This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Sen. Mike Lee continued his attempt to take the tea party agenda mainstream with an appearance on This Week with Christiane Amanpour.
He was one of three tea party-backed freshman profiled on the venerable Sunday Morning news show.
Amanpour asked Lee if he was a revolutionary and he responded by saying if arguing that requiring the federal government to balance its budget makes him a revolutionary so be it.
He was referring to his main priority — the passage of a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution, something a number of Republicans, including Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, are also working on.
The segment also showed glimpses of his first few days in office. A staff meeting. His daughter using flash cards to help him learn the names of his colleagues. A night bowling with family and staff just hours after his official swearing in. (they show him smoothly rolling a strike, raising his handsa nd saying "that's how its done.")
In reaction to the shootings in Tucson, including that of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and its impact on Congress, Lee said: "Everyone involved in the process would rather see a more civil discourse." But he added, that doesn't mean a change in priorities. "The shooter wins if we who are elected change what we do just because of what he did," he said.
Lee also said he's undeterred by President Barack Obama's improved poll numbers.
"I certainly don't think it changes my agenda or the agenda of the people who were elected with me," he said.
— Matt Canham
Twitter: @mattcanham