Archive for March, 2010

Today is the day you can make a difference.

Tonight, at 7:00 PM, your neighbors will be gathering in Precinct Caucus Meetings to choose delegates to the State Republican Convention. In anticipation of tonight’s caucus, I’ve prepared a short video message to encourage you to participate in your caucus meeting and express my appreciation for your support.

Out-of-state interest groups are trying to influence Utahns by distorting my conservative record. Click here for more information on my candidacy for the Senate. You can also learn more by watching video messages I have prepared about my position on a host of topics that may be discussed at your meetings tonight.

Click on the video below to learn more about my position on:

AFGHANISTAN

CAP AND TRADE

THE CLUB FOR GROWTH

EARMARKS

THE ECONOMY

FANNIE MAE AND FREDDIE MAC

HEALTH CARE – WHAT I’M FOR

NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND

OBAMACARE

SOCIAL SECURITY

SPENDING

TARP

TERM LIMITS

I urge you to attend your meeting and vote for state delegates who will be willing to support my reelection efforts. Click here to find your precinct location, or call my campaign office at (801) 328-4889 with any questions you may have.

We can get America back on track, but we need to work together to make that happen.

The fight is now.

An out-of-state group has been spending a lot of money to convince Utah that Bob Bennett is someone other than the man you know.

Their claims against Senator Bennett have been refuted by independent groups like the nonpartisan watchdog site FactCheck.org.

So let’s set the record straight.

You can follow this link to learn the truth about Senator Bennett’s record in the U.S. Senate, but here are the key facts:

Does Bob Bennett support Obamacare?

No! Bob has led the fight against Obamacare and opposes any big-government takeover of our health care system.

Does Bob Bennett support Obama’s spending?

No! Bob voted against Obama’s stimulus, against Obama’s auto bailout, and against all of Obama’s reckless spending bills.

Will Bob Bennett provide conservative solutions?

Yes! Bob is working to take control of runaway spending. He is fighting for free-market solutions that will get America back on track.

Don’t let out-of-state special interest groups from Washington, D.C. tell Utah what to think. Join Mitt Romney, Dick Cheney, Rob Bishop, Newt Gingrich, the National Rifle Association, and hundreds of mayors and county leaders throughout Utah and support Bob Bennett.

Support Senator Bennett as a delegate at the upcoming caucus meetings on March 23.

Sincerely,

The Bennett Election Committee

Let’s talk about earmarks.

Listening to some of my opponents, you would think that earmarks are the root of all that is evil in Washington D.C. But once you get past the rhetoric, you discover that those who mindlessly reject all earmarks would unwittingly forfeit Congress’s constitutional authority and give more power to the president.

In Utah, this has had devastating real-world consequences.

President Obama’s budget has removed the funding for the Ares and Constellation solid rocket programs. These programs, beyond providing thousands of jobs to people here in our state, are also vital to our space exploration plans and missile defense. By cutting funding for these programs, the president is compromising our national security.

To set it right, Congress must insist that the money now spent on other wasteful programs be redirected to Ares and Constellation instead.

In reality, that’s all an earmark is. It is a budget designation, not an addition. Eliminating earmarks would not decrease the federal budget by a single dime.  Instead, it would allow President Obama to decide how all taxpayer money is spent, not the Congress.

For my part, I am not willing to grant this president, or any president, more authority than the Constitution allows.

I’ve prepared a petition that outlines where I would cut the money out of the current budget – eliminating billions being spent on climate change studies, for instance – to restore the funding for these vital programs. Over the weekend, I proposed the petition at the Cache County Lincoln Day Dinner.

At that event, the petition garnered over 100 signatures, including Governor Gary Herbert and Cherilyn Eagar, one of my opponents. My other three opponents – Tim Bridgewater, Merrill Cook, and Mike Lee – refused to sign. Apparently, they are interested in scoring political points than they are in defending constitutional principles, protecting our national security, and preserving Utah jobs.

I invite you to join with me, along with Governor Herbert, Senator Orrin Hatch, Representative Rob Bishop, and others, in signing the petition to restore the funding for these vital programs.

We can’t afford to wait. The fight is now.

Today I filed as a candidate for the United States Senate with the Utah Lieutenant Governor’s Office. I have also begun airing a new television advertisement, which you can view here. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think.

I’m a solid conservative. I am pro-life, pro-marriage, and pro-Second Amendment. I was one of a handful of Republicans who opposed the federally intrusive No Child Left Behind legislation. But it’s not enough just to be on the right side – you have to have a compelling vision for America in the years to come.

American history is filled with pivot points that fundamentally change who we are as a nation. Within the next five years, we will face a pivotal moment as we confront the crippling costs of our unsustainable entitlement programs. Coupled with President Obama’s reckless discretionary spending, this financial crisis will be greater than any I have faced in my prior years of service.

I am running for office because I can see the problem coming, and more importantly, I know how to be part of the solution.

Take Social Security. I have written legislation that has I have written legislation that has been scored by the Trustees of the Social Security Administration as a “100% fix.” I have been on the front lines of the health care debate working to defeat President Obama’s government-run plan that would increase costs and add to the national debt. I have championed scrapping the current tax code in favor of a system that is both flat and fair. I finally settled the decades-old question of public land use in Washington County and opened thousands of acres of public land for private development.

