U.S. Congressman Brett Guthrie Stops In EC, Discusses COVID, Border, Voting Laws

Congressman Brett Guthrie talks to Sheriff Shane Doyle at the Edmonson County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday, January 26, 2022.

Darren Doyle, story and photo:
Representative Brett Guthrie stopped by the Edmonson County Sheriff's Office today, along with staff members Mark Lord and new field representative Kylie Foushee (Foo-Shay) to catch up with Sheriff Shane Doyle.

Rep. Guthrie and his staff discussed possible ways local law enforcement could be helped from the federal level and shared their thoughts on current affairs. Sheriff Doyle specifically asked for help when it came to grant funding, and he felt like Guthie's office could offer assistance through communicating with areas of economic development.

After the congressman finished his conversation with the sheriff, he graciously sat down with the Edmonson Voice to provide his thoughts on a number of subjects that included the U.S. border, the fight on COVID, and the current situation with voter laws.

First, Rep. Guthrie discussed the U.S. border and described President Joe Biden's policy on the matter "out of control."

"I was able to go to the border and see it myself," he said. "I talked to border agents and asked them what could we do to fix it, they told me we need to finish the wall."

Guthrie said it was obvious where the Trump wall project ended and the rest of the border began where migrants are easily slipping over and through. He said there are so many entering into the country illegally that agents are finding it more and more difficult to stop smugglers, who are bringing in fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is said to be 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine.

"Cocaine is smuggled mostly in bricks but fentanyl can be put in a water bottle and stuffed in somebody's pocket," he said. "These cartels are abusing migrants by paying them to bring this stuff over. Just a tiny little bit of it can kill you but agents are only catching 20-25% of the smugglers. So where are the other 80% or so? The first thing we're going to do (republicans) when we take control is make sure the border is under control. It's a top priority."

We asked him about the current fight in the COVID pandemic.

"Biden has completely failed," he said. "These top-down mandates are just wrong. We need to shut down forced masks in open areas, you see people forced to wear masks outside in some places and this is simply not slowing down Omicron. This is more like the seasonal flu but no one ever mandated a flu vaccine and we shouldn't be mandating any vaccine. We can't have any more shutdowns. If you want to prevent every case, well, it means control, and we don't need that. We need to let people know the risks so they can do what is best for them."

We also asked him to comment on the current controversy between democrats and republicans regarding voter laws and voter suppression. We asked him his thoughts on people's right to vote being suppressed.

"That's just false," he said. "We want election integrity. What I've always asked is 'is there someone who can't vote that legally has the right? Where are those people?' And I also ask 'why not have someone identify themselves when they vote?' These are questions that are not answered. I want anyone to vote that legally can, but they want to change the rules so that the democrats can get their way."

He said while the current voting bill would not allow someone to vote that legally cannot, it is a pathway for that.

"We're seeing it in cities and other local governments," he said. "No, it doesn't legally allow someone to vote that's not legally supposed to, but this can open up to fraud."

Guthrie added that he is looking forward to the primary election and that he remains close by to serve the people of Edmonson County and the rest of the 2nd congressional district that also includes Fort Knox, Owensboro, Bowling Green, and Danville.

"I feel local when I come here after all the time I spent with Richie Sanders and the people around here," he said. "I want to continue representing your values. I'm for securing the border, no mandates, and energy independence."

You can contact Rep. Guthrie by visiting his official website here.