You talk to the farmers, the ranchers, our small community bankers, and boy, one of the No. 1 issues is the regulations coming out of Washington.

My great-great grandmother who came from Norway to America came for economic freedom, but importantly she also came for religious freedom. It is part of my family history, why they came to America: for the freedom to practice their own religion without the government interfering with it.

I had the chance to visit all 56 counties in Montana in my pickup. You can put Washington, D.C., in one corner of our state and put Chicago in the other corner, and that's the size of my congressional district.

I was a big fan of Ronald Reagan. He was the first president I got to vote for.

I had the interesting experience of having lived and worked for six years in China with Procter & Gamble, and that just changes, I think, your whole perspective in living overseas and living in a country like China.

I've met so many people of my son's generation who think a sacrifice is when their satellite or Internet is out for a day and that the country owes them something. That old J.F.K. quote about 'what you can do for your country,' doesn't even seem to apply to so many people.

Religious freedom is foundational for our country, and we must lead on religious freedom as an example in America.