Civics

This morning I arrived a little after 7:30 am at the Mimi's restaurant in Orem, Utah. I was late to a breakfast with Congressman Chris Cannon. His campaign invited me because a few years ago I was elected to "high office," chairperson of Precinct 29 in the Utah County Republican Party. There were about 10 of us who met with Congressman Cannon. He answered questions on land use, nuclear energy, immigration, and security. It seems there are some personality types that find meeting new people energizing, and others enervating. Bill Clinton seemed to be energized by meeting people on a campaign. Chris Cannon seems to handle it all pretty well. I asked him a few questions. I'm not sure he had compelling answers to some of the questions, but on some issues I don't think anyone has compelling answers that give hope for the immediate future. I think he did just fine. Later in the morning I went to a Utah County Republic Party Central Commmittee meeting. There were about 100 people there. A panel of state legislators fielded questions on a variety of topics. There was vigorous applause after several responses, but I don't believe I applauded once - - it is my own ignorace, I suppose, because I don't want to lend applause to things I don't sufficiently understand. Politicians can be an exasperating group, but we're fortunate to have people with an inclination to play that role in our society.