Republican State Convention

Rise and Shine - We arrived at the Convention at 7:a.m. It was located at the soon to officially be the Utah Valley University in Orem. There were lots of people outside handing out all sorts of stuff, mostly papers, about the different candidates. We went into the McKay Events Center and checked out a few of the booths and then went to get our credentials, in the next building over.

For my district, the first order of business was the Senate 13 caucus at 9:a.m. So after we got our credentials we spent the time checking out the candidates booths, eating, visiting the suites and hospitality rooms, and listening to part of the Military speech at the Shurleff/Leavitt suite.

We got to the Senate Caucus, but the House Caucus that was before was going overtime so we just hung out and chatted with other delegates.

In the Senate Caucus, we got to hear J. Lane Henderson and Mark Madsen. Then after the viewing of empty ballot boxes and some instructions from the Election Judge we were able to place our vote and head over to the main meeting.

The meeting was run by Stan Lockhart. We sat in there according to our county. The first part of the meeting went something like this: welcome, prayer, post the colors, pledge of allegiance, singing of the national anthem, call to order, preliminary credentials report, adoption of rules, Stan's report, awards presentation, pedometer check, resolution to support David Archelletta to win the American Idol, and final credential report (3298 delegates = 95%).

Next we split into our Congressional Districts. We stayed where we were for ours. Here we listened to the candidates running for the U.S. House of Representatives (Stone Fonua, Joe Ferguson, David Leavitt, Jason Chaffetz, and Chris Cannon. We then had to go back up to the level where the candidate booths were and head to the balloting section to place our ballots in the boxes.

After this the general session resumed. We were introduced to the "I can" campaign. We heard from our National Commiteeman, Fred Lampropolous. Then we heard from the candidates running for governor, treasurer, National Committeeman, and National Committeewoman. In there somewhere we received the results of our Senate 13 race. Mark Madsen received 97 votes (70%) and J. Lane Henderson received 41 votes. We also received the results for our first round with the U. S. House of Representatives (Stone 4, Joe 49, David 220, Chris 338, and Jason 469). Then we placed our votes for the state races, national committee people, national delegates, alternate national delegates, and the elector delegates. We also were to place our second round ballots for U. S. House (Stone and Joe were removed from the balloting because they had the fewest votes).

We came back and listened to Senator Bob Bennett, Senator Orrin Hatch, Patty Johnson and Mark Shurtleff. We had an acclamation of candidates. Then we started in with the party business. Starting with the 2 constitution amendments and 1 bylaw amendment. Somewhere in there we were given the results of the ballots. Winners without a primary were: Jon Huntsman, Jr. for governor, Bruce Hough for National Committeeman, and Enid Greene Mickelsen for National Committeewoman. We were told to go to the state website to see all the elected national delegates, alternates and electors. The results of our District's U.S. House race were: David 161, Jason 529, and Chris 356.

We then placed our third round votes for the U.S. House (David was removed because he had the fewest votes). We came back and a motion was made to adjourn the meeting even though we hadn't finished with the party business (9 resolutions and 4 platform changes). Motion was passed and meeting was adjourned.

This is my basic rundown of what happened.

PRIMARY - here we come!

Today was the State Republican Convention. It was entertaining to say the least. I'm just happy that there will be a primary for us. We will get to vote in the June Primary Election for State Treasurer and U.S. House of Representatives District 3. There were other races that will go to a primary, but they are not in our district.

State Treasurer Candidates:

• Richard Ellis
• Mark Walker

U.S. House Candidates:

• Chris Cannon
• Jason Chaffetz

I'll give a run down of the State Convention as soon as I can.

Lane Henderson - running for State Senate

I was able to go to a meet and greet with Lane Henderson. Here are the notes that I took:

WHY RUNNING? He wants to make a difference in the political arena.

