Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) joins Lou Dobbs on the Great America Show to talk about his time in Congress and his opposition to President Joe Biden's policies and proposals. Rep. Ogles also talks about the Patriot 20 and the role he played in helping to elect Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
00:07:32.580I'm okay with that because I really, I did this for my children.
00:07:36.820At the point at which I went back to college, I had already been successful.
00:07:40.100I wanted to show my children that as a poor kid from a poor family, that I could overcome adversity, that I was going to finish my start, and I was not going to let the system or anything get me down.
00:07:52.420All I needed was 12 hours in my senior project, right?
00:07:55.220And so I did this for her because we had a baby girl at the time.
00:08:00.300And it should be noted, going back to our first topic, is that I stood up and I had the courage to say enough is enough, and now I'm a target.
00:08:07.360So that being said, we have a country to run.
00:08:10.520We have a border that has 300,000 people coming across it every single month.
00:08:15.860We have the Chinese flying balloons over our airspace, right?
00:09:09.040And when we're talking about these side issues, look, the last decade, the last 15 years of my career, there's a body of work there that you can examine.
00:09:20.720So let's go to the issues before us, and that is China, the Financial Services Committee, the bills that you've passed.
00:09:28.160I want to get first to the China Select Committee, Mike Gallagher, the chairman, saying that we have to act with urgency.
00:09:34.740I couldn't agree with him more, and the House obviously is doing just that.
00:09:39.280I do, at the same time, wonder why in the world we're talking about strategic competition when what we're talking about is geopolitical conflict
00:09:48.740and the way in which this country responds to losing at least $600 billion in intellectual property every year to the communist Chinese.
00:09:59.340The fact that we are absolutely overwhelmed by the insinuation of Chinese nationals into our colleges, our corporations, and science laboratories all over the country.
00:10:14.940And, by the way, balloons that fly over us almost at will, apparently.
00:10:20.520Your thoughts, and this is really about the conflict that exists between the two nations now, in my opinion.
00:10:28.340Yeah, and I think that that is an important point, the very fact that we are at conflict.
00:10:39.020And so, you know, we're talking about China, but I'm going to bring in COVID, and I'm going to bring in Sentinel.
00:10:43.780We now know that the COVID virus was not inadvertently leaked from a lab.
00:10:52.300You just had one of their scientists say, given the protocols in place, even in China, it would be near impossible for it to leak accidentally.
00:11:02.020But let's set that aside for a moment.
00:11:30.520And by the way, there is – you know, we now know – I think when we say we, and we're talking about the American people, the American people knew that this was an intentional act on the part of the Chinese.
00:11:41.500They knew the damn virus came from Wuhan because that's where the virology lab was.
00:11:46.340And the fact that the cognoscenti, the elites of our federal bureaucracy, are now confirming that really doesn't mean much because the American people are pretty tough to fool.
00:12:01.100And what we have to deal with now is that a million Americans died because Xi Jinping refused to warn the American people and, in fact, took affirmative actions to make sure that virus did spread.
00:12:12.000And the United States has not responded to what was actually an act of war.
00:12:54.000I mean, this was, what, maybe two months ago, give or take.
00:12:56.980There was a middle school teacher who confiscated a bag of what looked like sweet tarts from a student.
00:13:04.000And apparently he sniffed it to see if, in fact, it was candy or was it drugs.
00:13:08.480And he overdosed on fentanyl, a secondary inhalation, by simply doing his job and trying to protect the students at that school.
00:13:16.260Ladies and gentlemen, they're intentionally supplying the Mexican cartels with fentanyl precursors and the agents that are poisoning our kids.
00:13:25.340And so there was a time, 10, 15, 20 years ago, when you thought about immigration and the border crisis, well, that's New Mexico or Arizona or Texas, right?
00:13:37.060Every small town in America is now a border town because fentanyl has swept this country and it's killing our kids.
00:13:44.760Every town in America right now is collateral.
00:13:50.180It knows that they are collateral damage to everything that the communist Chinese are doing.
