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Saturday night, Republicans celebrated two presidential icons at the annual Lincoln-Reagan dinner in Great Falls.

Another political icon from Montana was the keynote speaker at the event: Former Senator Conrad Burns.

"I think this party has a vision for the future, especially for our young people. That they really are now serious about letting the next generation inherit a solvent country because if they don't, their economic future is not very good," Burns said.

Part of that future may include a title change for Denny Rehberg, from Representative to Senator.

"I think it'll be a great race and I will be supporting Mr. Rehberg," Burns said. "He's just an outstanding young man, and he's had some original thoughts."

Talking about the massive national debt, Rehberg said, "You can't spend your way into prosperity, so [the Democrats'] idea of jobs leading the economy is certainly different than I think the majority of Montanans idea of how to create jobs and have a better economy are and I'm getting a pretty good reaction as I travel around."

With a background as a private business owner, newcomer Steve Daines is hoping to take Rehberg's spot as Montana's sole representative in the House.

"We need more experience from the trenches where people have actually signed offer letters and created jobs," Daines said.

As the Republican party moves forward, Burns is hoping for more imagination to come forth, much like that displayed during his father's generation.

"Between '06 and '92 we went from horseback to the moon. We did it in spite of two world wars, a terrible depression and we did it with people that were educated in one room school houses. That's remarkable. And that's what this country is and government didn't do very much of that," Burns said.