In a Monday night speech at the Republican National Convention (RNC), U.S. Army combat veteran turned-Republican congressional candidate Sean Parnell said he came home from service to find the Democratic Party had “turned against the very people it professed to represent.”
In his speech, Parnell recalled his 2006-2007 deployment to Afghanistan, where he served with service members of “every race, creed and religion” through combat missions for which he and other members of his platoon were wounded. Parnell said he returned home from the 485-day Afghan deployment, to find himself discouraged by the Democratic Party.
“I returned home, eager to enjoy the freedoms I risked my life to defend,” Parnell said, “but I watched with alarm as the party of my grandfather, a lifelong union Democrat, turned against the very people it professed to represent.”
Parnell is running for Congress in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania against Democratic Rep. Conor Lamb, himself a U.S. Marine veteran.
In his speech, Republican congressional candidate went on to reference an interaction between Joe Biden and a Michigan autoworker who challenged Biden over his gun policies. In the exchange, the autoworker accused Biden of trying to diminish the second amendment, and Biden responded by saying the autoworker was “full of shit.”
Parnell said, “I watched as Joe Biden spit venom at an autoworker who dared to question Joe’s intent to dismantle the Second Amendment.”
He continued, “The party of Harry Truman became the party of hedge fund managers, Hollywood celebrities, tech moguls and academia, bloated with contempt for middle America. I look across the aisle, and I do not see a party that wants you to pursue your dreams. I see a Democrat party that wants to dictate what those dreams are.”
Parnell said by contrast to the Democratic Party, President Donald Trump fought for the return of jobs from overseas that “Democrats said would never return.”
“I stand before you tonight, calling on all Americans to join us,” Parnell said. “It doesn’t matter what you look like, who you love, how you worship, your gender or your job. If you’re a traditional Democrat who has become disillusioned with how radical your party has become, then stand with us. You are most welcome.”
Parnell went on to praise Americans for the countries accomplishments. “In a century, we went from ground-bound dreamers gazing to the stars, to doers who created the means to reach them.”
He ended his RNC speech saying, “If you love our country as we do, as our president does, join the chorus of patriot voices that will preserve this exceptional union. Mr. President, lead the way.”
