As all my facebook and twitter friends know, I have a new political crush- Mia Love, running for Congress out of Utah’s new 4th Congressional district (incidentally my district!). She is running against two-time incumbent democrat Jim Matheson. With all due respect to Mr. Matheson, I want Mia to win so badly. I think she is a tremendous person and I admire her boldness and character.
She is currently mayor of Saratoga Springs (about 20 minutes from where I live in Draper) and since her election in 2010 she has cut councilors’ expenses, reduced the budget deficit from $3.5 million to $779,000 and for a city of its size; it has a bond rating of AA+.
“She is running on a platform of limited government, fiscal discipline and personal responsibility. When she tackles an issue, she often asks herself three quintessential questions: “Is it affordable? Is it sustainable? Is it my job?”
I wish all politicians were asking those 3 questions! What a blessing it would be to our country if all politicians stopped spending money we don’t have and got our affairs in order. I love it!
Yesterday I went to a campaign event where Mia spoke, shook hands with us and we watched Mitt Romney’s acceptance speech (which was awesome!). With all my interest in politics I have never been to a campaign event like this before . I think it is because I never felt a real tie to where I was living but now that I’m purchasing a townhouse I feel more invested in my community. It wasn’t a conscious choice, just kind of naturally happened.
This is also the first time that someone exciting has been running from my district. I LOVE Jason Chaffetz but he is the district over from me, so there was less I can do to help him. Plus, he hardly needs it in that district. Mia is in a tight race and I feel I can make a difference to her campaign. Oftentimes in Utah there can be little motivation to help a practically guaranteed red state but in this race it is definitely not guaranteed.
The only other time I’ve gotten personally involved in politics was the tea party rallies (yes, I’m one of those right wing extremists. Aren’t you terrified?). I’m proud of my former and current involvement in the tea party movement. Despite being vilified by the press I believe we did a lot of good. We may not have won every race but we put some amazing people into power and got rid of some bland bureaucrats who were satisfied with the same old ideas. We also helped change some of those ideas and refocused the Republican party on real fiscal conservatism. Got them to stop compromising and start leading.
Mia Love is the type of candidate that will be bold when elected. I watched her yesterday answer question after question (there were some Matheson folks who came out to stir the pot) she was unflinchingly solid in her dedication to keeping government small and effective. I was so impressed with every single one of her answers to complex questions. She was awesome!
This isn’t a reason to vote for her, but I also love who Mia is. What I mean by that is she breaks stereotypes all over the place. People have a preconceived notion about what Utahans, Mormons, Republicans, and black women are like. She fits none of those notions. Just as people were excited to see someone that looked different run for president in President Obama, I’m excited to see someone different running from my state and from my faith. It tells people that not all Republicans, Mormons, Utahans and black women are the same. We don’t all fit the mold. Love that!
I’m volunteering for the Mia Love campaign and will be making phone calls and knocking on doors (brushing off those old missionary skills!). I’ve also donated money to her for the first time in my life. It should be really fun.
Last night listening to Mia and cheering her on I remembered my feelings after the tea party rally. I wrote “I was proud to be there. I was proud to be waving my sign, and I will never forget the moment of connection I felt with my country. It was a great moment.” It was a great moment of connection and I look forward to many more over the next 2 months.
I would challenge all of you to become active in the political process. Whether you are Republican or Democratic we need to hear your voice. It is important. At the very least please vote. I know it seems like you don’t make a difference but the sheer act of your voting encourages others and that is powerful! Think of the hundreds of thousands of people who died to give you that right.
Please vote! Please become involved!
Here is a video of Mia at the Republican National Convention. So moving!
Here are 2 of my posts on my experiences with the tea party movement. I think the post on the protest is one of my best. Enjoy!
https://smilingldsgirl.wordpress.com/2010/11/07/the-republican-tea-party-opportunity/
https://smilingldsgirl.wordpress.com/2009/04/17/tea-party/
Rachel's Musings 
One of my big issues with Mia Love is that she utilized social programs in her life and is now arguing to cut those programs. For instance, her stance on education. She wants to get rid of student loans, grants, and work study even though she used these to help pay for college. She also wants to cut subsidies for k-12 children like reduced school lunches. After working in a low income area as a teacher, these two educational plans are huge. This would really negatively effect the ability for poor kids to get to college. https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B2xUrQX4F7FGakRuaTRvMzRZeTQ/edit?pli=1
She also wants to eliminate any housing subsidies or help. That would be devastating for so many people that really need the help. I agree that the system is abused and I would support changing the system, but a complete axing of the system is not the solution.
Yes, money is being spent on people. But, as human beings, shouldn’t we spend money on other people? Poor people are often poor (not because they don’t work hard) but due to being born into poverty and getting stuck in those cycles of poverty.
Thanks for your comment. We just have a different philosophy. I have no problem with such noble programs if we weren’t 15 trillion in debt and growing. I think Mia would love nothing more than to help all but we are not in the position right now to do that. Perhaps we were in the 90s when Mia was in school, but not now. By rebuilding we can get in that position again and be able to do so much more than we can now by inventing money out of thin air.
Mia said, “In a civilized society, we have a collective responsibility to care for those who are least able to care for themselves. Today, however, we find ourselves in a situation where roughly half of American citizens receive some form of financial assistance from the government. And, when only half of American citizens pay any federal income taxes, this is a situation that cannot continue without lasting damage to our American society.”
We have tried spending to solve our problems and it hasn’t worked. 4 years after the promises of the stimulus the economy is worse than ever before. I agree with Mia for our long-term stability as a nation we have to make those tough cuts. We will all have to sacrifice.
Mia also believes that the federal government is not the one who should be handling these types of programs anyway. They are much more effectively managed on a state and local level.
In the end, we can’t help anyone without working to balance the budget.