CAMPAIGN & DONATIONS: He says that their is a network inside the machine as people have often said. He decided not to accept any campaign donations so that he doesn't owe anyone anything. Then while Mark Madsen was speaking at the county convention, someone threw a wadded up piece of paper to Lane. He opened it up and inside was $5. He didn't know who the $ came from and therefore couldn't give it back. So on his campaign donations he has $5 listed.

COUNTY CONVENTION: He was most hurt by the question asked from the lady from Eagle Mountain, regarding integrity in office. When he became major he had 5 objectives. He was able to accomplish all 5 of them, before his term was up. He gave the people of Salem ownership in their city that they have never had before.

$$$: He is the lowest paid mayor in the state. He doesn't feel that you should be overpaid for your office to serve the people. He feels that campaign donations (millions of dollars) should be put to better use for our economy.

POLICY: He has an open door policy. He invites all to talk to him about their issues and concerns. He likes to make things better than how he found it.

MADSEN'S LETTER: Senator Madsen sent out a letter to all the delegates attacking Lane. Madsen attacked his authenticity of being a republican and that he had special interests. He is a republican through and through and is not soft to democrats. There was a letter written by one of the residents of Salem in support of Lane. This lady happens to be a democrat and Mark thinks that's a horrible thing. Lane did not know at the time that she was a democrat. She was just being kind and trying to help. (Besides, don't we like it when democrats support our republican candidates?) He had 12 groups and around 100 individuals contact him and want to give him $ for his campaign. He turned them all down. He does not have special interests.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION: He says the state has to take action. He thinks we all should carry our own weight. He lived in Italy for 5 years. He and his wife were there 4 months before their kids could join them legally. That's the way they did it because that was the legal way to do it. While there they contributed to their society, didn't take from it.

VOUCHERS: He disagrees with vouchers and open enrollment. He says that the private sector should remain private. He is not against vouchers in principle, but against private businesses getting a government check. He says that he is for free choice in education. He is against open enrollment in that schools can then recruit students and athletes that would give a school an unfair advantage.

SALEM TRAIL SYSTEM: Lane has been working with other cities and CW management for quite some time to get the Salem Trail System, a trail that connects 3 cities. To fund this they needed to get grants. Chris McCandless from CW Management drafted a letter to try and get a grant from the Lee Ray McCallister Fund. Senator Madsen in turn signed this letter, taking credit for getting the trail system. He in fact did not write the letter, he was just asked to sign it in hopes that it would help get the grant.

UEA: Madsen also accuses him of being a UEA delegate. Lane again says that he is not being carried by special interest groups. However Madsen is carrying the banner of special interests. Madsen has a bill that would allow 18 year olds to carry concealed weapons. Lane doesn't feel that they should be able to. Most of Madsen's contributions come from PAC.

DISTRICTING: He would like to see more uniform districting. Right now district 13 is in Tooele and Utah counties.

GRASSROOTS: Only way we are going to get control of our government is by starting in the grassroots.

TERM LIMITS: He is in favor of term limits for politicians. That way you have more fresh ideas and people aren't tied in with anyone. Let's stand up for something. They should also prohibit the amount of $ politicians can take. The role of government is to let the people know what is going on. He wants to see transparency.

PROPERTY: Never wants to condemn (eminent domain) people's property. People have the right to their land. When Salem city needed landed they bought it from different property owners. Originally one owner received more money than the other for the same amount of land. As mayor, Lane did not feel this was right and asked the city council to make it even amounts and they did.

PRIVATE SECTOR: He wants to keep government out of the private sector. As a private business owner, he doesn't think that the government has a right to compete against him, especially not at the tax payers expense.

OTHER: He wants to make everyone around him look good. He likes to give credit to the people it belongs to. He says he's a worker. He get in and gets it done. He doesn't believe we should just always be entitled. He wants to give government back to the people. One way he will do this by listening to the people and by responding to every letter and email he receives.

P.S. He says that if you haven't seen it before you need to come see the Salem Pond at Christmas time. It's called Pond Town Christmas. They float lit Christmas trees out on the pond.

