U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar [R-District 1] paid a visit to Sedona on Wednesday, April 20, where he talked about his freshman year in Washington, D.C., and the Tea Party movement.

Gosar spoke during a meeting of the Verde Valley Republican Women. Over 70 people turned out for the luncheon. Gosar also spoke at the Sedona Elks Lodge as part of a town hall hosted by the Sedona Tea Party during his visit.

Gosar told those in attendance he believes many Americans have forgotten how to dream.

“I like new ideas. I feed off of ideas,” Gosar said. “We were fundamentally based on dreams and putting those dreams into action.”

He said he is often asked what parts of being a congressman surprises him.

“I went into this knowing some part about the federal government and how dysfunctional it is,” Gosar said. “And my comments have come back to me. I can’t believe how dysfunctional it really is. It’s a process.”

When working on matters related to the federal government, Gosar said he uses examples from Arizona Congressional District 1.

“I use the Navajo Generating Station, the Schultz Fire, all with an outcome that basically shows what’s wrong with the federal government,” Gosar said.

He said he is currently at work on federal budget cuts.

“We do have to raise the debt ceiling. It’s constitutional. We based our whole country on the ability to guarantee our debt. However, it’s how you do it,” Gosar said, adding he believes benchmarks should be added to ensure cuts are being made on target.

“I ran a dental practice for 25 years. My overhead was 72 percent and I still took some bacon home for the family. You’re going to have to create jobs, which is what this administration, this federal government, both administrations [Republicans and Democrats] have impeded,” Gosar said.

When it comes to the Tea Party movement, Gosar said he believes the group should stay a grassroots organization.

“Nobody in Washington, D.C., ought to represent the Tea Party. I will not join the Tea Party caucus because it doesn’t belong there, because that’s contamination from Washington, D.C., because anybody that does it, does it for self-interest and self-preservation,” Gosar said. “This has to be a viral, grassroots mechanism.”

Robin Kelley, president of the Sedona Tea Party group, also spoke to members of the women’s Republican group.

“Mainly we just want to uphold the constitution. We want free markets, free enterprise and fiscal responsibility,” Kelley said, adding the group was not comprised of “radicals.”

“Just to let you know, we’re very anti-radicals,” Kelley said. “There are a lot of things going on with the economy and, as a Tea Party, we want to focus on those types of issues and how it relates to fiscal responsibility.”