First Meeting with Bob Fuehr - Candidate for US Congress Utah 4th District

Today I attended a town hall meeting put on by Bob Fuehr in Riverton. Unlike my opportunity to have a 1:1 for 60 minutes like I did with Mia, this time around I was just sitting in the crowd of 40-50 delegates.

We started out by watching a campaign video that was pretty well done. It explained his life of growing up in the mid-west, working hard to obtain an education, becoming successful in business, being appointed to different committees in the state, and public service. Of course the video had it's token images of Reagan, Romney, and a lot of American flags.

I didn't get to ask the questions this time, so this won't be a perfect comparison of what I learned from Mia, but I'll follow the same format in the post. Additionally, I have definitely not made a decision between Love and Fuehr, and will post more of my opinions as I gain some more knowledge.

College Education
Bob cares a lot about this. He feels that education is the way we solve the income gap problem in the US. So, Bob supports federal grant and loan money for colleges. When someone asked him where the Constitution permits the Fed government to pay for college education, he responded, "We could probably squeeze that into the general welfare clause." Which the prompted the response of, "yes, then does that mean that can put anything in that clause." He admitted that is true, then adjusted his comment to say he supports funding coming through the states rather than the feds.

I asked if a college education really will close the income gap. He said that people need to learn trades to earn more money. I wish I could have suggested a recent book I read, Linchpin, that promotes a convincing theory of why wages are decreasing for most jobs.

Jobs!
Bob was on the state's board of business development. He argues that the way to get jobs back in this country is by offering tax incentives to businesses for each job they bring back to the US. He said that when they did that in Utah, we earned $12 for every $1 spent in the incentive.

How will you balance the budget?
He didn't really give a straight-forward answer on this one. He generally stated that we need to cut some programs.

Federal Reserve
Bob would love to hear another option, but he feels that we definitely need to have a central bank. He would support an audit of the federal reserve. He said we need to get spending under control so we stop printing more money. (is that possible?)

Which Utah Congressman do you relate to the most?
Chris Stewart. Bob got to know him last time when he ran against him in the 2nd district. He feels that Chris has good judgement and principles.

Illegal Immigration
This was quite the heated topic. Many people in the room felt that we need to protect us from immigrants who, generally speaking, are here to get handouts. There were a few, younger, folks who voiced their opinion that the majority of them are trying to work hard.
Bob laid out his plan as 1. Secure the border however we can, whatever it takes. 2. eVerify program that is enforced with a strict penalty on the business if they hire illegal workers. 3. Bring those who are already here into the system, but if they want citizenship they need to get in the line and do it the right way.

Social Security Reform
Don't touch it for anyone who is at or near 65 years old. But gradually decrease the benefits for the younger people in the workforce. He'd like to get the retirement age closer to the average life expectancy age as it was originally in 1937.

Common Core
The federal government has no right to be involved in our children's education. It should be as close to the parents as possible and in the worse case at the state level. The federal government seems to have a problem with 50 laboratories working to improve the system on their own. Common Core is No Child Left Behind on steroids.

Difference between you and Mia Love?
In short, he feels that his experience will lead him to make better judgements than Mia. He points out that he makes better decisions now than he did 10 years ago because he has learned a lot from experience. He challenges us to ask who do we trust to make the right decisions? He also points out that he is not a career politician, and, in less words, doesn't need the money to pay the bills. (Though to be fair, Mia is not the bread winner in her family.)

Bob's Priorities
1. Jobs
2. Get Federal lands transferred to Utah (by forming a coalition with other Western states and by pointing out how the money will be used for education--a noble cause)
3. Eliminate waste in government

Working with Others
Bob wants to work in coalitions that agree on an issue. I must interject that I feel strongly that this is the only way to get something done in Washington (without junkets of course) and am glad Bob is aware of how to get things done.

Which Committees do you want to be on?
Those that are important to the state, where we are not represented, and where he has a good background that is helpful.
Energy, Banking, Small Business, and Appropriations.

I look forward to writing up my opinions and contrasting these two candidates. I also encourage you to attend any town hall meeting you can to get to know them yourselves. Let me know what you think of them. You can see their schedules at www.bobfuehr.com and http://love4utah.com/events/

My One-Hour Grilling of Mia Love

Tonight I attended a "meet the candidates" town hall in Lehi, UT. There were approximately 80 county delegates there and a dozen or so state delegates. So, it was nice to be able to have some direct conversations with the candidates.

Before I tell you about Mia Love, a quick note on Jennifer Johnson the only other candidate running in District 4 (wait a second, "District 4", is this the Hunger Games?). She gave a brief introduction and answered some questions. I'll focus more on her, at the next town hall, but here's a little about her:

Jennifer Johnson

Has been on the state board of education for the past year, and "came into this mess." She has done some good things around getting rid of discretionary spending w/o the board's approval. She is also FOR Common Core, which didn't go over well with the crowd, or with me. I look forward to interviewing her in the future.

Mia Love

After the brief introductions the state delegates and candidates went to smaller room and "mingled." I decided to spend as much time talking to her as possible since the only other person there was Jennifer Johnson. (I was really bummed that Fuehr hasn't shown up yet.)

I was with 4-5 other people asking Mia questions. And perhaps it was quite rude of me, but I was able to ask most of the questions.

Common Core

Totally against the Federal Gov't dictating any sort of standards. She has 3 kids and they all are different and learn differently. Parents are responsible for the education of their children.

