On Friday, Republic Report attended the California Republican Convention in Burlingame. Congressman Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) closed the dinner with a speech comparing the problems faced by America in 1980 to today. He said that in 1980, we faced a threat from Soviet communism. McCarthy then said that today the country faces a similar threat from the Occupy Wall Street movement “in our parks”:

MCCARTHY: Have you ever thought about the similarities? Think back to 1980. First, we had a Democratic president. […] We were battling the Soviet Union over the greatest form of government, the free market, or the ideas of communism. We have the same battle today, but now it’s not the Soviet Union, it’s the Occupy movement. It’s in our parks with the Occupy movement.

Listen here:

Far from being part of some evil empire, the Occupy movement is one focused on bringing America back to its founding principles: representative government, an economy that works for everyone, and appropriate justice for the financial elites who brought us into the great recession. The movement is made up of regular Americans from all walks of life, many of them demonstrating in the streets for the first time. Even Tea Party members and right-leaning activists have joined Occupy events to call for campaign finance reform and a constitutional amendment to fix the Citizens United decision that many fear is moving America closer to a plutocracy rather than a democracy.

McCarthy is a member of the GOP leadership in the House of Representatives.