US House of Rep District 3 DEBATE

There was a debate at the Provo City Council Chambers between Chris Cannon, David Leavitt, Jason Chaffetz, and Joe Ferguson. The mediator asked a question and each was allowed a certain amount of time (differing depending on the question) to answer it. They were all asked to be nice (although worded differently)!

? What congressional caucuses would you like to join?

JOE- He would like to consult with Representative Ron Paul and would like to do all that he can to stop the NAU.

JASON- Visit http://www.reagan21.org/, Immigration Reform, Conservative, Law Enforcement, and National Guard.

DAVID - Western, Conservative, Reagan 21, Fiscal Responsibility

CHRIS - Chair Western, Land & Energy, I didn't catch the last one but it had to do with the public and nutrition supp and meth prevention programs.

? What are your top 3 legislative priorities?

JASON- Fiscal Discipline is his signature issue, Education, and Immigration. He says English should be made our official language. He says that focus determines reality and he doesn't think that Chris Cannon is focused on the right things.

DAVID- He says that we have short and long term crisis. The short term ones are caused by the neglect of the long term ones. 1) Federal spending under control. 2) Figure out how to change foreign energy dependency. 3) Get a grip on Medicare and health care.

CHRIS- 1) http://www.endfeded.org/ - get rid of the Dept. of Education, 4 million teachers want to repeal the No Child Left Behind Act. 2) Energy - give the President the authority to override and allow states to produce oil, other energy sources, etc. 3) Make internet free of government regulation - complete transparency of government.

JOE- Stop the NAU - NAU is going forward in the Executive Branch of our federal government, mostly through commerce. He says it decimates our National Security and our ability to control immigration.

*** As a side note Jason and Chris (David may have also I can't remember) both recognize the NAU as a huge threat. It is not a conspiracy theory. It is something that should be taken very seriously. It is the plan that is already been in the works, to make a North American Union. This would take away our borders with both Canada and Mexico. We would have one currency between the 3 nations. There are so many problems that can and will happen if this becomes the case. ***

? Rate yourself from 1-10. 1 being very liberal and 10 being very conservative.

David- 8
Chris- 10
Joe- 15
Jason- 10

? What are your views on the state of economy and your remedies for it?

CHRIS- He says the root of the problem is the misunderstanding of debt structure. A big chunk of our nation's debt is what they call "pretend debt". It's money that they say we owe to our own Social Security system. The democrats say that Social Security won't be a problem until 2037, Chris says it will be sooner. He said to read the book BOOMSDAY by Christopher Buckley. He says we spend 1/2 trillion dollars a year on oil from other countries. We have 150 billion barrels of oil here in Utah (from oil shale). We need to spend less in government. There are 2 teams in government: the Socialists (liberals) & Constitutionalists (conservatives).

JOE- The value of $ is going down because of our excessive spending and that the government just keeps creating more money. He says to take your economy stimulus rebate and buy $500 in food. He says in a year from now food will be more expensive and it would be a good investment on your money. He says businesses are over regulated. He says the Federal government is not governing us they are ruling us. We need to reduce the regulatory load by the government.

JASON - The constitution gives us the proper role of government. We are in a "Nanny State" - wanting social things for free. We don't have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem. Until we get spending under control we are damaging food and energy. He says we don't need another attorney in Washington, we have 178 of them. He says that Salt Lake City should not be getting money ($300,000 for historic buildings - Gardner Village - earmark done by Chris Cannon) from the federal government. If the people of Salt Lake want to fix it up they should pay for it, not all the American people. http://www.earmarkpledge.com/

DAVID- Our economy is the result of a country that wants a quick fix now. We need to spend less than we earn and we need to save money. We need to get ourselves and our government out of debt. We need to return to our core American values. We need to have the capacity to fail or we will never be free. We need to know that this is going to hurt bad, but it's not the government’s role to do this. The government will change.

