Utah Senate candidates debate

Ken Verdoia moderated. I decided to watch while pretending I don't know what their parties are, see how it would go.


Opening statements:

Mike Lee - Our federal government is too big and too expensive. The jobless rate is increasing every day. I'll let you keep more of your own money.

Scott Bradley - 223 years ago, the US Constitution was born. We've strayed from the Constitution; I'll bring us back.

Sam Granato - Utahns have a real opportunity to elect a mainstream candidate (gestures to self) or an extreme candidate (gestures elsewhere).


QUESTION #1 - State sovereignty, do states have the right to refuse federal money?

Lee - The federal govt was never intended to be all things to all people, refers to 10th Amendment of Constitution. Yes they can refuse. Should citizens be required to work five months of the year to fund exorbitant government programs?

Bradley - The federal government cannot call for redistribution of wealth, no power in US Constitution to do so. The feds even trying to make states take fed money is violation of US Constitution.

Granato - 13 Original Colonies came together with a purpose of inner-state commerce. We send the dollars to DC, we need to take them back. We have the right. We need more transparency. Thank you.


QUESTION #2 - Do you support the DREAM Act and how would that affect universities?

Bradley - This deals with immigration, correct? Immigration is a great challenge. Illegal immigration must be addressed at national level. In the Constitution, Art. I, Sec. 8, Cla. 4 says to take care of those kinds of issues. I'd oppose encouragemen to illegal immigration.

Granato - Fully in favor of it, as are a lot of senators and Congress on both sides of the aisle. Feds have ignored illegal immigration for decades, but I would leave that out of the DREAM Act. Thank you.

Lee - My understanding is it would allow illegal immigrants to pay less tuition. There should be no incentive to illegal immigrants. Most of us in this room are immigrants or descend from them. To be immigrant-friendly place, we need to enforce our laws. Let's get rid of birthright citizenship.


QUESTION #3 - Illegal Immigration, what to do about the millions already here?

Bradley - They broke the law; they need to go home. We're not sending them to a gulag; we're sending them home. Once home, apply thru legal process to return. Catch and release those who fail to go home and never allow them to return. Amnesty in 1986 failed.

Granato - We're a passionate and compassionate state. I do not believe in ripping families apart. We have to find a way to bring them together. We need secure borders. We need workers here to do the jobs that need to be done.

Lee - Just as there are millions here illegally, there are millions outside US who want to come here. It's unfair to the ones waiting to come here to give favoritism to those who broke the laws to be here.


QUESTION #4 - Health care, Vermont wants to try a single-payer system, they'd like exemption from ObamaCare to try it.

Granato - I was part of IHC. Health care is killing small businesses. It's out of whack. We needed a health care bill. I enjoyed that the bill got rid of pre-existing conditions. No I wouldn't help Vermont. We need to come together with the right consensus. The package we got was not the right package. At least it's a start. Thank you.

Lee - Repeal and defund ObamaCare. This will allow states to address health care as they see fit. If Vermont wants to try single-payer govt-run health care system, that's up to Vermont. I will probably never live in Vermont. Let's let the states take a crack at it. States are closer to the people. I run into my state legislator all the time at the grocery store.

Bradley - The US Constitution grants to no authority for federal health care. The states need to resist ObamaCare with all due diligence. I'm opposed to socialized medicine. Medicine is a very personal issue between a physician and a patient. Medicine was great before 1965. Let charities help.

Somewhere around here, the moderator expresses disappointment they haven't gone after each other yet and encourages them to fight.


QUESTION #5 - 42% of Federal spending in on Pentagon budget, not even including Iraq and Afghanistan. What would you cut?

Lee - The Constitution talks about defense. I'm reluctant to say what we need is a cut in defense spending. We don't need cuts in defense spending. This is our very survival. It's the principle reason the 13 colonies came together, to protect themselves. I believe in strong defense.

Bradley - In the Constitution Art. I Sec. 8 on military, we need proper military posture. We're more interested in promoting safe borders in other countries (S. Korea) than our own. My changes would bring us back to a Constitutional perspective of the military. We're not to be the policemen of the world.

Granato - We need keep our men & women safe and out of harm's way. We need to look at every area they're in. As a businessman, I would look at everything, where we could cut, but we need to keep our country and our troops safe. Thank you.


QUESTION #6 - Wave of anti-Muslim sentiments; many Muslims feel threatened. How to mitigate tensions between freedom of speech and religion?

Bradley - I have the 1st Amendment memorized and "We the People..."; Tocqueville observed Americans lived their lives decently becuz they believe in God. What we need is an engagement within each religionto reach out. Stop trying to one-up each other. Burning a Koran or building a mosque at Ground Zero are inflammatory.

Granato - We know Utah was founded Mormons persecuted in the East. We need education. We have too much extremism. People for the most part are good. It starts a lot w/ fed government reaching out, helping the folks. Address the issue, not ignore it. Let's come together. Thank you.

Lee - Just becuz you can doesn't mean you should. We as citizens should remember that w/ rights come responsibilities. We don't have to be enemies just becuz we worship at a different altar.


QUESTION #7 - What one issue do you fear the most, so complex that would keep you up at night?

Granato - These are no easy shoot-from-the-hip solutions. "Both sides of the aisle." I can't tell you what would keep me up at night becuz I'm not afraid to get in and get the job done. I've done that my whole career. Analyze your situation and forget your fear.

Lee - We're losing jobs. Jobs is number one. The fed govt controls too much of the job market. Govt takes 25% of every dollar, massive spending, massive taxes. Debt almost $15 trillion. People feel ill-at-ease to invest. We have to reverse this. It's not easy or quick, but the solution has to involve a balanced-budget amendment.

