Last night I attended the Brad Zaun Christmas Party at Christophers in Beaverdale, and let me tell you, Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District should be really excited about their future U.S. Representative. Here is a link to a video montage of the successful event.
I was invited by my long-time friend Adam Kaduce, “Students for Zaun” Chair, to help out with registration and meet some of the key individuals behind the Brad Zaun movement. Arriving around 6pm, we mingled with few of the other early birds including Brad’s political director, Tom Clegg. Right off the bat I was impressed with the experience and caliber of Brad’s team, which he cleverly deemed his “Kitchen Cabinet.” Many of these individuals have been with Brad through all of his political victories from Urbandale City Councilman, Urbandale Mayor, and Iowa State Senator. It’s clear to me that this team is successful. Successful because they have the penchant for victory, but most importantly, because people flat-out want Brad as a community, state, and now a national leader. With Brad Zaun, you get what you see- a transparent, passionate, conservative leader who will and has consistently stuck by his beliefs.
After more people started filing in, we moved to the entrance to greet other attendees to the event. I was taken back by everyone’s excitement to talk to Brad and listen to his speech; it was truly contagious. There was a diverse crowd ranging from high school students to retirees, and everyone in between.
In Brad’s speech, he reiterated Thomas Jefferson’s perspective regarding deficit spending stating that it is unconstitutional to incur debt that would burden future generations. Now that’s refreshing to hear. It scares me to know that current congressman are treating the national deficit with utter disregard to push their selfish political agendas. I understand the health care system could use some improving and these liberals do care about the well-being of their constituents, but government-run health care is purely not smart. They are more concerned about having their names associated with revolutionizing America’s health care system and being in the history books. It may sound cynical and unfair, these people really need to step back and learn the economics of their decision and the ancillary effects of such radical legislation. Some politicians are jaded by their own political motivations, and jump into groupthink mentality which, inhibits their ability to conduct the necessary due diligence particularly in such a momentous bill.
Toward the end of the night, Adam and I had a great conversation with John Elliot, one of Zaun’s lifelong friends, regarding conservative politics and the future for the party. John was very interested in getting the perspective from the youth about political figures like Sarah Palin and how we bring forth a candidate that satisfies the expectations for fiscal conservatives, social conservatives, and teapartiers. His questions really made me think because it feels like society is moving away from conservative values and my generation, in particular, is not being taught the same types of values with which our parents grew up knowing. Whether this phenomenon is positive or not, it’s the reality we’re living with and politicians must learn about and cater to the youth as Mr. Obama proved in the last presidential election.
Overall, it was a great night and I’m excited to watch Zaun’s campaign evolve over the next year as he gathers more momentum and replaces the long-time incumbent Democrat Leonard Boswell.
As Zaun states in his website, “America has lost faith and trust in Congress. I firmly believe nothing can be done; no positive change can be made until we restore trust in those we have chosen to lead.”
Join me and take a stand.
