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Mike Lee on Principles & Values

 

 


Government not a noble aspiration; just coercive force

Government is not some noble aspiration. It's nothing more, nothing less than the official collective force. It's just coercive force. So faith in government means tyranny. You can't have faith in government without promoting tyranny and faith in people means freedom. That you see is the absolute key to our founding and to our Bill of Rights and it also happens to be precisely what the left is trying to undo.
Source: Remarks by Senator Lee at the 2021 CPAC Conference , Feb 26, 2021

Give me 17 months and I will achieve bipartisanship

Q: Can you win against Ed Markey?

GOMEZ: This election is about putting people before politics. Congressman Markey has had 37 years down there to get things done in terms of immigration reform, comprehensive tax reform, entitlement reform. Give me 17 months and I will keep my word and I don't need 37 years like Congressman Markey has had.

Q: 17 months is the time left in John Kerry's term, but you would be just one of 100 members of the Senate. How are you going to break the gridlock in Washington singlehandedly?

GOMEZ: If a Navy SEAL can talk a Peace Corps volunteer into marrying him, I think I can work with anybody. I look forward to working with President Obama, I look forward to working with all the senators in DC I have been bipartisan my whole life. That's the problem we have in DC right now. We have such a high level of cynicism, fiscal mismanagement and hyper partisanship. And the issues are so big that we need to reach across the aisle, respect the other side and get things done.

Source: Fox News Sunday on 2013 Massachusetts Senate debate , Jun 23, 2013

With Tea Party backing, beat incumbent in GOP Senate primary

In the 2010 midterm election, it was unquestionably time for Tea. Mike Lee came from nowhere out of the ranks of the Tea Party to topple a sitting US Senator in the Republican primary. Lee's opponent, Sen. Bob Bennett, was targeted and defeated largely because he voted for the bank bailout. Lee went on to win the general election. After that, during the Kentucky GOP primary election, my Tea Party-endorsed campaign not only knocked off the establishment's pick but did so handily, with my Republican opponent losing by a whopping 24%. There were Tea party skirmishes in Nevada, Michigan, Colorado, Alaska and many other states throughout the country. Each candidate didn't win but, overall, the movement did.
Source: The Tea Party Goes to Washington, by Rand Paul, p. 42 , Feb 22, 2012

Article I Society: message of constitutional limitations

Our federal government has grown exponentially since the New Deal.

The solution, I proposed, is for the American people to demand that whenever any member of Congress votes to fund a federal program or create a new one, that person should explain where Congress gets its constitutional authority to run that program.

As our nascent, limited-government movement gathered supporters and volunteers, we decided to form an organization to serve as the vehicle for the message of constitutionally limited government. We named the organization the "Article I Society," recognizing the part of the Constitution that outlines the basic powers that properly belong to the federal government. By November 2009, the Article I Society had signed up hundreds of volunteers from nearly every part of the state.

Source: The Freedom Agenda, by Sen. Mike Lee, p. 8-9 , Jul 18, 2011

Tea Party underdog against reliable Republican incumbent

In Utah, Sen. Robert Bennett, a three-term Republican mainstay, was ousted at the state Republican convention by the Tea Party activists. When the dust settled, a whopping 2,200 of the 3,600 delegates had been personally contacted by FreedomWorks staffer and local volunteers. The pro-freedom contingent even set up a booth on the convention floor, debating the opposition in person and winning votes up to the last moment.

Bennett was widely considered to be a "good guy" who was mostly reliable on Republican issues. Most notably for the delegates from Utah, he had voted for the Wall Street bailout. As Bennett spoke to the gathering, the chant of "TARP, TARP, TARP" echoed across Convention Hall. Bennett was ultimately replaced by the Tea Party underdog candidate Mike Lee, a staunch supporter of limited government and the very first signer of the Contract from America.

One pundit fumed, "It is a damn outrage." Another wailed, "It's almost a nonviolent coup." Get used to it, guys.

Source: Give Us Liberty, by Rep. Dick Armey, p.164 , Aug 17, 2010

Member of the Tea Party movement.

Lee is a member the Tea Party movement

The Tea Party movement is a populist conservative social movement in the United States that emerged in 2009 through a series of locally and nationally coordinated protests. The protests were partially in response to several Federal laws: the stimulus package; te healthcare bill; and the TARP bailouts. The name "Tea Party" refers to the Boston Tea Party of 1773, the source of the phrase, "No Taxation Without Representation."

Source: Tea Party movement 10-Tea on Aug 11, 2010

Certify 2020 Presidential election as fully & fairly counted.

Lee voted NAY blocking certification of the Electoral vote

Explanation of 1/6/21 Electoral Certification, by Emily Brooks, Washington Examiner:Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Paul Gosar led an objection to counting Electoral College votes from the state of Arizona, the first formal objection to state results in a series of moves that will delay the certification of Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election over President Trump. Cruz is advocating for an `emergency 10-day audit` of election returns in disputed states. The usually ceremonial joint session of Congress that convenes to count and accept Electoral College votes will be put on hold as the House and Senate separately debate the objection.