Congressman Brett Guthrie Stops In Brownsville For Lunch Discussion: Inflation, Favorite Halloween Candy, More

U.S. Congressman Brett Guthrie takes a drink during a lunch stop in Brownsville on October 31, 2022.

Darren Doyle, story and photo:
U.S. Representative Brett Guthrie stopped in Brownsville today to have lunch at Mis Amigos and speak with constituents from around the area. He spoke with the Edmonson Voice today on a number of topics that not only included some current issues, but also his favorite Halloween candy.

We asked the Congressman about the current state of inflation, the downturn in the economy, what the government could do to help, and if there was an end in sight.

"Well, the government caused it," he said. "We've just spent too much money. I supported the CARES Act during Covid, but now we're looking at a total of $7 trillion dollars spent, and that's just too much. Now the feds are raising interest rates, which hurts, and the best thing for our economy now would be to become energy-independent. If Biden would undo everything he did when he took office that limited American energy, that would be a great start. Diesel is $5 a gallon right now and that trickles down into everything. Biden signed all these executive orders on day one that began hurting us. I believe that if we can put the brakes on spending, then Wall Street will react, which will also be positive. And I believe that after the midterms President Biden will pivot and see that the people want different policies. We're also still dealing with a $700 billion dollar "Build Back Better," and that money still has to go through the system. Let's stop the spending."

We then asked his thoughts on the upcoming midterms, where several House and Senate seats are up for grabs. Currently, democrats hold a 220 seat to 212 majority in the house. There are 34 seats in contention in the Senate, where democrats control 48 seats plus 2 independent seats that caucus with them, plus VP Kamala Harris' vote. That gives the democrats a 51-50 majority in the Senate.

"I do think republicans will be in charge, and although I wish it was immediately after the election, it won't happen before January of 2023, but I think republicans will pick up 20 seats or so, overall. I think the people can see that what's happening right now isn't working," he said.

We also asked him about the continued talk of voter suppression throughout the U.S., while some areas are seeing record turnouts.

"It's nonsensical," he said. "How can you have people coming out to vote in record numbers and at the same time, the White House says there is voter suppression? I think they're just trying to salvage things. What we're trying to do is make it easy to vote but hard to cheat. Why would anyone have a problem with proving who they are? If you as a voter can be verified, it makes all our votes more valid. I've continually asked, 'where is the voter suppression? why does anyone have a problem with showing their ID?' and no one has ever really answered the questions."

Finally, sitting at the restaurant underneath festive Halloween decor, we asked Congressman Guthrie about his favorite candy, which was somewhat non conventional.

"You know, I might be a little different, but my favorite Halloween candy is to take a big handful of candy corn then mix it with a big handful of peanuts. It's kind of like having a Payday candy bar but a lot more. It's something I've always liked."

His answer when asked about the worst Halloween candy?

"Circus peanuts, definitely," he said with a serious look. "It's the worst. My grandmother always had those and they were terrible. You can leave them out of the bag for a couple hours and then use them for doorstops. That's about all they're good for."