By Ron VandenBoom
Dennis Rehberg, former lieutenant governor and Republican candidate for Congress, will make a campaign appearance in Havre Tuesday, June 20, at a 7 a.m. no-host breakfast at the Iron Horse Restaurant.
Rehberg is running against Democratic candidate Nancy Keenan for Montana's only seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The seat is being vacated by Rep. Rick Hill, R-Mont., who is retiring at the end of his term for health reasons.
Rehberg, a Billings area rancher, has based his campaign on family values and what he call "a common sense approach to government."
During his last campaign appearance in Havre, Rehberg told the crowd that he believes family values are a primary concern to many Montanans and government is out of touch with what they feel is important.
"People don't want all the government they are being given," Rehberg said at that time adding that the marriage penalty is a good example of how out of touch the government is with the family.
He questioned why eliminating the marriage penalty has to be such a struggle with Congress when, as he sees it, there seems to be so much agreement over the issue.
Rehberg has also cited government ineptitude in handling the Veterans Administration and a lack of trust regarding Social Security benefits as issues in his campaign.
The use of the military as a world-wide police force is also an issue Rehberg has said he feels is out of touch with the American People and requires today's servicemen to spend too much time away from their families in overseas assignments that are not relevant to the security of the United States.
Other issues high on Rehberg's agenda are America's foreign trade policy and the role of schools in Montana's.
Rehberg, if elected, has promised to introduce legislation that would guarantee 95 percent of the money appropriated for Montana schools by Washington gets to the classroom. He has also promised to introduce legislation that would protect teachers, principals, and school board members from meritless lawsuits that result from efforts to maintain discipline.
Rehberg has attributed the decline in the effectiveness of education to a non-educational school curriculum that is directed too much toward teaching social values and "subjects that should be taught at home or in churches," he said.
There is no cost to attend the breakfast and free coffee and doughnuts will be served.
