By RYAN GEORGE
It didn’t look anything like an LDS ward picnic, the way the Utah County Republican Party’s Lincoln Day Dinner has been described in the past.
With former Vice-President Dan Quayle as the key-note speaker, and performances by Marie Osmond-Blosil and New York City concert pianist, Hyperian Knight, the Utah County Republicans hoped to make the Lincoln Day Dinner a first class event.
Quayle focused on family values, competition in education and reform of the judicial system in his key-note speech Wednesday night at the Provo Park Hotel.
“The most important thing we can address to increase our competitiveness is education,” he said.
Quayle criticized President Clinton for trying to rule over local education from Washington; and he said he favors increased competition in education because it puts children first.
Speaking about the responsibility of a president to appoint Supreme Court justices, Quayle said the president should “appoint Supreme Court justices who will interpret the law, not make the law.”
He also suggested a fifteen-year limit for Supreme Court justices, saying, “I don’t believe anyone should have a life-time appointment.”
With Republican efforts to downsize the government, Quayle said it is important that citizens become more involved in their communities.
“Maybe we ought to take the time to think about what we can do for the community,” he said.
There are many things Quayle said he misses, now that he is not the Vice-President.
“I miss working with George Bush, one of the most honorable, descent men I know,” he said.
Quayle admitted that now that he is out of office, he even watches Jay Leno and David Letterman, two of his most vocal critics.
“I have to admit, I like them now. Because now they’re making fun of Bill Clinton and Al Gore,” Quayle said.
Profits from the Lincoln dinner will be used to support Republican candidates in area.
The cost of the meal was $50 per plate, or $1500 for a seat at the gold tables where eight people were promised special access to the former Vice-President before the dinner.
The event officially sold out last week, Bruce Blosil said, Chairman of the Lincoln Dinner.
