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.
