A Reform-Minded Christmas

Christmas came a little early this year.

We saw the House Freedom Caucus, a group of about 40 conservative lawmakers, emerge as an influential force in the lower chamber, and we witnessed a tremendous shift in power as Speaker John Boehner was ostensibly forced from his post and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy was denied the gavel.

Even though we scored some important victories this year, there are still some things that we’re putting on our Christmas wish list.

First, we hope Santa will encourage Republican presidential hopefuls to continue to emphasize pro-growth policies that will jump-start the economy after a weak recovery. We’re also asking St. Nick to help us defend members of the House Freedom Caucus, who have disrupted the status quo of the Washington establishment. Thirdly, we want the Republican-controlled Congress to begin reasserting itself in its constitutional role as the lawmaking branch of the federal government, and keep unelected bureaucrats in check.

Another big-ticket item is movement on criminal justice reform in Congress. For the past year, FreedomWorks, as a partner of the U.S. Justice Action Network and the Coalition for Public Safety, has been educating and training our grass-roots activists on the damage inflicted by lengthy sentences imposed by big-government policies of the past and on the importance of reducing recidivism through rehabilitation programs, as well as promoting public safety and saving taxpayers money through reform.