Sen. Mike Lee: "The American people want a more conservative government."

Sen. Lee recently sat down with Reason TV's Nick Gillespie to discuss the rise of the Tea Party faction in Congress (of which he is a leader), why the GOP is failing to connect with millennials, and the role of religion in politics.

Originally published on July 11, 2014:

"We've had a 75 or 80 year run with some really aggressive progressive policies," Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah). "They haven't worked. They have enhanced America's opportunity deficit, and the American people want a more conservative government."

In 2010, Lee launched a successful primary challenge to three-term incumbent Sen. Bob Bennett and went on to win the general election with 61 percent of the vote. Lee credits hotly contested primary elections not just with his own career but with keeping the Republican Party accountable to its constituents and the values it claims to hold.

"In order for the Republican Party, or any political party for that matter, to be able to lay any claim to be a party of principle, there needs to be a robust debate within that party. And for that to occur I think primary elections will always need to happen," Lee tells Reason TV's Nick Gillespie.  
Lee talks about the rise of the Tea Party faction in Congress (of which he is a leader), why the GOP is failing to connect with millennials, and the role of religion in politics. A graduate of Brigham Young University, Lee says his Mormon faith shapes his views on the proper role of government, but adds:

"As a voter what I look for is whether somebody shares my view of government and its proper role. That person may or may not share my faith; that person may or may not have any faith. I'm hiring them not to be my minister. I'm hiring them to represent me in government. I want to know what they think the proper role of government is."

About 20 minutes.

Camera by Amanda Winkler and Meredith Bragg. Edited by Winkler.

Music by Onyx Ashanti (http://onyx-ashanti.com/)

Scroll down for downloadable versions and subscribe to Reason TV's YouTube Channel to receive notification when new material goes live.

Comments

[SIV]

Lee says his Mormon faith shapes his views on the proper role of government

Sheldon Adelson is his prophet.

[teamred vs teamblue]

As long as the GOP provides a home for religious nuts (I'm sorry-- Mormons believe absolutely insane stuff) and wannabe theocrats, they are going to find it hard to advance considering how the demographics are changing.

The Evangelicals need to split off and form their own Party Of Jesus so they can lose elections without dragging real conservatives down with them.

[Virginian]

Religious nuts like Ron Paul?

[Cytotoxic]

Yes.

[cavalier973]

I know, right? What a horrible place this would be if people like Ron Paul miraculously gained control of the FedGov.

[sloopyinva (previously -inca)]

Define "real conservative".

[Dances-with-Trolls]

It's a lot like a Scotsman, but conservier.

[sloopyinva (previously -inca)]

Yeah, and a lot less thriftier.

[Almanian!]

Scots = JOOZ!

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"Almost all of the [US Supreme Court] precedents from the Lochner era are now gone, viewed as wrongly decided. But some scholars suggest those decisions are being reborn in a new guise: the First Amendment.

""It's the new Lochner," laments Yale Law School's Akhil Amar, who comes from the moderate left of the legal spectrum. "The First Amendment is increasingly becoming everyone's first resort for all kinds of claims that historically were not thought of as First Amendment claims."

"By that, Amar means voiding a century of campaign finance understandings, 80 years of precedent on government mandates for profit-making corporations, and nearly overruling 40 years of precedent on fair-share union fees."

http://wkms.org/post/rare-unan.....-fireworks

[Virginian]

who comes from the moderate left of the legal spectrum.

Which means he's a fucking commie. His tears are delicious.

[Irish]

"By that, Amar means voiding a century of campaign finance understandings, 80 years of precedent on government mandates for profit-making corporations, and nearly overruling 40 years of precedent on fair-share union fees."

Campaign finance 'understandings' = destroying the free speech rights of people I don't like

Government mandates for profit making corporations = the state is supreme, all must serve the state.

Fair share union fees = you are forced by the government to give money to an organization you may find morally abhorrent completely against your will.

Yeah, it's truly terrible that the First Amendment is keeping the government from being allowed to do whatever it wants completely without regard for the rights of the individual.

[Dances-with-Trolls]

Was it you that posted this piece the other day?

If you are a progressive anything limiting the power of Top Men to exert force on the orders below them to achieve the outcome deemed appropriate to the Top Men is a tragedy.

[Cytotoxic]

The SC really is turning libertarian-ish. We are winning.

[bassjoe]

More conservative? Okay?

The last time we had "conservatives" in charge of the Executive and Legislative, we got No Child Left Behind, Medicaid Part D and TWO full scale wars literally halfway around the world; all of which not even an attempt was made to pay for. Oh, and a political strategy of introducing anti-gay referendums in multiple swing states to win a presidential election.

Is this the sort of conservatism Lee is talking about? If so, no thanks.

[Virginian]

Medicare Part D probably saved money over the standard Medicare. Obviously I want the program abolished, but if you're going to have Medicare, Part D is smarter then the previous system.

Basically, we got to a point where drugs could, in some cases, make surgeries unnecessary. So instead of a 20,000 dollar surgery, a prescription could do the same thing for much less money and much less trauma to elderly patients. But since Medicare didn't cover prescriptions, you had a situation where the sick senior would get the surgery because of the lower cost from his pocket, thus putting the taxpayer on the hook for the rest.

Perverse incentives, and all that.

[Trials and Trippelations]

He is not a libertarian.

Lee is not a Paul or Amash, but he is definitely not a Bush. If the people in Utah want him to be in the Senate I think he is a useful ally for libertarians for some issues just as Wyden is a useful ally for some issues.

But yes blindly voting Republican because the other side is worse has not worked out so well.

[Homple]

Compare Medicare part D to Obamacare and tell us which is worse.

Don't worry about gay marriage referenda, the Top.People. on various courts are undoing the nefarious work of the dollar store Savonarolas who controlled the minds of the anti-gay-marriage voting morons. Gays are now a culturally and legally protected population and the witch burners can never bother them again.

I'll give you the wars, though.

[Cytotoxic]

Compare Medicare part D to Obamacare and tell us which is worse.

No, stuff that 'we're less awful' shit right up your butt.

Don't worry about gay marriage referenda, the Top.People. on various courts are undoing the nefarious work of the dollar store Savonarolas who controlled the minds of the anti-gay-marriage voting morons. Gays are now a culturally and legally protected population and the witch burners can never bother them again.

So can the GOP just shut up already on this issue?

[Acosmist]

Should the libertarians shut up too? Because you can be force to bake a cake for these people for some reason.

[cavalier973]

Don't you dare deny the right of Americans to purchase a gay wedding cake baked by a Christian. It's in the Constitution.

[Heroic Mulatto]

@ 14:00

Gillespie: Let me ask you about Millennials...

[Almanian!]

HM prompts me to ask - what do Millenials think about all this? And then - the gheys and Mexican immigrants and pot smokers.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Or we could just ask a gay, pot smoking, Mexican immigrant Millenial.

[Almanian!]

This is why there are no gay, pot-smoking, Mexican-immigrant, Millenial female libertarians....

Wait. What?

[sloopyinva (previously -inca)]

OT: enjoy this with your Sunday breakfast/brunch.

http://touch.orlandosentinel.c.....-20140627/

Bad apple and all that. Of course, none of his brothers felt the need to either stop his violent assault or arrest him for it.

[Almanian!]

Thank God he got to go home to his family.

[RishJoMo]

Dude that jsut looks like some cool stuff man.

http://www.AnonToolz.tk