Notes from May 3rd - 3rd Congressional District Debate

Key - CC = Chris Cannon, JC = Jason Chaffetz, L = David Leavitt, F = Joe Fergussen

? Which congressional Caucuses would you join

F - stop spending
JC - Reagan21, Immigration Reform, Conservative, N.G.
L - Western, Conservative, Reagan21
CC - currently chairs Western, and sits on Nutritional suppliments, and Meth caucuses

? Top 3 priorities

JC - Fiscal Discipline - Budget is out of control, last year $429 billion in interest on debt. Educatiion - repeal No Child Left Behind. Immigration - Fix legal immigration, no path to citizenship for illegals, lock down border, enforce law, require assimilation, english as the official language
L - Long term and short term problems - need to first solve short term problems. Federal Spending under control - $53 trillion in unfunded liabilities. $ currently sinking due to lack of faith in federal govt ability to repay. Energy Independence - we consume 25% of worlds oil. From our enemies. Need to reduce environmental restriction. Get a grip on medicare & healthcare.
CC - Energy - Give President authority to override environmental restrictions on oil shale. Commercial test should be done by Sept. Keep Internet free of Regulations - Overseeing of Government, Transparency in Spending
F - North American Union - Dept of Commerce through Stealth Increments. Immigration - a problem because George W. Bush doesn't want to stop it.

?Rate yourself on a scale of 1-10 on how much of a conservative you are
L - 8
CC - 10
F - 15
JC - 10

? Views & remedies on economy and the dollar

CC - Mass missunderstanding on national debt - $5 trillion in debt, $4 trillion on SSI liabilities. We need to grow ourselves out of debt. Spending $1/2 trillion in oil each year to our enemies. We need to develope our own energy. This will solve our economic problems. Fiscal Discipline.
F - State of Economy is Fair, but in Jeopardy. Dollar is headed down because of creation of money. You should buy food with your $500. Food will be more expensive next year. Businesses are over regulated fed govt is damaging our econ by its weight. We need to reduce the regulatory load.
JC - Remember the Proper role of govt. Core problem is with overspending. Need more conservative. We don't have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem. Only one to sign a pledge not to ask for earmarks. Congressmen are not supposed to bring back the bacon. Cannon should not have got fed funding for historical building in SLC. Would not have voted for the stimulus bill. Voted no on omnibus. We cant do anything else if we don't fix the economy.
L - Serious problems because of quick fix attempts to help people win easy reelections. Need to stop get rich quick and then have the govt take care of us. We need to be able to fail or we wont be free. Solve our econ crisis by spending less than we earn & save. Get out of debt, build on these correct principles. We need to be willing to do things that hurt.

?Immigration

F - Laws don't need to be changed, the right laws are already on the books. George W. Bush doesnt' want it. There is a lack of will on immigration. I would stop the coyotes trucking illegals. We need to change people in govt.
JC - SPP has its roots in truth. We should be able to notice that the current Policies and the Law are not in agreement. People say ammericans wont do jobs. We need to enforce our laws. Fix legal immigration - some people have had to wait 22 years. Birthright citizenship is wrong. No amnesty for illegals Look to my website for my 7 point plan. It includes locking down borders and enforcing visa stay times.
L - Stop employers, cant put them at the back of the line. Secure our borders? We haven't wanted to. We need a temp guest worker visa. They must leave to get it. Private Sector Visa Program. Measured, Realistic & Compasionate - We don't need to be mean.
CC - Bush refused to enforce the border. Voted for more border patrol. 100% record of enforcement. Illegal System is a cancer. Rule of Law is important. Stealing identities. It is really complicated. Don't care if people need to go home 1st. Past bills are fundamentally flawed.

?What is the benefit of seniority

JC - Seniority is not equal to influence, although it is important, Putnam was elected in 2000 and is now the 3rd most influential republican. He didn't need a lot of seniority.
L - Seniority gives you a slice of influence. There is a time to replace our congressman, it is when seniority means the least - in the first term as the minority.
CC - America wont let Republicans be in the minority of 10+ years. Joe 6-pack will be angry at liberal government. I will work hard. The issues are too important to walk away from.
F - Seniority has its advantages - Seniority doesn't mean you vote right. We lost in 2006 because of poor government. We don't need to be afraid of conservative government.

?Explain reason for the cost of feul and food.

