I’m Charles Larson, candidate for Utah Legislature, House District 60, challenging our incumbent Brad Daw for his seat. This week my campaign sent a direct mailing to each of you, but several delegates have informed me that it had not yet arrived with today’s mail delivery. The County Nominating Convention is tomorrow morning and I very much wanted you to have this information available to you going in, so I am emailing it to everyone just to be sure.
WE EITHER HAVE A CONSTITUTION – OR WE DON’T
Have you ever wondered why no Utah lawmaker has ever proposed a bill prohibiting the legislature from passing a law that undermines the authority of the United States Constitution?
The answer is simple: They don’t need to. The Utah State Constitution, Article I, Section 3, which reads: “The State of Utah is an inseparable part of the Federal Union and the Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the land,”already does that. Or at least it’s supposed to.
How, then, was Rep Brad Daw (R), 6-term incumbent from House District 60, able to propose HB195 and HB197 during the 2018 legislative session – bills which would defy federal law, violate the Constitution’s supremacy clause, and have Utah authorize limited use of medical marijuana?
Was it out of Brad’s compassion for the suffering of the terminally ill? Perhaps, or we at least would like to think so. But even while sponsoring his bills (and defending them to his constituents since) Brad made it known that they were primarily intended as a “preemptive” measure to head off other pending actions – such as the ballot initiative filed by The Utah Patient’s Coalition – a group which advocates for far broader use of medical marijuana with significantly less restrictions than Daw’s bills proposed.
In other words, HB195 and HB197 were designed to be a less undesirablealternative that might prevent a more undesirablepossibility. As he described them in a committee hearing, their limited scope would be merely like dipping a “very small toe in the water” rather than plunging in headfirst. No big deal, really. Only a token nod to keep the more radical elements at bay.
But the problem is – and always had been – that by federal law cannabis is still 100% illegalin everystate, includingUtah.
Did that fact seem to bother Brad Daw? Apparently not. When taking into account that some 30 states thus far have illegally “legalized” marijuana for medical or recreational use (or both), Brad Daw simply pointed out that Congress hasn’t allocated funding to prosecute cultivation, distribution and use in those states.
So, since prosecution “isn’t funded” that’s supposed to mean it’s acceptable to defy federal law and the Constitution? We can only guess that maybe Brad thought (or wished) that Barack Obama was still the President, or Eric Holder was still in charge of the Department of Justice, but thankfully that is no longer the case. There is a new wind blowing from Washington D.C these days which all Republicans ought to be thankful to get in front of, but which Brad Daw seems unable to do.
Utahns don’t require any dubious “preemptive” laws to protect us. That would be like parents telling their teenage sons or daughters that is all right for them to be a “little bit” immoral – provided they weren’t “completely” immoral. The Utah State Legislature should have enough faith in our Governor to expect that he would veto any legislation or initiative that would have us violate the Constitution’s supremacy clause, or enough confidence in the Utah Supreme Court to know that any such proposal would be struck down as unconstitutional.
All states – Utah included – derive their rights from the Constitution. When one starts to break up the Constitution, what then becomes of the rights of the states, and of the people?
Charles Larson
Brad Daw stances: (from his site)
The Truth about Brad Daw’s Stance on Health Care
Dear Neighbor,
I wanted to take just a minute and give you some facts about how I have represented your interests in health care during my time in the Legislature. First off, I would ask you to look at my website (www.braddaw.com) and recall any literature that I’ve sent out. Through it all you will find a very consistent theme: The health care sector of our economy needs to be more free-market driven and needs to provide more ability for consumers to make informed choices. Let me list below just a few of the bills that I’ve sponsored and co-sponsored.
Legislation I’ve Been Involved With
A personal note from Utah’s premier conservative think tank The
Sutherland Institute.
Dear Rep. Daw,
With the passage of SB 208 – Healthcare Compact, Utah now becomes the fifth state to join the interstate compact by which participating states eventually will be able to negotiate with Congress for the return of the responsibility and authority to regulate healthcare programs in the state – and the funding to do so. Additionally, this is a significant step toward restoring balance in the “federalism” relationship between the states and the national government they created, as specified by the Founders in the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Because of your continuing commitment to develop prudent and effective state healthcare policy, as demonstrated by your efforts as a member of the Health System Reform Task Force and championing of consumer-driven healthcare, when it came time to consider a House sponsor for SB 208, we naturally thought of you. Thank you for your enthusiastic sponsorship and aggressive and articulate defense on SB 208.
— Stan Rasmussen, Sutherland Institute
Bill Year
2006 Sponsored a bill offering state employees high deductible health plans with a health savings account.
2007 Sponsored a bill that derailed an attempt by the Governor to implement
ObamaCare style health care in Utah.
