Utah U.S. Senate candidates discuss higher education

Dave Starr Seely said he wants to restore the founding principles of limited federal government confined within the 18 powers described in the U.S. Constitution. He said the 18 powers tend to deal with issues like counterfeit and bankruptcy laws, but that the national government has expanded its role through the federal welfare state and the U.S. Department of Education. "These things should be handled either by the states or being left to the private sector," Starr Seely said. If he became senator, Starr Seely said he would ask his fellow legislators to decide whether the bills presented to them pass the litmus test of appropriate federal jurisdiction. He said he would remind them of the oath they took and to not unlawfully go beyond their proscribed duties. "I would speak before my fellow legislators and senators and remind them of their oath of office that they are required by the sacred oath to uphold and defend the Constitution," Starr Seely said, "and that if they do this act, whichever one is before them at that time, that they would be acted outside the law, or should I say, 'unlawfully.' And if they do that, they are not keeping their oath of office. So I would be something like the conscious of the Legislature and hopefully that would serve the people of Utah and the people of this nation well." Education was one of those matters Starr Seely said did not fall under the authority of the federal government. "I'm all for it," Starr Seely said of higher education. "But it's the responsibility of each individual to educate himself. It's not responsibility of a government to fund it, and it should never go beyond the state level. If a state chooses to have state-run universities, then that's their choice and we'll let the free market decide if private universities will be able to compete or not." To end, Starr Seely said he would appreciate voters to support his libertarian campaign and the other candidates in his party across the board. "Let's have a peaceful revolution back to our founding principle," Starr Seely said. For more information about Starr Seely, visit www.seelyforsenate.com.