Statement from the Utah Young Republicans Chairman

Without a doubt, our generation is facing the most difficult economic environment in recent memory. We are leaving or starting our educations, entering the workforce, starting families, and trying to kick off careers during the most prolonged recession in our lifetimes. While many have decided to take out their frustrations in protests against Wall Street, others are looking to change politics altogether, addressing both the politicians and their policies.

The Utah Young Republicans — a group that ranges in age from 18 to 40 and is one of the largest Young Republican groups in the country — is working to educate and inform Utahns on how to get involved and make a difference. Rather than just shout our frustration, our members gather monthly in clubs across Utah that range in size from 15 to 50 members and listen to speakers on current public policy issues. Many have gone on to become elected officials themselves, including city councilmen and legislators at both the state and federal level. Others end up running campaigns that adhere to the values of the Republican party. 

Above all, though, we have our eyes set on the White House in 2012. We have been frustrated with the lack of fiscal wisdom in the current administration, and we do not see the economy recovering until new leadership and new policies are implemented. The failure isn’t just that Obama has failed to lead — we believe it is also a failure of policies that strike at the very heart of America’s entrepreneurial spirit. Just as “concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty,” so this administration has done its best to accrue power and authority over health care, the economy, and energy, to name just a few, and it has done so to the detriment of our country.

In 2012, Utah Young Republicans will enter the year as volunteers, staffers, managers, and candidates for every level of government (except perhaps for the White House itself) in Utah and in Washington, D.C. We hope to send to Congress, to the state legislature, and to city halls across the state individuals who are informed, energetic, and able to return a sense of fiscal sanity to our country.

It has been said that we cannot solve today’s problems using yesterday’s thinking. Today’s Utah Young Republicans are bringing those ideas and policies that can solve the problems our country faces. And they are doing it now. You cannot complain if you do not do your part, and we are doing our best to do our part.

For more information on how to get involved with the Utah Young Republicans, please visit our site at utahyr.com.