? IMMIGRATION - What essential laws, programs, and changes to we need to stop and solve our immigration problems?

JOE- It's not the laws that need to change; it's the attitude of our president and congressmen. Stop "coyotes" picking up illegals in Suburbans and trucks and driving them to the US. If they need food give them a shovel and a pack of seeds.

JASON- The policy and the law are not the same in this country. Stats quo is that it's OK because it's good for business. Shame on us. All men and women are created equally. He says that we need to fix legal immigration, reject amnesty, lock down the borders, enforce visas (40% of those here on non working visas, like tourist visas, are not leaving), and that the 14th amendment "birthright" is wrong.

DAVID- He says he disagrees with Chris, saying you can't have a line unless you round up 15-20 million people and take names. We must secure our borders. He says that for 3 years he stood alone with his decision to protect women and children from the abuses that go on through polygamy. He had to have round the clock police protection and his wife had to wear a bullet proof vest, because of all the treats. He is not afraid to take on big issues and stand alone if he needs to. He's in favor of temporary visa cards (through the private sector), send them home, get a normal visa and come back all within a few weeks.

CHRIS- When the Legislative and Executive branches fowl up the Judicial Branch has to get involved. He says that illegal immigration is like a cancer. America is different than every other country because of our "Rule of Law." We must have 100% enforcement of our current laws.

? Is there an advantage with seniority?

JASON- Seniority doesn't equal influence. You need to be able to move the entire body (congress). Senator Hatch in February said that immigration was not going to come up because it is an election year. He says that he will use his time and talents to build relationships and to be focused.

DAVID- Seniority gives you influence perhaps in the committee you reside or rank over, it is not a right a congressman has. You need to replace seniority in a time when seniority means the least, which is in the first year of the minority (which is now).

CHRIS- In 10 years America will not be America as we know it if Socialists run the next 10 years. At this rate we will have $4-5 gallon for gas by the end of the year. We need to get congress back this year. He plans on chairing 2 committees that he is not the senior member of. He is doing it because he is effective.

JOE- Seniority has its advantages. Nancy Pelosi and Ted Kennedy have seniority! CAFDA passed because Chris voted for it. A freshman congressman would of voted No.

***Chris and Joe had a few exchanges at this point, since I don't have it down exactly I'm choosing to omit it all together***

? What the reasons for escalating cost of food and fuel?

DAVID- In 1929 every major world market failed. By 1933 every major world market had recovered except for the United States. It wasn't until 1950 that the U.S. market recovered. This was because our government intervened with our markets and they still are. They subsidized corn for ethanol. We are oil dependant upon our enemies and those enemies can determine the price we pay. We need to reduce environmental regulations so we drill in ANWR, Florida, etc.

CHRIS- Prices of rice, pork, barley, etc. are skyrocketing. The value of dollar is down for buying oil. We have the ability to buy oil for less than $20 a barrel from oil shale production on school trust lands. We could produce millions of barrels a day from Utah, Colorado and Wyoming. We need to allow the president to override the 2 year wait for permits. We need to stop funding them (foreign oil).

JOE- Buy food, gold and silver. He believes the price of gas is manipulated - some people are getting really rich. Gas was $1.50/gallon before Katrina. The Federal government is our greatest enemy in producing our own fuel.

*** There was some banter between Joe & Chris over Hal Burton ***

JASON- We should let free markets extract resources. The proper role of government is to get out of the way. The proper role of government is not to pick winners and losers. He is pro nuclear. There are 104 nuclear power plants in the United States, we need the 105th in Utah. It's not Homer Simpsons running these plants. "Note to Jon Huntsman, Global Warming is a farce!"

? We need unity in our Republican party; do you support the Republican platform?

CHRIS - He says that the State and county platforms are very clear. He says unity means helping get the right people elected.

JOE - National level doesn't reflect our values.