00:13:56.140And I'm saying communist because I want everyone on this and this audience, believe me, knows my feelings about what is happening in China and what they are doing.
00:14:06.820But explicitly and fundamentally, I have a very big issue with the language the Republican Party has chosen here because this is the stuff of the left, to play games with language because if you control language, you control thought, and you control thought, you control the issue.
00:14:26.140And for them to refer to China as a competitor, an adversary, I want to be very clear how I feel, Congressman, and I want to remind the audience.
00:14:40.360And if we don't have, you know, I watched this under the Bush administration because of ethnic and religious sensibilities overwrought in the White House under George W. Bush.
00:14:54.200They didn't want to call the enemy radical Islamists, which is what they were and are.
00:14:59.340The fact of the matter is, when you don't have the guts to name your enemy, you don't have the guts to go kill your enemy and stop them cold from injuring the nation.
00:15:12.780And there's got to be, and I realize it's going to take some time for some people in Washington, D.C. to mature, no matter the fact that they've got the best of instincts and purpose here.
00:15:22.800But either we grow up and understand that we're contending with enemies.
00:15:30.660The People's Republic of China is participating, is an accomplice in the murder of 100,000 Americans every year and killed 1 million Americans.
00:15:42.940Are we going to, why would we not confront those realities?
00:15:46.380We are grown men and women in this country, and it's time to get through with the nonsense.
00:17:48.160He is a puppet of the Marxist faction of the Democrat Party, which is now a huge proportion of the Democrat Party.
00:17:56.740And we have to come to terms that with this puppet president and the Marxist policies that are being followed, we are watching de facto the third term of Barack Obama as president of the United States.
00:18:10.220There's a reason we haven't heard from this man.
00:18:21.240What is so important that he has to hide out?
00:18:25.460Because big questions now are arising about the character and the motives of this administration, fully compromised, and there is not—how in the world does one explain this president drawing down almost half of the strategic petroleum reserves while trying to kill fossil fuel?
00:18:44.440Does that not sound to you like a purposeful effort to absolutely hamstring this country and stop our ability to be mobile, to move back and forth, and to see whether or not they can destroy the economy?
00:19:03.660It's 55 percent of this economy that depends on fossil fuels.
00:19:09.140Well, I mean, you know, we're not going to see, you know, true inflationary and recessionary pressures fully ebb or, you know, go away, if you will, until we get back to energy independence.
00:19:24.040Everything in this economy runs on fossil fuels.
00:19:26.800The turbines that go on the windmills are made with fossil fuels.
00:19:31.680I mean, the batteries that power the electric cars are made with fossil fuels.
00:19:36.220So even your green energy is dependent on oil and gas.
00:19:39.580I mean, when you look at the carbon footprint that goes into the production of green energy, it's kind of hilarious.
00:19:45.560And so, look, we should be—if for no other reason, for national security reasons, we should be energy independent.
00:20:00.800We have an obligation to our country and to our sovereignty to be energy independent and to not be reliant on our enemy, like we are when it comes to green energy and rare earth metals in China.
00:20:15.120And I want to turn to Janet Yellen for crying out loud, the Treasury Secretary in Ukraine telling Zelensky that, in her judgment, the U.S. taxpayer has a moral obligation to pay for Ukraine for as long as it takes.
00:20:32.660I'm just stunned to hear a U.S. Treasury Secretary talking about Ukraine again, when, in point of fact, her responsibility should be right now to an ailing economy, to a financial system that is under significant stress, and should be here trying to restore prosperity, trying to rescue people from the immense damages and injuries from high inflation.
00:21:19.740I would argue she's not doing a very good job at it, but that's, again, a conversation for another day.
00:21:24.780But I would much prefer to see my secretary here in the United States figuring out how we're going to defeat the inflation, how we're going to have a soft landing when it comes to recession, and how we're going to turn this economy around.
00:21:35.980But the problem is, is the answers to those questions are fundamentally go against the agenda that this administration has.
