Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida on Friday morning, Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., told the energetic crowd that the "radical" Democrats' "target is the young."
"They want to indoctrinate our kids," Donalds said. "It's more than gender identity, it's more than CRT [critical race theory]. They're indoctrinating our children to think that socialism is somehow equivalent to capitalism."
"The battle for our future, the battle for our country, the battle for our economy is in every public school, every private school, every charter school and every home school across America," the congressman continued. "We can win this battle one very simple way. Folks, we’ve got to engage in the culture."
Donalds said he went into a public-school classroom years ago and picked up an economics textbook.
"In the section on microeconomics, they had a side-by-side comparison between free market capitalism and socialism and fascist-run economies," he said. "And the very textbook that sits in an American classroom made it seem like both sides had a legitimate argument."
Young people have customized everything about their lives today, Donalds noted, from what they watch to what they eat, and when.
"They have at their fingertips the very manifestation of what a free-market economy and a free society allows," he said. "They can literally choose whatever they want."
Donalds said that the young will be the deciding factor for the direction of the country.
"The political question of our time, for all young Americans is, Do you still want to be able to choose whatever you want, whenever you want it, at a moment’s notice, and still be able to get it?" he said. "Or do you want to listen to Joe Biden?"
Just before taking the stage at the conservative gathering, Donalds tweeted, "Only in America can the son of a single mother from the inner city rise to one day speak at @CPAC. I'm beyond blessed and grateful for this honor."
The theme of CPAC 2022 is "Awake, not Woke."
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