Socialism heads to the Peach State

Senate candidates Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock frame themselves as moderate Democrats to appeal to the traditional red state of Georgia. But their true intentions are seen with their policies and their friends. Georgia voters deserve to know the truth. The media has shown them as moderate Democrats, as both candidates seek to move the conversation away from hallmark initiatives like Medicare for All and the Green New Deal. But their platforms share more in common with Bernie Sanders than with Zell Miller or Sam Nunn. Their true goals would work against Georgia voters.

A great success is that our country is now a leading energy producer. But the liberal energy policies for these two candidates and other Democrats would destroy that progress and increase the cost of gas and heat for our homes this winter. While Ossoff claims to oppose the Green New Deal, he supports most of the tenets, according to the New Republic. Sanders also backs Warnock on the grounds that he is needed in the Senate to pass the Green New Deal. An analysis by Heritage Foundation found that the Green New Deal may cost the nation more than one million jobs each year.

The extreme policies do not end there. Both candidates also seek to push America down the road to socialized medicine. Warnock still does not tell voters what he believes about Medicare for All, yet Sanders must know as he cites the health care policies of Warnock as one reason to support him. These candidates have also said they support universal health care, which means the system run by the government. That would threaten millions of Georgia voters who could lose access to their doctors, not to mention the jobs and salaries of nearly 250,000 health care workers in the state.

Both candidates have failed to stand for the peace and the security of our communities by refusing to sign a pledge to oppose the liberal mission to defund the police. Ossoff has said funding for police departments should be on the line and has called out local budgets if they do not comply with federal standards, and Warnock has preached on the “gangster and thug mentality” of police officers in Ferguson. Neither of them has denounced the Breathe Act, the bill which aims to cut law enforcement funding.

Why is this race so important? This is not about a normal election or party politics. This is about policies at the federal level that would endanger the security and paychecks of millions of people across Georgia and America. This is also about the future for our government because Democrats have threatened Senate rules to destroy the filibuster and pack the courts. This would ensure that even unconstitutional socialist policies are the law.

That has never been done before in the history of our nation. Even Franklin Roosevelt, the architect of the New Deal, would not head this far. But now the Senate could destroy our judicial system to push through policies that the vast majority of people do not support. Georgia voters must head into the runoff election next month with eyes wide open. They should consider the policies on the line and which America they want to see for the future. Which candidates will offer a more prosperous and healthy nation?

Jessica Anderson is the executive director of Heritage Action for America.