00:21:54.960And going back to the Patriot 20 that stood up and fought for the rules in the House of Representatives so our country could have better outcomes, I will fight and fight for this country as a member of the House of Representatives to my last breath, because this is the greatest nation on earth, and we have a right and an obligation to fight for our children's future.
00:22:13.180And that is exactly what's at stake and what this nation will be in the future.
00:22:18.900But right now, the real issue for this country is an existential one.
00:22:24.400What in the world are we going to do about a government that is fighting its citizens every day, that is weaponized against those citizens, whether it's the Department of Justice, whether it is the FBI, the U.S. military can't find recruits because they are a woke institution now rather than a fighting core.
00:22:48.200Our military readiness is an ebb, and we can't afford it because we're facing two nuclear superpowers and soon to be perhaps a third in Iran.
00:23:02.580And I consider North Korea to just simply be a satellite of communist China.
00:23:11.800When you look at military preparedness and readiness, and again, I think there's some question as to when you look at the armaments that have been sent to Ukraine, what is the plan to replenish those defensive weapon systems?
00:23:32.020I don't know why that our defense industry isn't running 24-7 to try to, you know, some of these armaments take a long period of time to make.
00:23:42.460I mean, this isn't a donut that you just make overnight, right?
00:23:49.880You have to have supply chains that ramp up.
00:23:51.940So it's not like you can just turn it on and suddenly you've got all these new missiles or stingers or whatever else out there on the shelf.
00:23:57.620Like, it takes time to ramp up that production.
00:24:00.420Meanwhile, we're depleting our own supplies, our own reserves.
00:24:03.360And so, again, like most every issue with this administration, they don't have a plan.
00:24:10.280They have an agenda, but they don't have a plan to see us through these controversies or, quite frankly, through these crises.
00:24:16.900And so it's concerning to me as a member of Congress.
00:24:19.340And I will say that when you look at 2022, you're seeing the groundwork being laid by both sides of what's at stake in the 2024 election.
00:25:02.060But this is where you, the listener, have to get engaged.
00:25:06.620You have to make sure that your representative, whether it's on the school board or the State House or the State Senate or your member of Congress, they need to hear from you.
00:25:14.580And they need to hear that you are expecting the America of your grandparents and of our founding fathers, not the America of Joe Biden.
00:25:28.220We just we have a report here that migrant apprehensions at the southern border have hit the lowest point in two years.
00:25:36.280This at a time, which is typical, by the way, at least a small decline in January, as you know, Congressman.
00:25:42.400But the reality is that we have somewhere between four to six million new people living in the United States in the course of only two years under the Biden administration.
00:25:51.960Well, in just fiscal year 2022, you had two point three seven million border crossings.
00:25:59.380And so, like you said, I mean, that's roughly two and a half million people crossed into our country in one year.
00:26:06.320Three hundred thousand on average now a month.
00:26:09.620I mean, when I look at, you know, prior to being a congressman, I was a county executive slash county mayor.
00:26:49.440We get to choose who comes in and who gets to come in in 2023 may be different than who gets to come in in 2024 and 2025 based on our own needs.
00:27:00.100So this idea that somehow America is held to a different standard than the rest of the world, by the way, no one else in the world has, you know, border lack of border security in the way we do, unless you're going to some sub-Saharan African country that is a third world country.
00:27:17.140But when you look at Europe, when you look at Mexico, when you look at Canada, their border security, their laws are far stricter than ours.
00:27:24.820I said, but yet because we're America, land of the free, you know, we are criticized because we don't want to just let everybody into this nation.
00:27:32.040But what you've got to realize, the same people that are calling us names want to see us destroyed.
00:27:39.200And that's a great point you're making.
00:27:41.440And by the way, any American who has to apologize for saying it's our country, do you think that anyone in China apologizes for their border security?
00:27:51.300Uh, Xi Jinping is embarrassed to say, you know, this is our country.
00:27:56.240No, he's talking about that country and its future.
00:27:59.340And he is moving that country forward in his vision, uh, of how to get there and what it should like, uh, should look like.
