Monday, March 22, 2010

Dear Utahns...

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- This blog post is dedicated to EVERYONE who lives in Utah... So, listen up all you Utahns... I have something important I want to share...

Ever since I gave up my "dream job" of being a news reporter to follow my instincts and move to our nation's capital, I thought my days of an exciting career were over. Boy was I wrong. It had just begun. When I first decided to make the move, I felt strongly impressed to work on Capitol Hill. Turns out those jobs aren't exactly easy to come by (especially if you're a Republican), but eventually a job opened up in a Utah senator's office, and I knew I had made the right decision and God was watching out for me.

Every day I wake up excited to go to work. It's not as action packed as my reporting job, but I know it's exactly what I'm supposed to be doing and exactly where I am supposed to be. And it's because of this man that I know I'm in the right place. Sen. Bennett is one of the most respected and conservative senators on Capitol Hill. He has strong values that I know he firmly believes in and it shows in the way he interacts and works with our staff and other members of the Senate, and in the way he wants to get the job done to make Utah and our country a better place. I am grateful to be working on Capitol Hill because of who and what I represent.

Sen. Bennett is actively working to create jobs to help our economy and to get our nation out of its giant sea of debt. He brought TRAX to Utah and is fighting the Obama administration to get oil and gas production in Utah so our nation is less dependent on foreign oil, he puts on workshops every year for Utah small business owners to help boost their business and provide them with tools to succeed, and has fought every step of the way to defeat the nasty health care plan that just passed yesterday. I could name a list of a thousand things that he has done to help better the beehive state. But I'll let you learn more for yourself by clicking here. You can also visit the senator's YouTube site by clicking here. You will find many different videos of floor speeches, TV interviews, committee hearings and a series called Bennett's Bottom Line where he helps explain his position on key issues and votes.

This year he is up for reelection. There has been a lot of negative, dirty messages spread by outside groups (none being from Utah, ironically). They've sent emails and letters, pamphlets, and have even produced some pretty ridiculous TV commercials. You can read the truth and rebuttals to those false advertisements by clicking here. Then there are other Utahns who say he has been in too long (though Utah's other senator has been in twice as long and no one ever mentions it. Funny.) or that he is too "Washington" (whatever that means). So, I don't buy those excuses for anyone to not support him.

The fact of the matter is, Sen. Bennett is the right man for the job. We are at a critical juncture in our nation's history. The national debt is too deep, too many jobs are dissipating and too many dirty, dishonest politicians keep creeping into Washington. Sen. Bennett is part of the solution, and not part of the problem. He is one of the smartest people I have ever met. He knows anything about everything and can explain it to anyone. I am constantly blown away by his knowledge and wisdom and his understanding of how the government works (or doesn't work for that matter). He has more energy than all of our staff combined. It's hard to keep up with him sometimes! He knows how to fix things and get things done and has been doing so for the last three terms. And he will continue to do so if he is reelected. His priority is the people of Utah.

On Tuesday, March 23, you have the opportunity to get involved. Neighborhood caucuses will be held throughout the state for you to elect delegates to head to Utah's convention on May 8. Those delegates will get to choose who goes on to the election and who heads to the United States Senate as one of Utah's two senators. Sure, I love my job. I'd love to keep it for six more years. But, I love my country and the state of Utah even more. Sen. Bennett is the right man for the job. You won't just be doing a favor for me if you head to your caucus. You'll be doing a favor for yourself by getting involved. And you'll be doing a favor for everyone else in Utah by electing a man who truly makes a difference.

If you want more information about where your meeting is, click here. Feel free to share this blog post with your friends and family who want more information or who would like to learn more about Bennett or even just the caucus process. I probably should have posted this weeks ago... but nothing works better than pushing me to a deadline. It's just the reporter in me.

Thanks for listening... now get to your caucus meeting! :)

P.S. This is not "endorsed" by my office... it is just me writing a personal blog post as a Utahn and nothing more.

6 comments:

Rachel said...

ahh..good luck good luck good luck! he sounds like a good man.

Xoxo Grandma said...

I'll be there tonight to support him. Thank you for this thoughtful post.

Tiffany said...

Thank you for posting this. I've seen a lot of negative ads directed at Sen Bennett, including multiple Facebook ads. I tried looking into it, but everything I read seemed to be fluff & smoke with no substantial information to tell my WHY they wanted to vote him out. It's good to hear it first hand from a good source!

DP said...

I've also seen the negative ads, as well as ads supporting this or that new candidate. These ads seem to focus on getting Senator Bennett voted out, but they don't explain why we should vote any other particular candidate in.

I don't understand the anti-Washington campaigns, personally: if it's such a terrible place, why do these guys want to go live there for six years?

Nobody's perfect, but I think Senator Bennett is doing Utah proud.

Roxane said...

It is nice to get the perspective of an insider. Thanks for letting us know what is going on in Washington!

Rob said...

from Lorena:
Nicely expressed, Andrea. Since I can't vote there, I will be sending my positive vibes instead!
p.s. Cute post on JB's visit. I wish I could just drop off Biggie Smalls for you at work too! He can't wait to meet you.