November 11th, 2022
Earlier this week, I gave a speech to several hundred people attending the David Horowitz Freedom Center Restoration Weekend in Scottsdale and laid out my vision for the Republican Conference as the new majority. The following are my remarks in their entirety, as written:
Good morning.
It's great to be with you this morning.
 I'd like to thank Lonny [leitner] for that very warm welcome and I'd also like to thank everyone with the David Horowitz Freedom Center for hosting this important event.
 I wanted to spend a few minutes with you this morning discussing the results from Election Day.
Maybe we should start referring to it as "ELECTION DAYS" given we still are counting ballots in several states including right here in Arizona.
Why is it that in large states like Florida and New York, the election results are known the same day?
But here in Arizona, Election Day has become Election Week, and we are being groomed by the fake media and many on the Left that this is NORMAL.
It's not normal. It's nonsense. That's what it is.
I could spend all morning arguing that it should NOT take days or weeks to count all legal votes cast in an election, but I won't because my time is limited.
Let me just say that it should only take one day.
 So here we are, three days after the election and we really are not sure what the make-up of the United States Congress will be.
But Joe Biden made it perfectly clear in his press conference that he is NOT going to change a thing, despite 75% of voters saying the country is headed in the wrong direction.
 I do believe the Republicans will take back the House of Representatives by a narrow majority.
Republicans won't have so much power that we get cocky or won't be held accountable to the American people that elected us.
But we will have enough power to save America from the worst excesses of this administration and enough time to prepare an optimal playing field for 2024.
 And we should have enough power to pass bold legislation that reflects our priorities, then get it to Biden.
If he vetoes it, let him explain to the American people why he did.
If he shuts the government down, we should return the power back to the states where it belongs.
And I am very okay with that.
So let me use my remaining time to explain why and then I'd like to take some questions and hear your thoughts.
For some, the GOP may have under-performed on election night.
If I am being candid, I was never of the mind that the GOP would have a huge majority, but I certainly did feel like the trend was in our favor.
And I honestly believe a slim majority is a better working majority.
Because it restores power to the individual members of congress.
Not the Speaker.
Not the Majority or Minority Leader.
Not the Whips.
Not the Committee Chairs.
The strength of House of Representative is with the individual Members, not those in Leadership who are not accountable to the people they were elected to represent.
My friend and colleague, Thomas Massie from Kentucky recently noted that Joe Manchin has been the deciding vote in the Senate, not Chuck Schumer.
Congressman Massie is right. I might argue that Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema wields similar influence in the Senate.
And that is not a bad thing, and here's why: because it holds Leadership accountable to the people.
Look at what Joe Manchin or Kyrsten Sinema have done in the Senate as the one deciding vote, right?
I would love for one member of the House of Representatives to be relevant.
If I have a bill that has the support of the majority, shouldn't it be debated on and allowed to be brought to the floor?
If there's a narrow seat majority, one Member CAN be relevant and SHOULD be relevant.
And for that reason, I'm very optimistic about the make-up of the next congress.
Because I'm hopeful that our narrow GOP majority, God willing, will be able to stop the bad stuff from being rammed through congress.
But we also must have a bold agenda and shed the failed policies of the past.
They do NOT work!
We can no longer do the same things over and over while expecting a different result.
I'm talking about reckless spending bills.
Republicans cannot be afraid to look at the military budget and go through it line by line, cutting the waste having nothing to do with the defense of our country.
We must stop the blank checks going to Ukraine while many Americans suffer at home.
We cannot continue to increase the debt ceiling while ignoring wasteful spending.
This list goes on and on.
I'm also hopeful that a narrow Republican majority will finally restore balance and common-sense to the Halls of Congress.
That begins with returning power back the states where decisions about the direction of our country are best made.
I'd much rather have Governor DeSantis or Governor Lake making decisions at the state level than some out of touch bureaucrat in Washington, DC.
So, it begins with how we manage ourselves in the Republican Conference.
I believe with all my heart that trust is a series of promises kept.
And that starts with the promise to be accountable to the people that are giving us one last chance to prove we can govern effectively.
If we don't get this right, the voters will toss us out next cycle and rightfully so.
Because we've made a lot of promises but failed to put our principles on the line and take the necessary votes to make America great.
Our voters are watching very carefully what this Republican majority does because their patience is very thin.
One thing crystal clear on Election Night was that voters don't trust Democrats, but they also don't trust Republicans, it's just a bit less.
 So, let's begin to build that trust.
Let's be bold like Governor Ron DeSantis.