00:28:07.780And by the way, that doesn't include much, uh, much of the United States.
00:28:11.840We are in the view of the Chinese, a declining power.
00:28:15.420And every day, you know what, we prove the point to the Chinese, uh, when they listen to Joe Biden, uh, basically obsequious to, uh, Xi Jinping, uh, and everything that is Chinese and policy and purpose.
00:28:33.480Uh, and we have to say, you know, we, and I, and I got, and I think by the way, Mike Gallagher is a great congressman, a terrific, uh, terrific foreign policy expert.
00:28:43.900Uh, but he, when he has to say, you know, this is all about the Chinese government, not the Chinese people.
00:28:52.560Why do we as Americans have to say idiotic things like that?
00:28:56.400We're talking about the Chinese government.
00:28:58.660We're talking about Xi Jinping and the communist party.
00:29:01.180You know, the fact that we didn't like, uh, you know, I, I mean that we don't like communism and we don't like what they're doing to the country.
00:29:11.020I mean, I have no apology to make for being very resentful of China and, uh, and angrily so for killing Americans.
00:29:20.880And I'm angry with my own country for sitting here and sucking on our thumbs instead of responding.
00:29:26.700How much, what will it take for this country to strategize and to understand that the time to be bowing to the left and to the phony, uh, nonsense of the CRT ESG left is over.
00:29:42.760We're Americans and we, we have to start acting like it.
00:29:47.180We all, and I think you're right, I think, uh, you know, obviously we don't have the Senate, we don't have the white house, but I think legislatively in the house of representatives, we have to put forth good policy.
00:30:01.160That starts signaling to the American people that here are the problems, here are the solutions. Here's the way forward. Uh, unfortunately, most good policy is not going to be enacted until we win the Senate until we win the white house.
00:30:15.380So again, 2024 is going to be critical. We have to start having those conversations today, uh, on what the solutions for America, uh, are going to be and what's the way forward.
00:30:25.400But like you said, no one should have to apologize for being patriotic. No one should apologize because we're acknowledging the fact that China is trying to destroy us.
00:30:33.560No one should apologize for acknowledging the fact that Russia, Russia is literally on the mark. They want to see Ukraine fall. They want to take Belarus. They want to restore the old USSR.
00:30:44.740That's a fact. And so there's no reason why you, I, or anyone else to be apologizing for it. And yes, the Russian people are good people, but the regimes are out to displace the United States of America as the sole world power and by George, they're doing a quite effective job at it.
00:31:01.720And by the way, this administration has done going a long way to help them with that question. Uh, we always give our guests the last word. Congressman, we appreciate you being here, uh, enjoyed our talk and hope you'll come back soon.
00:31:15.700Uh, but in the meantime, uh, your concluding thoughts, if you would.
00:31:21.280Well, I would just encourage people, uh, to not be discouraged. You know, when I think about the problems we're facing today, put yourselves in the shoes of our founding fathers, where they were having to fight against a global world power in Britain, where they literally were putting their lives, their fortunes, the lives of their family, their wives and their children at stake.
00:31:42.920And they stood up and they did the right thing for the right reasons. We, as Americans, we have to get our courage back. We have to be willing to stand up and do the right thing for the right reasons. And yes, you're going to be attacked for it. Yes, you're going to have a target on your back. Yes, they may pick apart your life, but you know what?
00:32:04.320That is the price of freedom. I'm up here fighting for the future of my children and my grandchildren. And if I don't do this, if you don't join me and other patriots in doing this, then whatever happens next is our fault.
00:32:18.580And frankly, that choice is not an option for, for good patriotic Americans, as you well know. Congressman, it's great to have you with us. We thank you so much. And we, we wish you continued great success in the 118th Congress. Thank you for being with us.
00:32:36.500God bless. And thank you. Thanks everybody for being with us. And here tomorrow will be our guest, Greg Kelly, host of Greg Kelly reports on Newsmax, author of his new book, Justice for All. Join us here tomorrow. Until then, God bless you and God bless America.