Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri on Friday urged fellow Republicans to support the rupture of the “oligarchs” of big technologies that censor political views, as well as the big companies that “sold us to China.”
Hawley called for a “new nationalism” that would reclaim the mantra that broke the confidence of the Republican Party in Teddy Roosevelt’s era to fight big business and Democrats, whom he said together send a false message that the United States is “systematically racist” and “based on lies.” and evil ”.
“They will not tell us what these current oligarchs have to do. What we need is a new nationalism, a new agenda to make the government of the people in this country real, “Hawley said in a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida.
“It would start by breaking up Big Tech corporations. Just break them. Break them in the name of the people’s government, for the good of the American people and our freedom. We need to break down these corporations and reduce them to size. “
Hawley cited censorship of conservatives on social media, including former President Donald Trump after the January 6 Capitol riot.
“People like Google, Facebook, have you heard of it? Twitter, these companies have more power than any other company in American history and are aligned with the radical left to try to impose their agenda on this country,” he said. to say.
“They want to lead this country. And if we don’t do something, they will. And we have a word for that. It’s called oligarchy. And that’s what we’re facing right now in the United States. “
Hawley said the Republican Party, while long seen as the business party, also has a history in the destruction of confidence, recalling Roosevelt’s charge against big business that helped split the party in 1912 between factions led by Roosevelt and his successor as president, William Howard Taft.
“The Republican Party, once we were the party of the trustees, you know. I mean, we basically invented the concept. It’s time to dump her and move on. “
“It’s time to reclaim this legacy and not just for Big Tech, but for all the big multinational corporations that have sold us to China, that have exhausted our workers that have exhausted our jobs. They have to be broken. And we must have free and fair competition again in this country. “
Hawley said he was unfairly attacked for opposing certifying President Biden of Pennsylvania voters in an attempt to force a national review of allegations of election fraud.
“If we can’t have a free and open debate in this country, we won’t be left with any country,” Hawley said.
“If we cannot have a free and open debate, under the laws of the United States Senate, what is the use of the United States Senate? Why do you send anyone to Washington? I thought it was an important stance to take. And that’s why the left has come after me. They have tried to silence me. They canceled a book: a book he wrote called “The Tyranny of High Technology.” These people have no sense of irony, by the way it will still be published, it will be out soon. “
Hawley is a leader among post-Trump conservative populists in Washington. In December, he partnered with Socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont to push for $ 2,000 stimulus controls that GOP Senate leaders resisted and on Friday called for the adoption of a $ 15 hourly wage. for companies with revenues in excess of $ 1 billion.