JASON - Believes 100% He converted to the Republican Party 20 years ago. In 2006, not one democrat at the National level lost. Some where Republicans lost our way. They abandoned their conservative principles. Starting point needs to be watch dog of the President not a lap dog.

***Chris jumps in with he thinks he's a watch dog and some remarks about Jason not running against Jim Matheson. Jason said he'd like to get rid of both of you (Chris & Jim).

DAVID - A real leader has a vision of this is where to go. He says he will stand up and articulate that. In 1776, our freedoms didn't come from a king, but from God. They won their freedom because God make them free. We need to return to the understanding that we are not a religious nation, but a believing nation. We need to return to public belief in God or we will lose this country.

? What are your thought on the Federal Mortgage Crisis?

JOE - No answer, he yields his time.

JASON - (They informed us that this meeting would go longer and I needed to make some arrangements for my kids, so I was unable to hear Jason's answer)

DAVID - Sub prime crisis came because we lived beyond our means. We don't need more and more and more, and the government doesn't either.

CHRIS - The mortgage crisis was created with the new tools (derivatives), lower cost, cheaper $ and easier loans. There was fraud and misappraisals.

? What do you think of the FAIR TAX?

JASON- Wipe the slate clean. Tax consumption instead of production is the right way to go. Devils in the details how to get there.

DAVID- Socialistic system. 5% pay 45-50% of the tax bill. Fair tax is national sales tax consumption not income tax.

CHRIS - It adds 30% on to the price of goods. It's too much. Everyone pays the same thing. We need to reduce spending, have simplicity in tax code, flat tax and then a fair tax.

JOE - 2 problems: tax paid, then collected. Taxes is Marxism it's first mentioned in the Communist Manifesto. He is suspicious of politicians calling for a fair tax.

? What of the Social Security and Medicare financial disasters?

DAVID - We need to draw a line 50 years + the government should underwrite their social security. Under 50 years old they need to pay into a pension. Medicare in an entitlement. WE need to move it form government to the private sector.

CHRIS - Answer is market solution. Let people contribute into personal 401ks

JOE - No easy solution. We've been robbed. The people in charge of this would be put in jail if they were in the private sector. We need to reduce medicare we cannot continue to fund it.

JASON - We need a paradigm shift, people need to take more care of themselves. If we take 100% personal ownership in these programs we will deal with it differently.

? 25 states own 80-90% of their land. 65% of Utah is owned by the Federal Government. What will you do to help return that land to Utah?

CHRIS - The BLM doesn't even know the exact % of Utah it owns. The federal government has an obligation to give it back to the state. The federal government is a bad tenant of the land. We would be better stewards.

JOE - Sam Houston was smarter than Brigham Young. Sam retained all their land. BLM doesn't even pay taxes on their land.

JASON - Turn the land back over to the states. Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument - the republicans failed to overturn it. The time to do it was years ago.

DAVID - Utah should own Utah's lands. ...broken, fighting, backbiting, not every Republican idea is from God, and every Democratic idea is from the devil. We have to work together.

? What about our constant state of war?

JOE - Never mentioned $ Wars are political decisions. Wars are driven by money. Iraq, money factors in somehow or another. Money is the mother's milk of politics.

JASON - He liked what Bush said before he was president, " We shouldn't be in the business of nation building and being the world's policemen." We need to take care of our troops. He'd like to bring the troops home, not immediately. He would leave that up to the general to decide when.

DAVID - It is pass time to debate, we went. We need to stay there until we've achieved the Iraq objectives. We need to support our troops. We need to protect American soil. Since 1776- yesterday, millions of Americans have died for us.

CHRIS - There are organized groups of people that are trying to destroy our society. We have to deal with Iraq.

CLOSING REMARKS:

JOE - Our country started from resisting tyranny and the ruling elite. The constitution is formula for success. Socialism and Marxism is failure. Every major problem comes from violation of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

JASON - Thanks Provo, Ivan, wife and son. I will make you proud. I will work hard.

