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Op-Ed

Rep. Rick Crawford: Biden and Harris Are Horribly Out of Touch with Farmers, Rural Americans

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Just weeks ago, Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, announced California Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate.

While Democrats applauded his decision and quickly took to boasting about her achievements back in California, rural America let out a groan — and it’s easy to see why.

Harris, another far-left San Francisco politician in the mold of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has extensive experience with big-city liberals but lacks a basic understanding and appreciation of rural values.

When she was running her own presidential campaign, she announced a plan for rural America, heavy on rhetoric and short on substance.

When a politician tells you that their radical climate policies will actually help farmers, you can be sure they have never stepped foot on a farm without cameras present.

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She should come to Arkansas and see what we are doing here.

A few years ago, I noticed a lack of communication between manufacturing firms and educators at trade schools in my corner of rural Arkansas.

To address the issue, I arranged a STEM tour where instructors could tour facilities and see firsthand the types of skills that their students would need to enter the workforce.

I also created a council comprised of local leaders in the district to discuss economic development and implement measures designed to help individuals find purpose in their community rather than fall victim to opioid abuse.

Do you think a Biden-Harris administration would be a disaster for rural America?

These ideas work because they provide citizens with the skillset and experience needed to fill the jobs already present in rural America rather than encourage them to leave their communities.

Joe Biden’s plan for rural America is even worse than his running mate’s plan.

While his website is quick to tell farmers that they must achieve zero carbon emissions, anyone who has spoken to a farmer is aware that they know more about environmental sustainability than nearly anyone, certainly more than two life-long politicians.

After all, farmers’ livelihoods depend on it.

As vice president in the Obama Administration, Joe Biden supported burdensome EPA regulations, which prevented farmers from carrying out long-standing, routine practices for fear of a potential government fine.

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Farmers make a living from their land. That is all the incentive they need to remain active environmentalists.

Kamala Harris is infamous among farmers for peddling the myth at a CNN town hall broadcast that enjoying an omnivore diet is a threat to the planet.

Repackaging economy-killing Green New Deal policies and claiming them to be the answer for rural America isn’t fooling anyone, in particular those of us living here.

Perhaps the biggest danger to rural America from the Democratic ticket is their weak position on trade.

As a senator, Kamala Harris voted against USMCA – a historic trade deal with massive gains for the agriculture sector.

Joe Biden is no better. As part of the Obama Administration, he continually turned a blind eye to the plight of farmers as they suffered from the unfair trade practices of countries like China.

If it had not been for President Trump stepping into the Oval Office, I’m uncertain how much longer farmers could have tolerated such nefarious economic behavior.

Rural America should not be an afterthought one makes false promises to every election cycle only to forget about them once in office.

Rural communities deserve and demand better.

We need job and skillset promotion, fair access to markets for our goods and initiatives that continue to bolster pride and purpose in ourselves and our neighbors.

Importantly, we need leaders who will give us a seat at the table and work to enrich our communities – not Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

The views expressed in this opinion article are those of their author and are not necessarily either shared or endorsed by the owners of this website. If you are interested in contributing an Op-Ed to The Western Journal, you can learn about our submission guidelines and process here.

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Rep. Rick Crawford represents the 1st Congressional District of Arkansas. A Republican, he sits on the House Agriculture Committee, served in the Army as an explosive ordnance disposal technician prior to a career in the agricultural sector and is raising his family in rural America.




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