Lincoln Day Breakfast: Republicans remember their roots

By PATSY STODDARD Editor

In observation of President’s Day and Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday the Emery County Republican Party hosted a breakfast and speakers. Bill Dellos is the party chairman and he welcomed the participants to the breakfast at Barn’s Grill in Castle Dale. The National Anthem was sung by Elizabeth Fuller.
Gary Arrington, party vice chairman gave a tribute to Pres. Abraham Lincoln. He said Pres. Lincoln’s administration was not without its problems. There were contentions among the Republican party with the copperheads and the radical republicans. Pres. Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States. He was a lawyer and an Illinois legislator. He opposed slavery. He was elected President and began immediately to abolish slavery. He closely supervised the Civil War and worked with Ulysses S. Grant and they successfully defused the Confederate movement. He managed his own re-election campaign and was one of the all time great presidents.
Arrington gave several quotes attributed to Pres. Lincoln including: “A friend is one who has the same enemies as you have. Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them? No man has a good enough memory to make a successful liar. Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”
Phil Fauver, the delegate at large for the party introduced the speakers. He also mentioned legislation recently passed that allows Veterans to salute the flag during the Pledge of Allegiance and National Anthem without being in uniform.
Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert was first to address the audience. “I appreciate very much what you do here in Emery County at the grass roots level. People ask us all the time, ‘What are you going to do in your second term of office.’ I tell them we are going to do a lot of the same things as we did our first term. We are going to work to grow the economy. We appreciate the local government people. Abe Lincoln said, ‘I am a firm believer in the people.'”
Herbert said it is important that the American people have the facts. The economy is not as good as it has been, but the messages have been worse than the problems. Half of the money with the bailouts they can’t track. “We need to use common sense. Not understate the problems, but not overstate the problems either. It bothers me that they are always using the phrase that this is the worst the economy has been since the Great Depression. They use those words a lot. This is like comparing a headache to a cancerous tumor. They just aren’t the same. It’s not comparable. Things are different now. The real estate market is always the first to feel the crunch and the last to recover. Nationwide the foreclosure rate is 2.9 percent. In Utah it is 1.4 percent; during the Great Depression it was 50 percent.
“Half of the foreclosures have taken place in Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada where inflated prices and subprime lending have taken their toll. Live within your means. In the Great Depression, the unemployment rate was 25 percent. One in four people were out of work. A large number of people then worked in agriculture. So that 25 percent rate was understated.
“In Utah right now the unemployment rate is 4.2 percent and nationwide it is 7.6 percent. That is the largest number in recent years, but the glass is still 93 percent full and only 7 percent empty. It’s not all bad. Exports in Utah are up. Mineral lease monies are up. Tourism is up. Last year Zion’s Park had a record number of people visit. Right now there are 109 businesses actively investigating Utah to relocate or start a business. The mortgage business is currently refinancing mortgages for as low as 5 percent,” said Herbert.
Herbert told of speaking to a realtor who said people have to have a down payment, credit and a job to get a loan for a house and Herbert said imagine that. That’s how it was when he started out in the realty business. Lending companies have violated basic principles of lending in recent times.
During economic bad times, great companies have been born. General Electric started in the 1870s. Disney started in 1923. In 1975 Microsoft started. Good things happen from adversity.
Herbert said that Republican principles encourage limited government. “The power is in the private sector,” said Herbert. “Government should play a limited role. The private sector creates jobs. If the economy is healthy then, the problems take care of themselves. Too many people look to the government. Many times the government is the problem and not the solution.”
Herbert said to help your neighbor yourself, don’t depend on the government to do it. If you give your neighbor a dollar then he gets the whole dollar. If you give the government the dollar to give to your neighbor then he’ll only end up with 33 cents.
Herbert thanked the Emery County Republicans, “You make me proud to be a Republican, I am one with you,” said Herbert.
Jim Bennett was next, he is the son of Sen. Bob Bennett. Bennett said he appreciates the optimism of Lt. Gov. Herbert. Bennett said Pres. Lincoln is near and dear to the heart of Sen. Bennett. Lincoln faced great trials. He returned the country to the principles upon which it was first founded. “America was founded on an idea,” said Bennett. He said Iraq and other countries have a hard time with this concept because most other countries are founded by ethnic groups. The groups in Iraq have a hard time getting along with each other.
America was based on an ideal and it’s good to be reminded of that in times of crisis. The things that John Madison and Thomas Jefferson stood for matter. Remember the principles on which this country was founded. It’s bigger than any one individual.
Bennett said he is the campaign manager for his father’s re-election for a fourth term. He and his father are going to get out into the communities. “The Republican party in the local communities is strong, but nationally it’s hanging by a thread. Sen. Bennett represents limited government and families. Sen. Bennett works hard to represent you. I appreciate the opportunity to be here with you today.” said Bennett.
Chris Hansen was in attendance representing Sen. Orrin Hatch. “This is my fifth time here at the Republican breakfast. Sen. Hatch said he appreciates your support. He is back in Washington. This is the 200th anniversary since Abe Lincoln’s birth. He is a fascinating man and a great leader. He gave three speeches outside of Washington, two are not remembered and one was the Gettysburg Address.
“Towards the end of his life in March of 1865, Gen. Grant sent a note to Pres. Lincoln asking him to visit the troops. On April 2, 1865 the confederates abandoned Richmond, but before they left they burned all the supplies. Pres. Lincoln decided to go visit Richmond. There was a slave there along the street and he fell down and tried to kiss the boots of Lincoln. Pres. Lincoln raised him up and said, ‘Don’t kneel toward me, only kneel toward God and thank him for the liberty you now enjoy. The only people left in Richmond were the slaves. Crowds gathered around Pres. Lincoln they couldn’t believe he was there among them. He spoke to them. ‘My dear friends, you are free. Cast aside the name of slave and trample on it. Learn the laws and obey them, obey God’s commandments,'” said Hansen. Pres. Lincoln was assassinated 10 days later.
Hansen mentioned the flight that landed in the Hudson that hit a flock of birds and damaged two engines. The calm pilot brought the plane to rest, but the flight attendants removed the passengers to safety. At first the passengers rushed to the back, if they had been allowed to do that the plane would have sunk. The flight attendants sent them to the front of the plane where they were rescued. “Our leaders are like pilots, but we are like the flight attendants. We need to get out into the communities, we need to provide the citizens with guidance. Our party needs to continue to be strong,” said Hansen.
State Republican Party Chairman, Stan Lockhart was at the breakfast. He said he officiated at basketball games and has been to the county several times. He goes around spreading the party’s message. God has given us rights and the government should protect those rights. We should be all we can be and we should be free and have liberty. But, we also have personal responsibility. Lincoln said of the people, by the people and for the people. Lockhart encouraged those present to take advantage of the new advances in technology which makes communication and the sharing of ideas so much quicker. He said he has a face book account now and can communicate so much faster. He said they need to learn how to Twitter which is like texting to the masses. Stan can get on facebook and send Jason Chaffetz a message and Jason can respond back. They can share their message with other Republicans. He said this is a good way to monitor your children’s conversations and add conversation of your own. He encouraged everyone to create their own account. He said you can communicate with your leaders so much more quickly this way and let them know your concerns on issues.
Dellos said Sen. Bennett will be in the county on March 7 and the Republican convention will be on April 14, at 7 p.m. at the old courthouse in Castle Dale.