DAVID - There may not be 7 hairs difference philosophically between us four. The difference is in style. I didn't need to tear down another candidate to get to his level. We need good statesmanship. United we stand, divided we fall. We will stick to high ground and be civilized.

CHRIS - This has been the most interesting debate and campaign. He's on the far right of congress. What David is suggesting in Washington is already happening with him.

BIGGEST APPLAUSE: When Jason said, "Note to Jon Huntsman, Global Warming is a farce." and David said, "We need to get back our public belief in God."

State Convention

Our state convention is now soon approaching. This is a huge responsibility for the state delegates. We will be nominating Republican Party candidates for Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, Treasurer, Auditor, and for our district, U.S. House of Rep. and State Senate. We will also nominate a National Committeeman and a National Committeewoman, 33 National Delegates (including 3 from each Congressional District), 36 Alternate National Delegates (including 3 from each Congressional District), and 5 Presidential Electors. We will also conduct party business which includes:

• 1 proposed Republican Party Constitution amendment
• 1 proposed Bylaw amendment
• 9 resolutions
• 4 platform changes

These can be viewed at: http://home.utgop.org/page.php?page_id=6

There are some big issues addressed in some of these proposed changes. Please read through them and let us know what you think.

Lisa Shepherd

Lisa Shepherd is from our precinct. I just wanted to say how proud I am of her for running for State House of Reps. She was asked by several people throughout our community to run and it was not an easy thing to do. She really gave it her all and put her whole heart into it. She withstood the storms. I think that she was very brave for sticking her neck out there and for trying to make a difference.
Thanks Lisa!!!

Convention Notes

Here are the notes I took from the convention:

Senate District 13 Caucus -

LANE HENDERSON: Wants to help change some state involved programs. He believes in small towns. He wants to bring small town to the big city. He has an open door policy. He may be new, but he is happy to learn. If you don't agree with him, he hopes that you will sit down and discuss it with him. He is running so that we can have a choice, and because there are platform issues that he doesn't agree with his opponent. They are: Education and Immigration. Education - He is not in favor of vouchers. He says the government should not be involved with private businesses and that they shouldn't compete with the state. Immigration - It is a federal issue, but now it's a state issue because the federal government has not done a good job.

MARK MADSEN: He has enjoyed his 4 years in office. He is running because he made a two term commitment. He enjoys a challenger. He says to look at his record and yes, there are votes he wishes he could take back. He upholds the Republican platform. He says it's more important for society the less the government is involved. Education - He says that vouchers reduce government, it minimized government control. He says that homeschooling in Utah has the best laws in the nation.

GENERAL SESSION -

1115 delegates in attendance = 92%
Regan Award was given to Brian E. Thompson
Keep Utah County the Republican County of the U.S.A.

ORRIN HATCH: John McCain is correct when he says we need to improve such problems like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. He says McCain is a tough guy and won't allow us to be defeated in Iraq and Afghanistan. He says that many of us might have our reservations about John McCain, but there is 1 reason that it is very important that we as Republicans support him and that is that he will have the responsibility to appoint Judges to the Supreme Court. If not, for any other reason that is why we need to vote for him. The Supreme Court represents the 3rd branch of government and we need a Republican to select the Judges. He also mentioned that he has been a Senator for 32 years.

BOB BENNETT: He gave a history of how Utah use to be a democratic state and our first Republican break came in Utah County in 1946. Arthur Watkins, a lawyer from Orem, won the U.S. Senate seat. He says he is determined to keep all the top seats and the key to that is Utah County. He says that we shouldn't be complacent and disappointed. This is not a year to let down. Utah County can rise up and be the dominating force for Republican victory.

CHRIS CANNON: Asked how many would like to see Mitt Romney as the Vice Presidential running mate (overwhelming yes response). He says the Democrats have 2 major problems. 1) Tax cuts 2) Price of gas. He says that by November the price could pass $4-$4.50 per gallon. He says that we have trillions of gallons of oil in our shale. We need to be allowed to develop it. If we continue to get gas from corn, then people around the world will starve. We need to retake Congress.