Bradley - I've had this problem for decades. It has to do with continuing those that in office in violation of their office. We have spiralled downward as a nation. Those that hold office must honor their oath of office, so help me God. All the challenges are fairly simple if the reps return to the principles of the Constitution.


QUESTION #8 - What about radioactive waste?

Lee - Father Rex Lee died from lymphoma, exposed to radiation, "down-winder." I will fight tooth and nail to keep waste out, fought tirelessly under Huntsman to keep it out. We have a beautiful state, and I will fight to keep it that way, to maintain healthy environment.

Bradley - This state shall not become a dumping ground for anybody. it is not the natl govt's perogative to force it on us. This soculd be taken as anti-nuclear philopsophy. I am for nuclear power. Waste can be recycled until it's innocuous. That should be stored on the site where it's created.

Granato - Mike, you confuse me. You fought under Huntsman to keep out foreign nuclear waste, then you joined EnergySolutions to fight to bring it in. You used your family connections, which way are you going?

Lee (rebuttal) - I respectfully disagree with everything you just said. I've never worked for EnergySolutions, I served them as outside counsel. Fought on Constitutional grounds.


QUESTION #9 - What will you do to preserve Social security?

Bradley - The natl govt has no power to redistribute wealth; it doesn't show in Constitution. Soc Security has pillaged and plundered, it has run the end of its course. We're on a death spiral. Soc Security will fail unless we raise retirement rates. It should be voluntary. Look at my website.

Granato - It's a lifeline for so many people. 38% of people receiving it in Utah would be in poverty w/o it. Lee wants to raise retirement age to 75? Fed govt needs to maintain program. Thank you.

Lee - First, all those already retired will have no change. It would be immoral and impractical to take benefits away from those who've already retired. Demise of Soc Security has already been forecast by mathematicians. We need to raise retirement age.


QUESTION #10 - From staff sergeant who just did 3rd tour of duty: What's your foreign policy regarding Afghanistan specifically?

Granato - We don't belong there, but we're there. It's Obama's to finish. The sooner we get out, the better off we'll be.

Lee - We need to keep them there as long as it takes, then give them the promise we'll bring them home when job is done. Bring troop count down, focus more on counter-terror activities. Make sure al-Qaeda strongholds don't develop in Afghanistan. We've got to eliminate them.

Bradley - I was staff sergeant 40 years ago so I can perhaps identify. We went to get bin Laden, no to get Al Qaeda, no to nation-build, oh there are some minerals there we can't let China get. Afghanistan is mission-creep in worst sense. Our troops have done their job bravely. We should make a strategic withdrawal.


QUESTION #11 - Don't Ask Don't Tell

Lee - I consulted w/ panel of generals, colonels, etc. They've informed me DADT works and should be maintained. I'm following that recommendation.

Bradley - Unit cohesiveness is prime directive. Can't have homosexuals next to others not of that peruasion, can't have troops crawling over their sleeping bags at night figuring out what to do. I oppose removing DADT.

Granato - I think it's an insult to the gays already serving in the military. I would support elimination of DADT. Thank you.


Closing statements:

Granato - I'm mainstream, I'm moderate, once I get to Washington I will be looking for what I can do for Utah. It's about jobs and the economy. It's about optimism. Thank you.

Lee - Pleasure to be here. We live in a time of great conflict. Reagan prophetically declared "It's morning in America again." (Let me pick up that name I just dropped.) Reclaim the right to limited federal government. As we limit govt, we'll create jobs.

Bradley - I've spent my life trying to bring forth the principles of freedom.

Overall, I was vastly underwhelmed. Full of safe, pat, contained answers. Only once all night did any candidate engage anyone else, when Granato tried to illustrate Lee's different positions on nuclear waste, which Lee immediately slapped down, and then the moderator moved on. Lee and Bradley also seemed to have a side-bet as to who could bring up the Constitution more.

After a while Bradley came off as a self-parody. "What would you like for dinner, Mr. Bradley?" "The Constitution gives me the freedom to choose spaghetti." What I got from Bradley is he's for lower taxes, probably a flat tax, kicking all illegal immigrants out of the country, get rid of ObamaCare and leave people with giant medical bills to look to charities for help and not the feds, get rid of Social Security, get out of Afghanistan and Iraq, take the troops home from their bases in South Korea and Germany and let them protect our borders, homosexuals are gross, and showing off that he's memorized the Constitution.

Granato looked like a zookeeper trying not to scare the lemurs that escaped from their pen. If he said the word "Obama", 70% of the audience might stampede from the room. He emphasized working together, reaching across the aisle, let's work this out. He's for keeping the federal govt accountable, using their money (which isn't really their money), mainstream, moderate, really hoping the audience caught his subtext that Lee & Bradley are extremists. Thank you.

Lee took a professorial tone which was really off-putting. "Allow me to educate you on the Constitution and what our Founding Fathers intended." I think all three of them felt like they had to really dumb down their answers. Except when quoting the Constitution. Lee's for cutting spending everywhere except defense, which surprised me. For all his fiscal talk, surely all departments should be open to cutting waste? Let's get everything back to small government and states rights. Repeal the 14th Amendment and send illegals home, be friendly to legal immigrants coming in. Balance the budget, pay down the debt, we need to reform and maybe phase out Social Security. He seems okay with staying in Afghanistan.

If this was all I had to go on, I would be disappointed in my choices as to who I want to represent me.

Bradley's the Constitution Party candidate, Granato's the Democrat, and Lee's the Tea Party Republican.