To kick off the keynote speeches at our 2021 National Policy Conference, RNLA hosted Congressmen Jim Banks and Rodney Davis.
Banks, who chairs the Republican Study Committee, applauded RNLA for the work it is doing:
“It is a difficult time right now for a lot of professionals to be openly conservative and I think there's enormous value in just the existence of a group that publicly supports Republicans like you, that allows Republicans to meet and speak freely and organize. So thank you, and I hope your membership grows in the years to come as well.”
Despite current disfunction in the Democrat Party, Banks noted that the Biden Administration is still pushing through its radical agenda.
“His advisors are way less dysfunctional, and they’ve been able to do a lot more damage in a very short period of time, not just by enlarging our deficit, but by directly weakening our constitutional system of government. We've never had an administration that relies this much on empowering agencies to unconstitutionally write laws that it can’t pass through the legislative process.”
He also discussed the work the Republican Study Committee is doing to push back against the Democrats’ attempts at a federal takeover of our elections. When describing Democrat proposals, Banks said: “This isn’t a normal political game. it is the rigging of the rules of the game.”
Another major issue addressed by Banks was the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan by the Biden Administration. Banks himself is a veteran of the War in Afghanistan.
“When American leadership is missing, like it is in this moment, the rest of the world feels the effect. And that's what we're seeing now and certainly more than at any point in my lifetime.”
He continued that the situation in Afghanistan shows the “sheer incompetence of this Administration”
Congressman Rodney Davis took the stage following Banks. Davis is the Ranking Member on the Committee on House Administration, a crucial committee that has oversight over elections.
Davis applauded RNLA’s engagement on social media on elections issue, noting that Republicans should take an offensive posture on platforms like Twitter. He also thanked RNLA members and leadership like Co-Chair Harmeet Dhillon for their willingness to provide testimony at congressional hearings.
Davis explained how the Democrats have used the House Committee on Administration specifically as an “authorizing committee” for their radical election proposals.
“Democrats have turned our committee into a committee that is their leadership's authorizing committee, and they’ve tried to jam H.R. 1 and electoral policies through the last two congresses. And we have fought hard, and we’re going to continue to fight hard to stop this.”
Davis launched the Faith in Elections Project earlier this year – “a comprehensive effort to educate people, engage stakeholders, and put forth thoughtful conservative reforms on how elections are run in this country.”
Its mission is to “restore faith and confidence in the American election system.”
Davis wrapped up his remarks with a charge to the audience to get involved in future elections and to help others understand the facts about our elections, so that they have faith in the process.
Congressmen Banks’ and Davis’ remarks can be viewed in their entirety here.