Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) spoke to the crowd at CPAC on Friday afternoon. "Didn't anyone tell you you're supposed to be cancelled?" Hawley began. He said that the overreach of big tech companies, and their seeming collusion with Democrats, means that these companies should be broken up.
He spoke about the future of the conservative movement in the US, saying that the establishment GOP is not it. As regards America First and the economic populism represented by Donald Trump's presidency, he said "we're not the past, we're the future," and "we represent what's coming next."
"We've got to be honest," Hawley said, "We've got to face the challenges that are in front of us."
"We are facing a crisis in our country," Hawley said, "a fight for the republic itself" against an alliance of big tech and liberalism, who will turn this country into an oligarchy. "We can have a republic where the people rule or we can have an oligarchy where big tech and the liberals rule," Hawley said, to the crowd's glee.
"We have to stand up and take our stand on the constitution and the Declaration of Independence," Hawley remarked. "Life and liberty come from God and not the federal government, "rights come from god and not from Google."
Hawley said that it's time "to restore the sovereignty of the American people."
"You've always got a small group of people who think they know best," and that's not what our nation is about, he said, going on to say that "You can see where the oligarchs want to take us, just look at the last two months."
He spoke about how big tech companies have deplatformed so many conservative voices, including President Trump, and got got big cheers when he said he objected to the electoral college certification on Jan. 6. "I stood up," he said, "And I said we oughta have a debate about election integrity, I said it is the right of the people to be heard," saying that he was acting the way his constituents wanted him to.
He said that many Democrats have objected to electoral college certification over the past 25 years, and that he would not be cowed.
"If we can't have free and open debate in the country, we're not going to have a country left," saying that the Senate is useless if debate is not allowable in that body. Hawley noted that his book was pulled from Simon and Schuster, but that his book on the censorship of big tech would still be published.
Blacklists, he said, like those that were made of Trump supporters, interns in the administration, and others who voiced their concerns about election integrity are unacceptable in a free republic.
He slammed Democrats for their complicity with big tech companies "In this moment of crisis, we will not be ruled by giant corporations and the liberals," he said. "We need to give America back" to the people, he said, saying that "the people need to rule the nation."
"Once upon a time we were the party of trust-busters," he said, decrying the sell-out of American jobs to China, saying "we need to have free, fair competition in this country again."
"We've got to stand up to China," he said, going on to say that "we've got to put American workers first." As regards immigration, he said "we believe in borders because we believe in citizenship, and we believe in citizenship because we believe in America."
"America is not perfect," he said, "but it's a good place." Hawley said that America needs to reclaim her history, and to realize that her flaws are not her legacy, but her strengths and triumphs are.
"Of course we're not perfect," Hawley said. "America is full of people but it's full of good people."
"We are going to stand for the liberty that our forefathers fought for," he said. "The strength of America is in the unheard voices of her people across the land."
Halwey quoted Daniel Webster, "union now, union forever," and added his own take: "America now, America first, America forever," he finished.
Hawley has been outspoken about big tech companies, the reach they have into users lives with AI and machine learning algorithms. Hawley recently questioned President Biden's nominee for Attorney General, Merrick Garland, on his intentions as regards violent extremist group Antifa.
CPAC is taking place in Florida this year, after decades of residence in Washington, DC. With the COVID-inspired restrictions in place in DC, it would have been impossible to hold the convention there. Florida has not undertaken anything like the kind of lockdown measures that have been seen in so many other states. On Friday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis praised his state for maintaining an economy instead of crushing it with restrictions.
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