 That's where the real Red Wave occurred, because he didn't back down and he earned the trust of the people.
It starts with passing a rules package that determines how the GOP conference will govern itself.
 It must include common sense rules that allow for the ability to call for a vote to vacate the chair should leadership not be performing.
What's there to lose?
 Do a great job, listen to the people and even if the minority abuses this tool, the votes will be there every single time to override it.
We cannot hide behind feckless rules that protect so-called leaders of either party without being able to hold them accountable for broken promises.
Why not move bills to the floor that place a "check" on Joe Biden?
For example, I've had a discharge petition that would end the covid national emergency that is being abused by Biden to push his radical agenda.
He used it to justify his unconstitutional and costly student loan "forgiveness" executive order by tying student loan debt to the covid pandemic.
That's just crazy.
And it's an abuse of power.
Did you know that there are more than 42 national emergencies still in effect dating as far back as 1979?
These national emergencies give any sitting president extraordinary powers to deal with crises.
But all of them are required to be reviewed every six months by Congress to consider their merits and a vote on a resolution of termination.
That has never happened.
We should move my discharge petition immediately and end this senseless covid national emergency!
But let's not stop there.
The Republicans in Congress must review and vote to terminate each and every single national emergency still in place lacking merit.
Think of the money that would be saved and the power that would be returned to Congress, of which too much has been ceded to any sitting President.
I'm a process guy.
 I believe that good process, makes good policy, makes good politics.
And I feel strongly that we need an open rule process that allows for amendments and debates.
We need to set the tone and not run away from votes, even if that means on occasion something fails.
I also feel strongly that America First members of Congress deserve a seat on the secret "steering committee" that selects members of Congress to committee chairs so their voices can be heard, not taken for granted.
The point I am trying to make this morning is that while we still don't know what the make-up of the Congress will be we have to be very careful to not put the cart before the horse.
And I worry that is what we are doing right now.
We must be willing to stand up to Biden and use our leverage points to enact a bold, conservative agenda.
We have to stand for something rather than always being against everything if we are going to be an effective governing majority.
The American people are demanding and expecting it and that's certainly what I will demand from our leadership, whoever that may be.
Thanks again for the opportunity to be with you this morning.
Congressman Paul Gosar, remarks (as written) before the David Horowitz Freedom Center Restoration Weekend, Scottsdale, AZ 11/11/2022 back...
Good morning.
It's great to be with you this morning.
 I'd like to thank Lonny [leitner] for that very warm welcome and I'd also like to thank everyone with the David Horowitz Freedom Center for hosting this important event.
 I wanted to spend a few minutes with you this morning discussing the results from Election Day.
Maybe we should start referring to it as "ELECTION DAYS" given we still are counting ballots in several states including right here in Arizona.
Why is it that in large states like Florida and New York, the election results are known the same day?
But here in Arizona, Election Day has become Election Week, and we are being groomed by the fake media and many on the Left that this is NORMAL.
It's not normal. It's nonsense. That's what it is.
I could spend all morning arguing that it should NOT take days or weeks to count all legal votes cast in an election, but I won't because my time is limited.
Let me just say that it should only take one day.
 So here we are, three days after the election and we really are not sure what the make-up of the United States Congress will be.
But Joe Biden made it perfectly clear in his press conference that he is NOT going to change a thing, despite 75% of voters saying the country is headed in the wrong direction.
 I do believe the Republicans will take back the House of Representatives by a narrow majority.
Republicans won't have so much power that we get cocky or won't be held accountable to the American people that elected us.
But we will have enough power to save America from the worst excesses of this administration and enough time to prepare an optimal playing field for 2024.
 And we should have enough power to pass bold legislation that reflects our priorities, then get it to Biden.
If he vetoes it, let him explain to the American people why he did.
If he shuts the government down, we should return the power back to the states where it belongs.
And I am very okay with that.
So let me use my remaining time to explain why and then I'd like to take some questions and hear your thoughts.
For some, the GOP may have under-performed on election night.
If I am being candid, I was never of the mind that the GOP would have a huge majority, but I certainly did feel like the trend was in our favor.
And I honestly believe a slim majority is a better working majority.
Because it restores power to the individual members of congress.
Not the Speaker.
Not the Majority or Minority Leader.
Not the Whips.
Not the Committee Chairs.
The strength of House of Representative is with the individual Members, not those in Leadership who are not accountable to the people they were elected to represent.
My friend and colleague, Thomas Massie from Kentucky recently noted that Joe Manchin has been the deciding vote in the Senate, not Chuck Schumer.