I would love to be able to accomplish all this single-handedly, but I recognize that politics is a team sport. It’s taken years, even decades, to build support for these issues, but I’ve made significant progress, all of which would be lost with a freshman senator.

You can help by signing up to support me as a delegate at the upcoming caucus meetings on March 23. You can also sign my petition to support my Economic Disaster Prevention Act to control government spending and put our country back on the right track.

I’m running because I can lead the fight. And the fight is now.

Willie Sutton was a bank robber. He wasn’t a very good bank robber, because he kept getting caught. The only reason we remember him is because of his answer to a very simple question.

“Willie,” he was asked, “why do you rob banks?”

His answer was, “That’s where the money is.”

President Obama is clearly not serious about controlling spending. It seems as if each of his proposals is more expensive than the last, and we in Congress need to do everything in our power to stop Obama’s out-of-control expansion of federal spending.

However, if we’re really going to get our nation’s fiscal affairs in order, we need to go where the money is.

Right now, two-thirds of the federal budget is committed to mandatory spending and entitlement programs – Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and interest on the national debt. These are growing at unsustainable rates, and within the next five years, mandatory spending will reach a tipping point from which the nation may not recover.

We need to take immediate action.

I already have legislation on the floor that the Social Security Trustees have scored as a “100% fix” of Social Security. I’ve now introduced new legislation that will put our nation on firm financial ground.

It’s called The Economic Disaster Prevention Act.

Here’s what it would do:

1. Create Mandatory Spending Limits.
Any growth in mandatory spending programs that is larger than the rate of inflation will have to be offset by cuts in other mandatory spending programs.

2. Cap Non-Defense Discretionary Spending
Defense spending will have to respond to the needs of our military to protect those who have placed themselves in harm’s way, but non-defense discretionary spending will be capped to prevent any spending increases beyond the rate of inflation.

3. Create Automatic Spending Reductions
Any program that exceeds the spending caps can be called into question by a single member of Congress and frozen automatically.

4. Prohibit the creation of any new entitlement programs
This would prevent this president or any president from radically expanding mandatory spending through bloated programs like Obamacare.

Fighting for this legislation will be my primary focus going forward. You can help by signing this petition in support of the Economic Disaster Prevention Act. You can also commit to support me as a delegate at your caucus meetings on March 23rd.We can’t wait to solve this problem. To control spending, we have to go where the money is.

The fight is now.

Today Senator Bob Bennett announced a coalition of “Farmers and Ranchers for Bennett” which consists of a coalition of farmers and ranchers from across Utah.

“I’ve spent a lot of time with farmers and ranchers throughout the state, particularly at my annual Rural Business Conferences,” Senator Bennett said. “They have a unique perspective on small business ownership and public land issues, and it’s very gratifying to earn their support.”

“Senator Bennett understands land use issues as well or better than anyone in Utah,” said Rex Larsen of Larsen Family Farms LLC. “With the Obama administration looking at making another land grab, we need to have a fighter like Senator Bennett in our corner.”

“Senator Bennett is the right guy for this job,” said Ruth Roberts of Roberts Family Farms. “And his position on the Senate Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee means that he’s in a position to be very effective on behalf of our state.”

This is the latest coalition of community leaders who have announced their support of Senator Bennett’s reelection campaign. Previous groups include Mayors for Bennett and County Leaders for Bennett, which, together, comprise over one hundred elected officials from Utah municipalities. Senator Bennett also has County Campaign Chairs in all 29 of Utah’s counties. Senator Bennett has also been endorsed by former Governor Mitt Romney, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, former Senator Jake Garn, Senator Orrin Hatch, and Representative Rob Bishop.

The campaign plans to unveil several more coalitions in the weeks before the Republican State Convention on May 8.

Members of the coalition are as follows:

Bruce Fullmer
Fullmer Angus Ranch

Craig Laub
Laub Feeding And Cubing

David Roberts
Roberts Dairy

Dee Hardy
Tulebiew Farms And Dairy

Dix Roberts
Roberts Family Farms

Dorrell Barker
Barker Family Farms

Edwin Sunderland
Sunderland Dairy Inc.

Flint F. Richards
Richards Jersey Farm

Gary Hallows
Security Ranches

John Blazzard
Blazzard Lumber Company

John Y. Ferry
J. Y. Ferry & Son Inc.

Jordan Hatch
Hatch Livestock

Leland J. Hogan
Hogan Brothers Inc.

Merlin Esplin
Carroll Ranch

Nan Bunker
Clyde Bunker Farms

O. Scott Wayment
Scotsdale Farm

Paul Swalberg

Rex Larsen
Larsen Family Farms Llc

Ruth Roberts
Roberts Family Farms

Scott Chew
Chew Ranch

Shane Pentz
Pentz Family Ranch

Stephen A. Oguthorpe
Red Pine Land And Livestock

Tracy Hatch
Hatch Land And Livestock

Trent Potter
Bar T Bar Ranch

Val Jay Rigby
Rigby Ranch Llc

Wayne Jarrett