Socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) can attribute his success, largely, to the capitalist system he regularly rails against, Elaine Parker, chief communications officer of Job Creators Network (JCN), told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview on Thursday.
Parker is spearheading JCN’s anti-socialism, pro-capitalism Iowa bus tour, trailing Democrat candidates and spreading the message that “Socialism takes, Capitalism creates” — a message seen loud and clear on the bus. The first day of the tour brought the bus to Des Moines, Iowa, where President Trump held his latest rally. There, Parker spoke to enthusiastic Iowans, some of whom had been standing outside for two days in anticipation of the rally.
“We also spoke to college students about 20 years old who have been here since 1:00 a.m. and you know they’re excited. They’re pumped up. There are thousands of people here, and the line just keeps growing and growing and growing,” Parker said Thursday afternoon, explaining the purpose of the bus tour.
“[We are] talking about the Trump administration’s policies and how they have really helped not only small business, but all Americans, ordinary Americans, do well in the last three years,” she said. And you know, we see that in the results with the lowest unemployment rate in 50 years, and we want to spread that message that capitalism and the free market is what creates this kind of environment where people have the opportunity to pursue their American dream.”
“The U.S. has the largest and wealthiest middle class in the history of the world. You could even say, in fact, that capitalism created the middle class, so we want to highlight the benefits of capitalism, and we want to show what socialism does in other countries where it depresses the economy, it takes away choice, and it prevents people from having the opportunities that we have in America,” she explained.
The Hawkeye State tour, which will lead up to the Iowa caucuses on February 3, comes at a time when Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), one of the Democrat candidates who has openly touted socialist policies, is rising in the polls. He currently leads in Iowa, according to the RealClearPolitics average.
However, Parker says — despite his rhetoric — he is the “perfect” example to demonstrate the success of capitalism.
“If you have an entrepreneurial spirit, this is the opportunity to create it in this country. I mean, look at Bernie Sanders himself. He wrote a book. He made a million dollars because he wrote a book,” she told Breitbart News. “He created a product, consumers wanted to buy it, and they did. And he had success out of it. He is the American dream story because of entrepreneurism. Because of our capitalistic system, he has been successful. He’s the perfect example, actually.”
Sanders, whose campaign has focused, largely, on the demonization of the wealthy, has defended his own status as a millionaire, telling the New York Times last year, “I wrote a best-selling book. If you write a best-selling book, you can be a millionaire, too.”
“I didn’t know that it was a crime to write a good book, which turned out to be a best-seller,” Sanders told a crowd during a campaign stop in Gary, Indiana, in April.
“Hats off to him,” Parker said. “He even said you can write a book, too, and make a million dollars, and that’s absolutely true because of the capitalistic, free market system we have in this country. We can all write a book just like Bernie did.”
Parker also emphasized the instrumental role the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has played in “jumpstarting this economy,” one of the primary policy achievements JCN uses to demonstrate the economic success of the administration.
“We played a pivotal role in helping it get across the finish line in a previous campaign called Tax Cuts Now. We really highlighted and helped amplify small business owners at the front and get their voice out there so that Washington heard that small business owners really needed tax cuts, and we got their stories out there,” she explained, pointing to the success that those business owners have since experienced.
“They said if they had tax cuts and they were able to keep more of their money, that they would reinvest that money into jobs, expand their businesses, and grow the economy, and it’s exactly what they’ve done,” she explained. “I mean we have members all over the country share their stories about how many people they’ve hired.”
When asked how to address the critics, particularly the younger voters who are captivated by Sanders’ socialist rhetoric, Parker emphasized the importance of highlighting the successes of small business owners.
In one instance, Parker mentioned a small business owner in Pennsylvania who was able to hire 29 people. He also doubled the size of his facility and for the first time ever, offered a 401k to his employees.
That was a “direct result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” she said.
“Those are important things to point out when you can directly tie it to a policy of the administration,” she told Breitbart News.
“Now, the government can’t create jobs. They’ve never created a job ever, but they can create the right environment so that small business, which is the engine of this economy, can create jobs, and that’s exactly what we’ve seen under this administration and the policies that have come out of it,” she added.
Parker also highlighted the nonpartisan nature of JCN members. They, Parker said, just want policies in place that foster a positive business environment, allowing them to grow.
“What I find with them [JCN members] is they are not partisan. Their customers are Democrats and Republicans and independents, and what they’re trying to do is create a product customers want to buy.”
“They are not partisan, but they want the policies in place that will help them succeed and grow their businesses,” she added.
The “Jobs, Jobs, Jobs” bus tour will carry on through the Iowa caucuses and head to New Hampshire ahead of the state’s February 11 primary. Parker is hopeful that they, during the bus tour, will have the opportunity to interview some of the Democrat candidates and discuss some of their policies.
For now, though, Parker said Iowans, particularly at Trump’s Thursday rally, were “excited about the economy and how it’s working for them.”
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