Independence Caucus on, January 15, 2010, held an event where all candidates officially running for the U.S. Senate Seat, currently held by Bob Bennett, would have an opportunity to speak to the grassroots movement in Utah. They had to answer 80 questions to become vetted by Independence Caucus. Unfortunately two of the candidates did not. One was the Democrat, Sam Granato, and the other was Republican incumbent, Bob Bennett.
We had a wonderful time hearing from Bob Basso, who you all know and love from the YouTube videos, as Thomas Paine. He spoke as expected about common sense. We are Americans first and foremost. In addition, although there is a political Left and Right, we must recognize that the people are moving closer to the moral Right, regardless of party.
He chastened the “non-representing representatives” who would not answer to the people with a simple 80 question vetting process.
He also gave us hope with a wonderful story of 150 senior citizens in Brooklyn, New York called TOBFCS. That stands for Tough Old Broads for Common Sense. They are making a difference. They have recalled two (2) city council members in Brooklyn, just to point out one difference they have made.
There is great hope in our country. Even if the news ignores the 1.7 million people who marched in Washington DC, and the hundreds of thousands who gathered around the nation on their state capitols, we know who we are. We were there. I was there. Do not wait to have the media take notice. They report the news (or their supposed to), they do not create it. WE DO!
I went into the meeting with my favorites and came out with great respect for all four (4) candidates. In no particular order, I want to share my thoughts on each of them. Remember, these are my notes, and my take on their words.
Tim Bridgewater: Well, out of the bunch, he is the capitalist. You can feel and hear his business experience. He understands that growth occurs when businesses and people are left alone and entrepreneurs can succeed. He is definitely a free-market advocate. He talked about auditing the Federal Reserve. He believes in a Balanced Budget Amendment. He wants to see our spending cut over the next 10 years. He recognizes that Wall Street was never really the problem, but government interference especially through Fannie and Freddie created the current housing mess. To read more about Tim visit www.timbridgewater.com
James Williams: Of all the candidates, I felt he is like most Americans. He is just fed up and he is willing to put himself out there to change things. I found him to be a humble man with strong opinions. He discussed changing the way the budget is created. If a new item needs federal spending 105% of that amount must be cut from some other place. This will have a two-fold effect. One, people will not want to create new spending without thinking about the cuts, and each new program actually cuts the budget overall. He spoke of asking himself three questions when confronted with a decision. “Is it Constitutional? Is it moral? Will this better the people of Utah and the U.S population?” James is also for Auditing the Federal Reserve, cutting capital gains tax and corporate taxes. For more on James visit www.voteforjameswilliams.com
Cherilyn Eager: You can tell Cherilyn has been in debates before. She moved quickly to her points and was focused on getting information out there. She referred often to the founding fathers, and it is obvious she knows the documents. She believes in the fair tax as proposed by www.fairtax.org and promoted by Joe the Plumber. She believes in repealing the 16th and 17th amendments. She wants the Dept of Education gone from our Federal system. She also believes in Auditing the Federal Reserve. She does not believe in a Balanced Budget Amendment because she believes that it will be misused to create times of war or crisis in our country so the amendment could possibly be ignored. She agrees with George Wythe University in that they called Glenn Beck the “Cicero” of our time. For more info on Cherilyn visit www.Eagarforsenate.com
Mike Lee: Mike was impressive with his legal knowledge on the Constitution and talked about what his job is not. He reminded us how far the government has moved from its original purpose. He recognizes that money needs to be spent on a local level rather than on a national level or dictated by a national government. He believes in Auditing the Federal Reserve, and recognizes that by printing money they are violating our 5th amendment rights because they are making our property (money) worthless. He would like to repeal the 16th and 17th amendment. He knows that Congress cannot (should not) legislate beyond the ground rules of the Constitution. The Federal government needs to stop doing what it should not be doing. We do not need Federal tax collectors either, because that should be the job of the states. For more info on Mike visit www.mikelee2010.com
The biggest decision for the conservative movement is choosing which candidate to support. All four of these candidates appear to have Constitutionally based principles. I recommend you visit their websites, ask them questions, and vote your conscience. Remember the only way you will get to vote for them is to become a delegate in your precinct. To get more information on delegate training you can go to www.UtahRising.com find a representative in your county, and coordinate our efforts. Utah Rising is not associated with the Republican party.
Rachelle DeMille recently asked that I endorse the CD The Four Lost American Ideals by Oliver DeMille. I attended this lecture in person and recently revisited it. Wow. I had forgotten what a valuable message this is. This is a timely message as well. I cannot recommend enough that this is a must have for your audio library. Here is my endorsement and a link to their website where you can either purchase the CD or download an MP3 version. Every member of the STAR Forum, and every American needs to reconnect with these ideals: http://www.fourlostamericanideals.com
This fantastic and inspiring lecture on America helps put our Americanism in perspective, and brings boiling to the surface the feelings of real American thought. Oliver DeMille has a way of helping you reach deep within and pull the desires of liberty to the forefront in a way that moves you to action. After first being introduced to the thinking of Oliver DeMille, my husband and I set out to become independents, rather than dependents, sought learning and education to become liber, have recognized the need for public virtue, and thank the hand of God consistently for helping us find our own personal mission in this life. I recommend this lecture to everyone, especially youth.” –Jacqueline Smith
I recommend you watch this video and think about how our world is changing. De-centralization is a huge part of the Information age. We are de-centralizing our education, our business, and hopefully our government. The STAR Forum is run by local leaders. The ideas are here, but the creativity is all yours. Come join us in leading our country to self-reliance, to community involvement, to social entrepreneurship, and beyond. We will be talking more about the decentralization of our lives in our next post, when we discuss the cycle of Alvin Toffler.
The S.T.A.R. Forum 
