Sen. Braun Speaks On Myriad Political Topics At GOP Dinner
Sen. Braun Speaks On Myriad Political Topics At GOP Dinner
Posted
Jackie Gorski-
Sen. Braun Speaks On Myriad Political Topics At GOP DinnerNORTH WEBSTER – U.S. Sen. Mike Braun drew distinctions between Republicans and Democrats in his keynote speech Thursday at the Kosciusko County Republican Party Hall of Fame Dinner at the Owl’s Nest, North Webster.
Braun said when he takes himself back to when he started getting into politics, he said he comes from a place that’s similar to Warsaw and Kosciusko County. Jasper in Dubois County is loaded with entrepreneurs. Braun said he knows of so many blue-collar workers that ended up millionaires on not much more than minimum wage because “we all embraced the same darn thing. That there’s opportunity in this country and none of them ever looked to government to make their way.”
Brauns talked about what is at stake. After being blessed by the American Dream, coming from a place that believed in faith, family, community, hard work, never looking to a higher power to make your way through life, he thinks that’s going to disappear.
He said he was elated when Donald Trump won the presidency in 2016, noting he “wouldn’t be here this evening if Hillary Clinton won in 2016.”
Braun said he’s one of the freshest ones in Congress that came out of the trenches of conservatism. He said that means you don’t go to law school and you don’t immediately aspire to become an elected or appointed politician out of law school.
“You aspire to do something in life before you get there,” Braun said.
Braun said entrepreneurs and enthusiastic conservatives are about faith, family and community. Democrats “are enthusiastic about growing their favorite institution – the federal government. It’s their growth business.”
Braun said Democrats think they’re smarter than Republicans. When the Republican Party gets the reigns back, there’s some things they need to get better at, Braun said.
Braun said 19 Republican mayors were picked up in the last election in Indiana.
He also said the Founding Fathers made a mistake of not instituting term limits, but at least they respected state rights.
“And now the Democrats are trying to take that away in everything they do, including federalizing election law. That is their number one thing that they want to get across the finish line,” he said.
Braun said Americans are blessed to live in this country because it is a federal system and people have a choice to live in 50 different places.
Braun said there should have been term limits out of the gate.
When asked, Braun said he liked what he used to do more than what he does now. He also said Thomas Jefferson and George Washington hurried back to Monticello and Mount Vernon, liking farming and business more than politics and governing. That idea has been completely flipped.
Braun also talked about issues he was seeing in the country.
He was down at the southern border in March with 17 other senators. Braun said there was “just a trickle” of immigrants coming across the border.
“It was 75,000. It was lowest in history, 45 years,” Braun said. He claimed the wall was working.
When Braun was at the border, he said no one was there, but when they were ready to leave, the senators got heckled by people on the other side of the Rio Grande.
The border has opened up now, he said.
The economic policies that were in place under the Trump administration were working, Braun said.
The worst configuration of what could happen is playing out “in front of our eyes,” Braun said.
Also during Thursday’s dinner, the Woman and Man of the Year awards were given out.
The Woman of the Year was Kosciusko County Republican Women’s Club Secretary and Kosciusko County Treasurer Rhonda Helser. Kosciusko County Republican Party Central Committee Chairman Mike Ragan said she has been very active in local politics and has supported the Republican Party and its events. Ragan said Helser is an elected official and works hard in her office.
Ragan said there wasn’t going to be a Man of the Year. Instead, they were going to honor a number of men that have died since Ragan’s been chairman in the past five years.
Those named Thursday were Judge David C. Cates, Prosecuting Attorney R. Steven Hearn, Winona Lake Councilman Terry A. Howie, Claypool Town Councilman Larry Neher, Sheriff C. Alan Rovenstine, County Councilman Robert G. Sanders, Winona Lake Councilman James D. Zachary, Jim Northenor, Warsaw City Councilman Terry Klondaris and attorney Todd Haines.
