Mike Lee for US Senate

Conservatives are awakening to the need to root government more firmly in the Constitution. They want their lawmakers to focus less on power, perks, and pork-barrel spending and more on what is good for the United States of America. The delegates at the Utah State Nominating Convention recently nominated a real conservative to represent Utah in the United States Senate. Readers living in Utah may want to pay attention to Mike Lee who is running for the Senate seat for Utah to replace Senator Bob Bennett (R-Utah) who was eliminated from the nominating process at the convention. Lee will face off with Tim Bridgewater at the June 22 primary. Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina), Chairman of the Senate Conservatives Fund, endorsed Mike Lee for the U.S. Senate after Senator Bennett had been eliminated. Senator DeMint described Mike Lee as a "true constitutional conservative" and then made the following statement after endorsing Mike Lee by a video message at the convention: "There is much to be done in the U.S. Senate to protect our freedoms. We need a Senator who is committed to balanced budgets, constitutional limits, and individual liberty. I believe that person is Mike Lee. For Mike, the Constitution is not an abstract idea or a campaign slogan. He knows it is the road map for changing the course of our country. If Mike is nominated today, he will add his voice to the growing number of new Republicans who understand that protecting and defending the Constitution will restore the greatness of America. I'm not here to tell you how to vote. I'm here to ask for your help. Please send Mike Lee to the Senate so he can join me in the fight for our future. Change in Washington really can begin in Utah. Thank you." Mike Lee has also been endorsed by former Senator Rick Santorum, the latest in a wave of support by major conservative leaders. Santorum noted Mike Lee's experience in clerking for Justice Sam Alito (first in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and second during Alito's first year as a U.S. Supreme Court Justice). Santorum stated that Mike is "a solid conservative. He's the kind of candidate that is exactly what we should be looking for." Who is the man who defeated Senator Bennett? Mike Lee is the son of Rex Lee, who was a prominent defender of the Constitution for many years. Rex Lee served as Solicitor General under President Ronald Reagan and was the President of Brigham Young University. Mike Lee has spent his career assisting individuals and organizations to free themselves from out of control government regulations. He is a lifetime student of the Constitution and graduated from Brigham Young University Law School. He served as a law clerk to Judge Dee Benson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah and later spent time as General Counsel to Governor Jon Huntsman. Mike Lee practiced appellate law and served twice as a law clerk for current U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. He first clerked for the solidly conservative judge at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and then he was asked to return as a clerk during Justice Alito's first year on the U.S. Supreme Court. Mike understands the Constitution and is a valuable resource for individuals and organizations throughout our nation. Mike also started a project called the Article I Society, where he gave lectures on the Constitution and the limits it places on the authority of Congress. Mike is running for the U.S. Senate because he believes that Washington has ignored the Constitution that was created to protect Americans from a government that spends too much, taxes too much, and regulates too much. He and his wife have three young children, and they want their children to inherit a country that is free and strong. Mike Lee is a conservative. He has already come out in early opposition to the Supreme Court Justice nominee Elena Kagan: "Kagan's decision to exclude military recruiters from the Harvard campus - especially at a time when our military is fighting overseas - gives me great pause in considering her for a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land. Her lack of judicial experience makes it difficult to ascertain how faithful she might be in independently and impartially deciding cases that will come before her. And although many have served on the Supreme Court without prior judicial service, Kagan's professional track record falls short of establishing that she would consistently respect the text and original understanding of the Constitution." Mike supports the Enumerated Powers Act, which forces Congress to justify - under Article I - the constitutional authority for any legislation it adopts. He points out that the individual mandate in President Obama's health care takeover was unconditional, and he signed a pledge to repeal it. He pledged to ban earmarks and to support a Balanced Budget Amendment. He also pledged to support a term limit for members of the House and the Senate. He is focused on limiting our government. He knows that the government should not be subsidizing, bailing out, and taking over private companies. He would have opposed the Wall Street bailout. Mike knows that the Constitution is a road map for changing the course of our country. If he is elected, he will join a growing number of new Republicans who understand the importance of supporting and defending the Constitution. He knows that we can restore the greatness of America by aligning government with the Constitution. Utah conservatives, please spend some time considering whether Mike Lee should be your next U.S. Senator. Then remember to vote on June 22!