I want to thank you for running and congratulate you on having a commanding lead over all other candidates in the race. I wanted you to know that I am not running for office out of any disagreement with you, personally, but because I have concerns about the Republican party and its capacity to govern well and honestly. Because you are running on the Republican party ticket, I’m hoping that you will be willing to answer a few questions I have about why you believe that it should be supported by Utahns in the Fourth Congressional District.

First, according to one source, the national debt doubled under the recent Bush presidency. Only after Republicans lost power to the Democrats did they seem to be concerned with reducing spending. If you had been in Congress during the Bush presidency, what would you have done to rein in the reckless spending by the Republican party?

Second, along those same lines, please tell me if you think that there is such thing as unconstitutional spending. If so, what is constitutional versus unconstitutional spending?

Third, what, if anything, will you do to rein in a president (whether Obama or a future president of any party) who has unilaterally attacked a foreign nation or entity without the declaration of war by Congress?

Fourth, what actions constitute war? What non-emergency military actions can a president take without a declaration of war from Congress, if any? And can Congress give the president permission to take military action without also declaring war?

Fifth, when Rand Paul stood up for our constitutional rights to due process under the Constitution, John McCain called him a “wacko-bird.” As a junior member of Congress, in the Republican party, can you assure us that you will stand up for the Constitution even when the party leadership is against you?

Sixth, the Department of Defense is notoriously sloppy with its funds. On September 10, 2001, Donald Rumsfeld said, “According to some estimates, we cannot track $2.3 trillion in transactions. We cannot share information from floor to floor in this building because it’s stored on dozens of technological systems that are inaccessible or incompatible.” Do you believe that it is unpatriotic to question how defense funds are spent? If confidentiality could be assured, would you support a comprehensive audit of the Department of Defense, and if not, why? Similarly, what would you do about other crumbling, disorganized agencies, such as the VA, the IRS and the Department of Indian Affairs?

Thank you for responding to these questions. One last question is simply, would you be willing to engage in a written debate on these and other issues?

– Collin Simonsen, West Jordan