As rising gas prices and the state of the economy continue to grab the attention of voters heading into the upcoming midterm elections, US Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-Lehigh) reaffirmed his support for President Donald Trump’s Iran war in a recent op-ed.
“I have been clear throughout my time in Congress that I will not support another forever war or the use of U.S. ground troops in Middle East conflicts,” Mackenzie said.
He added, “At the same time, this does not mean that our nation can allow enemies like Iran to achieve their objectives and routinely attack American service members serving abroad.”
Meet the candidates: Ryan Mackenzie and Bob Brooks face off in PA-07
Since the start of the war in late February, Mackenzie has joined his Republican colleagues six times in voting against resolutions to limit Trump’s war powers and end the conflict.
In July, The Daily Beast reported that Mackenzie removed references to ending forever wars after overhauling his website.
During that time, Trump’s war has cost taxpayers over $43 billion, and his approval rating among Pennsylvania voters dropped while gasoline and diesel prices increased, driving up costs and economic angst.
“I would have argued in March, before this war, that (Trump) was in a pretty good position,” Berwood Yost, director of the Floyd Institute for Public Policy’s Center for Opinion Research at F&M, told Lancaster Online in July. “But the results and consequences of (the war) … has changed the dynamics of his presidency.”
Bob Brooks, a Democrat and retired 20-year firefighter running against Mackenzie, has been critical of Mackenzie’s support for the Iran war and has tied that support to increasing gas prices.
Bob Brooks wants to end the Iran war and Trump’s tariffs to drive down costs
“I’m driving my wife’s car all the time now because my diesel pickup trucks cost too much to run. I had to use it the other day, and had to fill it up. It was $160 to fill up this truck just below a half a tank,” Brooks told The Keystone in an interview.
He added, “People can’t afford that. That’s what they’re looking for change in, that’s how we’re going to fix this economy, [and] that’s how we’re gonna bring prices down is to end this war [and] stop these nonsense tariffs that he just lays on everybody.”