L - It is wrong for government to be interveening in our markets. Government should trust the markets. Oil, we are dependant on our enemies. They can determine the price. We need to unfetter the market.
CC - The above is accurate. Taking corn out of food to make oil makes no sense. It doesn't even produce more energy. Oil from shale can be produced for less than $30 a barrel. We need to cut through regulations and stop funding our enemies.
F - Fuel cost is high because of the dropping value of the dollar. Blame a fiat currency & the federal reserve. The price of gas is being manipulated & someone is getting rich. gas was $1.50 prior to Katrina. Fed Government is the greatest enemy in our quest for energy independance.
JC - We have no energy policy. We need to get rid of environmental prtections & get the federal government out of the way. We need more Nuclear Power. Global Warming is a farce. No more farm subsidies for people to not grow crops.

? Republican Unity Support of Party Platforms

CC - I support the platforms completely. Unity is helping the right people get elected.
F - We are in agreement on most issues. Elected officials were wearing the Republican label but not voting republican. Council of Foriegn Relations dominates the national republicans.
JC - I believe 100% in the platforms of the county & the state. Not enough to just have an R by your name. In 2006 not 1 democrat lost. A Congressman should be a watchdog, not a lapdog for the President. We need to show the world we have a better smarter plan.
L - Definition of Leader: Says this is where we need to go & leeds others there. We need to return to the idea that we are a believing nation

? - going to end but decided to extend 30 minutes

? What caused the sub prime crisis & what should be done

F - No Answer
JC - Bear Sterns was wrong. Bailout is wrong. $429 billion in interest on national debt. Confidence is critical in mortgage business, Personal Accountability, Corrections are painful but necessary. It will pass.
L - We believed that we can borrow beyond our means not just as a government but as a people. Not about our rights but about our responsibilities. Don't need more & more & more. Government should not protect us from our failures
CC - Mortage Crisis - new tools that shifted risk & more could borrow. Skyrocketing appraisals - we cant let people cram down the value of homes. Market will correct itself.

? Fairtax
JC - If we can start over with a consumption we would. Hard to get to it from our currect system.
L - Current system is a spread the wealth system. Fairtax is a national sales tax. Consuption tax. I like it, but not the prebate. I would vote for it.
CC - Problem is it would add 30% on top of goods. Need to cut government spending first. America will work better with simplicity like the fairtax.
F - Current Tax - Amount & collection - part of the communist manifesto. I would like to look at it. We need a change.

?Social Security & Medicare solutions

L - $53 trillion obligation. Draw a line on those over 50. Medicare is an entitlement. We need to find a way to move it from government to private
CC - Market solution to create any solution - liability. Convert it to personal accounts. Medicare patients need to move to a health savings account
F - We have been robbed! If the SSI managers had been in the private sector they would be in jail. Medicare can't continue to be funded.
JC - We need a paradigm shift. Personal Responsibility. Markets work. People will deal with them differently.

? 25% of states own 85-95% of their land. UTAH is owned by the Fed.

CC - BLM doesn't know how much of Utah they own. It is our Land. Fed needs to give it back. Fed is a bad tennant. We would be better stewards.
F - Tesas retained all of their land. We should get the Fed to give land back. It is a great detriment to our state.
JC - We are in unison on this pont. It should be our public land. Why didn't we reverse the Grande Staircase Escalante. If we can't get it with Republican control. When?
L - Utah should own Utah's lands. Congress is broken because we are always fighting. Need to be working with dems. Rep ideas don't all come from God & Dem ideas don't all come from the devil.

? Constant state of war

F - Money - wars are plitical decisions Politics is run by money. Money was a factor in Iraq.
JC - We shouldn't be worlds policemen. & no nation building. Take better care of the troops.
L - Past time to debate if we should have gone. We should stay as long as we are protecting american soil. Millions of Americans have died for us.
CC - People are trying to destroy our country. We are now funding bad bovernemtn. Leaving will be difficult. We are killing badies.

? Closing Remarks

F - Country started by resisting tyranny & ruling elite. Constitution is a formula for success. Every Problem we have is because we have ignored it.
JC - We all care deely about the US. We need to stand up & be heard. We need to be as committed as possible. We can't shy away from the constitution. I will make you proud.
L - Not 7 hairs difference between us. Style is the difference. We can debate without tearing down. Washington is broken because of fighting. We can return to a united govt. We must return to unity. I will be a statesmen.
CC - Interesting debate, we differ I am on the far right. What Leavitt says he will do is already being done. It doesn't hurt to push people.

**End of Debate**