. I'm a staff sergeant with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, stationed in Fallujah, Iraq. I'm near the end of a thirty-six-month "all others" tour away from my family, currently deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Fallujah had been abandoned for six months when we arrived in the late fall of 2004. During that time, four thousand to six thousand enemy insurgents have entrenched, preparing their defenses for our arrival. Bodies are all over the street, festering bacteria. Within a matter of days of our arrival, we've all suffered strep throat, fevers, and diarrhea. It's horrible. We engage in close-quarters combat, within a deadly two-foot radius. The enemy is a mix of highly skilled professionals and amateurs who fight with passion. We never know what we're going to encounter. I'm not bothered by fear. I'm fueled by it."

"The area around us suddenly erupts with grenades and machine-gun fire. Those shells landed near some Marines, who have finally reached our area. It is about time they get on-line with us. Then again, it is a mixed blessing to have them around. They don't take kindly to the 25mm incoming. Their response sends us diving for cover behind our tracks as .50-caliber machine-gun fire stitches across our street. Rodriguez gets on the radio. The Marines are not apologetic. We are told that they will return any and all incoming fire, friendly or otherwise."

""Into the Hot Zone," the article Mick Ware writes about that night, is Time magazine's cover story less than two weeks later. I earn a Silver Star. But all I hear for ten years is, "Bullshit. I don't believe it. That didn't happen." Then I get a call from the military paper Stars and Stripes. "Hey, you're nominated for the Medal of Honor, did you know that? I hear there's a videotape. Do you have a comment? I'm immediately on the defensive. No one who's served in Iraq has received the US Armed Forces' highest military decoration, except posthumously. "What's on the tape? How did you find out?" The Army's trying to tell me that I'm getting the Medal of Honor, and I'm acting like they're trying to put me in jail. Turns out Ware sold a documentary to HBO. He filmed the entire firefight. Honestly, Ware's anti-war and pro-freedom for the press to tell the truth, but he's got the biggest balls of anyone I've ever met in my life. He was right there the whole time. Because of Michael Ware, everything is corroborated. He was recording the fight the entire time."

"I remember working with the sergeant major that day. I had an M4 with all sorts of high-tech shit hanging off its rails. A hundred and fifty meters ahead of us, something piqued the sergeant major's interest. Faulkenberg took off and hobbled a ways, stopped, and fired a single shot. I was so intimidated by him, I didn't dare ask if he hit anything. He looked at me and scrunched his lips up in a pseudo-smile. "Another day in paradise, son." After that fight, Sergeant Major Faulkenberg gave me the same look he gives me now. I had stood with him as the bullets smacked around us, and he respected that. Now, twenty minutes before we roll into the fight of our lives, I can see he trusts me with his soldiers. No words are said. I'd do anything for this man, and he knows it. I'd kill for him, and he knows that, too. I'd follow him anywhere because I trust him to always do the right thing. Few men are leaders. Even fewer are role models. Faulkenberg is both. We will fight like demons for him today."

"The details vary from war to war, but no matter the epoch, the camaraderie remains. It's a closeness no civilian will ever really understand."