2008 Co-sponsored a bill creating the Utah Health Exchange, giving individuals more choice in their healthcare coverage.
2009 Co-sponsored a bill improving and refining the Utah Health Exchange.
2010 Co-sponsored a bill opting Utah out of ObamaCare
2011 Sponsored a bill improving the consumer choice health plan for state employees.
2012 House sponsor of a bill to join an interstate compact opting Utah out of all federal health care mandates.
The Real Story about the Bill Brad Daw Sponsored in 2007
By Representative John Dougall
In 2006, Rep Lockhart and I grew increasingly concerned with the Huntsman Administration’s proposal for health care reform for Utah. First, they advocated a Massachusetts-style health insurance mandates in Utah. But they didn’t stop there. Next, Huntsman’s Insurance Commissioner began pushing for state ownership and operation of all hospitals in Utah.
Rep. Lockhart and I discussed these alarming attempts at government intervention into Utah’s health care markets. We brought Rep. Brad Daw into our discussion of how to derail the Huntsman Administration health care reform agenda.
We ultimately settled on a strategy to introduce a competing proposal. We knew we needed an alternative, should the administration continue pushing its highly intrusive plan. We felt that if Utahans really wanted protection against uninsured individuals it should be the least expensive and least intrusive plan possible. Our plan called for simple and inexpensive catastrophic insurance rather than expensive, comprehensive insurance. We also had no desire to punish anyone who did not have insurance.
A bill was introduced with a couple of objectives. First, we wanted to gauge Utahans’ desire for some kind of individual health insurance mandate. Had there been a strong desire for such a mandate our alternative plan would have been far less intrusive than Huntsman’s. Second, it would hopefully shift momentum from the Huntsman Administration’s agenda by redirecting the debate. Gratefully, the committee hearing on the bill made it obvious that Utahans were opposed to any health insurance mandate. The bill was promptly abandoned without a single vote as it had served its purpose. The Administration’s push for a Massachusetts-style health insurance mandate quickly crumbled. This very clear message led the Governor to join us in championing consumer-driven health care.
We continue to advocate for consumer-driven health care and free market principles as the best strategy to fix Utah’s health care system.
I believe that no one did more to derail the Huntsman Administration’s intrusive and destructive health care reform than Rep Brad Daw.
–John Dougall.
PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE
Chances are, everyone knows or will know someone addicted to prescription drugs. Sadly, prescription drug abuse is the #1 cause of death in Utah, not to mention it’s a financial drain on state funds. Crime is associated with this addiction (over 80% of petty crimes have a tie to drug addiction) as well as it’s a nexus for many other types of crime, including theft and traffic violations, too. As a legislator, I’m working to inform everyone about the addictive and dangerous nature of prescription drugs.
CHILD PORNOGRAPHY, PEDOPHILIA AND MOLESTATION
I’m working to make the world a better place, and a safer place for our children. I’m proud to have sponsored bills that make it easier to track down pedophiles because when a child is missing, time is of the essence. I’m grateful to do my part to help save the lives of innocent children in Utah.
GOVERNMENT SPENDING
The best way to explain why government spending should be as minimal as possible it to go back to the father of our country. George Washington stated “Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.” I could actually just end right there and feel like the point has been made, but let me elaborate a bit.
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
I’ve devoted a lot of effort to the study of nuclear energy. I’ve toured facilities and I’m a big proponent of it when it’s done properly and safely: it doesn’t emit pollution and its waste can be disposed of efficiently. Since Utah is unramium-rich, I firmly believe nuclear energy could be an economic boon to Utah.
EDUCATION
When we see the word “education” we are apt to think of the school we went to, or the one our kids are going to. From a legislative perspective it becomes all too easy to think of education as a very big and very high priority budget item. A teacher or principal might be inclined to think of their job. All of these are valid perspectives, but ultimately they miss the point. A child’s education, in fact all of our education, is going on all the time. In school, at work, at church, or even while playing our education goes on. I look over at my ten-year-old son on the computer right now and I see that he is learning how to build a virtual building. It may not amount to much, but he is developing a sense of design and proportion. Maybe this will feed into a desire to explore the world of architecture. The rest of my family is out on a walk, getting to know each other and taking in a little bit of the outdoors. I am practicing my writing skills and working on creating an interesting and persuasive essay to convey some of my thoughts on education.
HEALTH CARE
Since 1992, I’ve had two auto insurance policies and 19 different healthcare policies! I believe healthcare should be consumer-driven: individuals, not employers, should own their own policies and they need to understand the costs of healthcare and have the ability to shop around for the policy that works best for them. I also believe insurance was meant to be a stop loss, not a free credit card! That’s why health care is my signature issue.