BIG ARM — The Lake County Republican Women’s Club hosted a special meeting last Saturday at Camp Marshall near Big Arm, during which Congressman Denny Rehberg served as the keynote speaker.

Rehberg, now in his fifth term, told those in attendance he will never treat the current President, Barack Obama, the way that Democrats treated former President George W. Bush. Rehberg said he believed Democrats not only attacked Bush’s character during his presidency but virtually destroyed the presidency in the eyes of the world.

Rehberg said that while he disagrees with Obama on many policy issues, he respects the office of the President. He assured Republicans and Democrats alike that when he opposes the President, he will bring solutions rather than accusations and attacks on the President’s character.

Referring to the $787 billion stimulus bill approved by Congress, Rehberg said only 12 cents out of every dollar will go toward things that can actually stimulate the economy. He added that, while he’s not against some of the programs included in the package, he felt that many of them have nothing to do with jump starting the economy.

Rehberg decried the 1,042 page stimulus bill, stressing that he and other legislators were given just 10 hours to read and discuss the document before voting on it. That, he added, amounted to reading and discussing essentially two pages of the document per minute.

“We’re looking at a $13 trillion debt in this country,” Rehberg said. “Somebody’s got to pay it back, and it’s us. If we think we can spend our way into prosperity, we’re in for some pretty tough times in this country.”

Rehberg admitted that Republicans are “in the penalty box” at the present because of the failed economic policies of the past, adding that Republicans must reinforce core values and reassert their philosophy and practice of “giving a hand up, not a hand-out.”

Part of that, he said, means keeping government out of the solution rather than thinking that government intervention is the solution.

Rehberg said he considers two issues to be more complex, as well as more difficult to fix, than any others. Those two issues were immigration and health care.

Concerning immigration, Rehberg stressed his belief that when America effectively controls its borders, we are also controlling our sovereignty. He added that he is not against people immigrating to America to seek a better quality of life but that do so by becoming citizens, taking a course in American history and learning to speak the English language.

As for health care, Rehberg said Republicans want health care reform as much as anyone else. Health care, he said, has become a system that divides Americans into two categories: those who can afford it and those who can’t. He also referred to the current status of Medicare and Social Security, which he described as “entitlements that are going broke.”

He conceded that the 2010 election will likely prove to be a difficult race against challenger and state Democratic Party Chairman Dennis McDonald.