Congressman Massie is right. I might argue that Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema wields similar influence in the Senate.
And that is not a bad thing, and here's why: because it holds Leadership accountable to the people.
Look at what Joe Manchin or Kyrsten Sinema have done in the Senate as the one deciding vote, right?
I would love for one member of the House of Representatives to be relevant.
If I have a bill that has the support of the majority, shouldn't it be debated on and allowed to be brought to the floor?
If there's a narrow seat majority, one Member CAN be relevant and SHOULD be relevant.
And for that reason, I'm very optimistic about the make-up of the next congress.
Because I'm hopeful that our narrow GOP majority, God willing, will be able to stop the bad stuff from being rammed through congress.
But we also must have a bold agenda and shed the failed policies of the past.
They do NOT work!
We can no longer do the same things over and over while expecting a different result.
I'm talking about reckless spending bills.
Republicans cannot be afraid to look at the military budget and go through it line by line, cutting the waste having nothing to do with the defense of our country.
We must stop the blank checks going to Ukraine while many Americans suffer at home.
We cannot continue to increase the debt ceiling while ignoring wasteful spending.
This list goes on and on.
I'm also hopeful that a narrow Republican majority will finally restore balance and common-sense to the Halls of Congress.
That begins with returning power back the states where decisions about the direction of our country are best made.
I'd much rather have Governor DeSantis or Governor Lake making decisions at the state level than some out of touch bureaucrat in Washington, DC.
So, it begins with how we manage ourselves in the Republican Conference.
I believe with all my heart that trust is a series of promises kept.
And that starts with the promise to be accountable to the people that are giving us one last chance to prove we can govern effectively.
If we don't get this right, the voters will toss us out next cycle and rightfully so.
Because we've made a lot of promises but failed to put our principles on the line and take the necessary votes to make America great.
Our voters are watching very carefully what this Republican majority does because their patience is very thin.
One thing crystal clear on Election Night was that voters don't trust Democrats, but they also don't trust Republicans, it's just a bit less.
 So, let's begin to build that trust.
Let's be bold like Governor Ron DeSantis.
 That's where the real Red Wave occurred, because he didn't back down and he earned the trust of the people.
It starts with passing a rules package that determines how the GOP conference will govern itself.
 It must include common sense rules that allow for the ability to call for a vote to vacate the chair should leadership not be performing.
What's there to lose?
 Do a great job, listen to the people and even if the minority abuses this tool, the votes will be there every single time to override it.
We cannot hide behind feckless rules that protect so-called leaders of either party without being able to hold them accountable for broken promises.
Why not move bills to the floor that place a "check" on Joe Biden?
For example, I've had a discharge petition that would end the covid national emergency that is being abused by Biden to push his radical agenda.
He used it to justify his unconstitutional and costly student loan "forgiveness" executive order by tying student loan debt to the covid pandemic.
That's just crazy.
And it's an abuse of power.
Did you know that there are more than 42 national emergencies still in effect dating as far back as 1979?
These national emergencies give any sitting president extraordinary powers to deal with crises.
But all of them are required to be reviewed every six months by Congress to consider their merits and a vote on a resolution of termination.
That has never happened.
We should move my discharge petition immediately and end this senseless covid national emergency!
But let's not stop there.
The Republicans in Congress must review and vote to terminate each and every single national emergency still in place lacking merit.
Think of the money that would be saved and the power that would be returned to Congress, of which too much has been ceded to any sitting President.
I'm a process guy.
 I believe that good process, makes good policy, makes good politics.
And I feel strongly that we need an open rule process that allows for amendments and debates.
We need to set the tone and not run away from votes, even if that means on occasion something fails.
I also feel strongly that America First members of Congress deserve a seat on the secret "steering committee" that selects members of Congress to committee chairs so their voices can be heard, not taken for granted.
The point I am trying to make this morning is that while we still don't know what the make-up of the Congress will be we have to be very careful to not put the cart before the horse.
And I worry that is what we are doing right now.
We must be willing to stand up to Biden and use our leverage points to enact a bold, conservative agenda.
We have to stand for something rather than always being against everything if we are going to be an effective governing majority.
The American people are demanding and expecting it and that's certainly what I will demand from our leadership, whoever that may be.
Thanks again for the opportunity to be with you this morning.
Congressman Paul Gosar, remarks (as written) before the David Horowitz Freedom Center Restoration Weekend, Scottsdale, AZ 11/11/2022 back...