Alternative Education

Mia believes that the money should follow the child and the parents can choose where to educate their child.

Foreign Policy

We should only commit any act of war if:

1. There is an immediate threat to American lives

2. It is approved/declared by Congress

3. We go in with a plan of exactly what we need to accomplish

4. We have a plan on how to get out

Sanctions

They hurt our relationship with the people of the country and further empowers their leaders.  She quoted Frederic Bastiat (automatically scoring points with me) saying, "If goods don't cross borders, armies will."

Philosophy on Government

Protect Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happyness (yes I know it's an "i", but I really love that movie). She agreed with the statement that a person is free to choose to do good or bad as long as they don't infringe on the rights of another person. So of course, I asked her about...

Legalization of Drugs

Make sure you read this carefully: She is against drug abuse and will do whatever she can in the community to persuade people to stay away from them. But she does not think that using drugs should be illegal. Yes, even if that means that it may negatively hurt society, the principle is it is the role of people and society to make a great society, it is the role of government to protect us and keep us free.

"The Messenger Matters"

Mia said this multiple times two years ago as well. I think what she is trying to say is, "I'm a black woman running as a Republican and therefore there will be a lot of interest in me." She says that as the messenger she will say that you need to pay for your own phone, you need to get yourself out of poverty, etc. 

The Federal Reserve

Mia feels that the FED is responsible for the dollar crisis we are in. And that nobody realizes what a crisis it is. 

The Defense of Marriage Act
I asked her if she would support DOMA and this one was a tough one for Mia. She said it is difficult because of her religious and personal beliefs. She took it back to principle and explained that if you give the government power for one thing they can abuse it in the future. She would rather fight the battle to get government out of the marriage business.

Energy

Mia said that the US has the most Oil, Coal, and Gas in the world (true?), and that we should not be dependent on foreign countries. We need to tap into our resources here at home.

Federal Department of Education

Abolish it.

Backroom Deals

She HATES them. I figure that is just a nice political thing to say if you are running for office. But she brought up an example of being behind closed doors with Boehner and he said that the people elect, but after that, they shouldn't have a say in what decisions are made on the Hill. Something to that effect. 

It's About the People

Mia said that she want to represent us and get as many decisions in our hands as possible and out of the Federal Gov't. She plans on holding many town hall meetings. 

Social Media

I encouraged her that if she is to be elected she should explain every vote she makes on Facebook/Twitter. 

Congressional Pay

Decrease it. Too many millionaires.

Reason She is Running

She claims doesn't want run for money or power. After she lost 2 years ago, her kids asked her how she would continue to fight. She isn't excited, but knows that this is how she can make a difference.

My Thoughts

Mia is impressive. She seems very principled in her positions and those principles are the same as they were 2 years ago. I will pay a lot of attention to what she says in public to see how it matches what she said to me.

Something that drives me crazy is that she does speak like a politician. Not as bad as say, Chaffetz or Matheson. Sometimes I can tell she wants to say the principled position, but is trying to say it in a way that will be more widely accepted. It's probably the right way to do it, but I just want the pure truth.

Anyway, take from this what you will. If you have other questions you'd like me to ask her, please be sure to comment.

Observations from EM06 Republican Caucus Meeting 2014

It sure is great to attend the local caucus meeting. It is grassroots and I love the people who attend. They are vigilant citizens who want to protect our freedoms as they best know them.

So some quick observations:

1. The Utah Republican Party Platform
I wish I would have taken notes b/c the platform read changed this year and one thing stuck out specifically stuck out to me:

All the language around regulations previously stated "Government regulation can be a major impediment to productivity and to competition. We must rely more on market forces and less on government." But the new platform mentioned had language that was more regulation-friendly.

2. Establishment vs. Non-Establishment
Four years ago you were elected delegate if you said, "I'm getting rid of the Establishment candidate Bob Bennett."

Two years ago you were elected delegate if you said, "I support the Establishment candidate Orrin Hatch."

This year you were elected delegate if you said, "I support people like Mike Lee and Ted Cruz."

So why the swing? Well, money. The core, grassroots, informed, involved members of the precinct voted the same way each time. But two years ago Orrin Hatch sent out his distress signal in the form of hundreds of thousands of dollars in ads and support from other Establishment folks like Romney. It worked and those Establishment folks came out of the woodwork.

I'm not saying that those people who came last time were not sincere, nor do I say that my generalization can be applied to all. But I think this observation has merit, what do you think?

3. Good People Need Your Encouragement
There were so many good people who could do such a great job at any office position we voted on tonight. I like to see a reluctant, stellar person get elected because I know that they do it w/o any ego or pride. There was one person that I think if I nominated her, she would have been elected w/o even a word or a speech.

4. To Heck with Count My Vote
Primary elections, just like general elections, go to the best politician with the most money. I despise this about the process. The caucus/delegate/convention gives the local citizens are real voice, and forces candidates to answer hard questions in a rigorous vetting process.

5. How Fortunate to Have a Rep in our Precinct
Dave Lifferth is awesome. I only agreed with about 70% of his votes this session, but he will talk with his people. He listens, he considers, he responds, and he cares. I gave a little bit of a hard time b/c that is what I normally do with our reps, but he has done some good things.

Well, I'm stoked to be a state delegate this time... even if just by default. I wasn't planning on it this year and that is probably why I actually got elected :)