Thanks for having me here Nick.  It's a real pleasure to be here with you.

Let's start with the big issue this entire term, the House Democrats' move to raise taxes on Michigan businesses and Michigan families.  You wound up voting NO on each of the tax hikes that the majority caucus moved through the House.  Why was it important that you vote no?  

Well, I always take a look at government and realize that deficits are either caused by a spending problem or a revenue problem.  The only way to fix a spending problem is to cut spending and the only way to fix a revenue problem is to raise taxes.  Since I come from the camp that believes that Michigan's problem was due to spending, I thought we should have done more cutting.  I didn't come to Lansing to work for Lansing, I came here to work for citizens.

Now, the business community said that there was a $900 million compliance cost on a $613 million sales tax increase and the Democrats only then sort of saw the err of their ways and voted to repeal but they attached a full replacement to the repeal through an MBT surcharge.  We've heard from your caucus that there are cuts and reforms available that would mean we needn't replace the tax hike.  

Where do we stand with those cuts and reforms?  Are they dead in the water?  Is there any support, so far as you can tell, inside the majority caucus?

Frankly, the Democrats won't allow us to even discuss our reforms and cuts.  During the budget process they could have just let us introduce our idea and then vote us down, but they didn't want us to be a part of the discussion.  Many of the reforms that we proposed are now dead, but I still support them.

I came up with a whole list of reforms and cuts that could have moved us forward and put them on my website.  However, those cuts were never considered.

I was fortunate enough to work with you a bit back in 2005 and already back then I know you were advocating that folks take a look at the Fair Tax and that's a proposal that's getting some love on the national scene these days too.  Can you explain the Fair Tax for us and would it have or could it make a difference in the way we do things here in Michigan?

The Fair Tax would eliminate income and business taxes, and Michigan would have one of the most competitive tax structures in the nation.

The Fair Tax could have, and will make a difference here in Michigan.  However, any Fair Tax legislation has to be put before the voters in the form of a ballot initiative because it changes the state's constitution.  I plan to begin collecting signatures in February.

Last term you were a part of the House Majority.  Speaker Dillon's gone as far as to violate the Constitution at least once in shutting down amendments from the floor.  The Fair Tax and reforms like that are something, obviously, that seem dead in the water in the House as long as the Democrats are running the show.  How difficult is it attempting to get anything done from the minority?

It's very difficult for any Republican in the House to initiate legislative discussions.  Five bills that I have introduced, whether in the distant past or recent past, have recently passed the House.  However, these were all bills that were passed because a Democrat took them and put their name on them.  I guess this just proves that good policy is good policy.

Is there anything, any issue, and debate that you'd like to see addressed a certain way to feel personally and for your district, come next November, that this has been a successful two-year term at least for you personally?

There are quite a few things that I would love to see addressed in the next calendar year, but I don't think that the Current Democratic leadership has any interest in bringing them up.  I'm just putting my energy into what I am doing with the Fair Tax.

What it comes down to is that it doesn't matter what the House thinks, or the Senate thinks or even the Governor; it matters what the people think.  If the legislature and the governor won't govern, the people will.

Just a shame it comes to that.  Now, transitioning a bit, have you picked a pony in the GOP POTUS field?  Why?

I currently serve as the head of Mitt Romney's Faith and Family committee.  Gov. Romney is the best-rounded candidate we have in respect to experience.  He worked successfully in the private sector and then become a Republican Governor in a state whose legislature was 80% Democrat.  He got rid of a billion dollar deficit in Massachusetts by reducing spending, not increasing taxes.

When Michigan passed it's one-man/ one-woman marriage amendment, Gov. Romney wrote the best article I had read on the issue, happy that we were able to keep what happened in Massachusetts regarding gay marriage from happening here.

He's very pro-family and very pro-life, regardless of what his views were in the past.

Representative Sheen, thanks again for your time!

Thank you Nick for everything that you are doing with your blog.