GARY HERBERT: He says that it's important that we get together. We need to hear from you. We need to fund Education and Transportation ($16-$20 billion). We need to grow our economy. Teacher increases were $4200 + $1000 bonus for some. We have increased transportation projects 10 fold, 205 projects around the state. 3 weeks ago a report in Washington said that Utah was the best managed state in America. He quoted Lavell Edwards saying, "You don't change the quarterback on a winning team."

MARK SHURTLEFF: He strongly believes in the Declaration of Independence. He believes that government owes it's just cause to those they govern. We are safer now then a few years ago. In 2000 they busted 267 meth labs, so far in 2008 only 3. There are now more pedophiles in prison. Story about Playboy representative (listed at end under biggest applause).

MERRIL COOK: He says that Jim Matheson's time is numbered. He says there should be limits on spending. There should also be limits on tax limitation and tax reform.

KENNETH GRAY: We need to address our oil and education needs. We don't need to raise taxes, we need to be able to use our federal lands. There is enough oil shale in Utah to produce oil that could last the United States for at least 3 centuries. We could bring the price of oil down to $15 a barrel. He wrote a book THE ROCK THAT BURNS (it's a political novel, murder mystery, dealing with oil shale, not bad!).

BRIAN JENKINS: Freedom is what we are here about. When the U.S. was formed we fought over trade. We need to get back to principles.

BILL DEW: He is running for the future of the children. Economy, immigration, war in Iraq, public lands are all big issues. He put $250,000 of his own money in his campaign and will add another $250,000. He says that he is the man that can help Jim (Matheson) sleep like a baby - slept 2 hours, cried 1 hour! Sweet dreams, Jim!

DONALD FERGUSON: We the people - government haven’t been representing the people. "This message approved by Donald Ferguson!" We need to stand up and be vocal. Our standards, ethics and way of life need to be protected. "I am an American. Officials in Washington have forgotten that."

DAVID LEAVITT: We have a U.S. Financial crisis. We need to stop pointing fingers at the democrats. He says there is no shame in acknowledging that something is wrong only in continuing in doing something wrong. We need to return and receive trust. We need to change players in Washington. Government should only be here to protect our freedoms.

JASON CHAFFETZ: (He talked way too fast for me to get most of it down!!!) He said that earmarks are wrong for Utah and the U.S. He said that we need to repeal the No Child Left Behind. He thinks that we should not have a Department of Education. We need to fix immigration and reject amnesty. We need to tap into the assets in our own backyard. English should be the official language of the United States.

JOE "NPC" FERGUSON: He says that the North American Union is a real treat. He asked if we have the will to save America. We need to protect ourselves from the domestic enemies of the Constitution.
CHUCK SMITH: He says that less government is a more efficient government. We need to work to get schools out of welfare. He says we keep people subjected when we put them on welfare.

RICHARD ELLIS: He says he has real hands on experience (running for state treasurer). He has a 22 year career in public and private sectors. He deals with cash management. Says $480 million were raised on Wall Street not taxes.

MARK WALKER: He says there are 3 reasons he is qualified. 1) He has worked in the private sector. He managed all public accounts (cities, gov.'t, etc.) through Zion's bank. He says that private sector always out performs the public sector (investment money). 2) He has legislative experience. 3) He is firmly grounded in Republican values and principles. He stands by his values and doesn't move to the left.

BIGGEST APPLAUSE: There were two instances that I would say received the biggest applause. The first was from Mark Shurtleff. He related a story about how a Playboy representative called Mark and wanted to challenge Utah's law about it being harmful to a 15 year old to view their magazine. Mark invited the lawyer to come to Utah, give a 15 year old his magazine. Mark will arrest him and he can be the test case! The second was when Jason Chaffetz said that English should be the Official Language of the United States.