American Conservative Union Chair Matt Schlapp insisted Monday on Newsmax that Republicans can win the debt ceiling and wider budget debate if they play it smart.
Joining "The Record with Greta Van Susteren," Schlapp insisted that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and his conference have leverage in the debt ceiling debate as the United States is closer than ever to defaulting.
"This Republican House has to beat history, where Republicans tend to give in on all these questions," Schlapp argued. "Kevin McCarthy is bucking his feet saying, 'No, you've got to give me something to get your debt ceiling increase.'"
In addition, Schlapp believes Americans are finally on the Republicans' side in the debt war.
"Do the American people really think we're on the right track economically?" Are they really scared? Do they think that this problem is that the government has too little money and that the government needs more of their hard-earned money to take care of these problems?" he asked.
"I think we're at such an existential moment in our history that I think the Republicans can win this argument if they're strewed," the chairman added.
Although Schlapp acknowledged the recent Republican defeat over a key Wisconsin state Supreme Court seat, he contended that the reason primarily comes down to Republicans' being afraid to fight on winning issues.
Democrat Janet Protasiewicz defeated Republican candidate Daniel Kelly for the position earlier this month, winning by 10 percentage points, 55.5% to 44.5%. It also caused the court's balance to flip liberal.
"They just can't stand it when the Republican Party says, 'You know what, we can't win this battle. There's no sense fighting it. We can't get anything in exchange for the debt limit, so we're just going to go along with the White House," he explained. "It's so demoralizing."
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