Running For Public Office

I would like to announce my candidacy for the United States Senate for the great state of Wisconsin. It does not really matter who I run against; it is time for all the incumbents to be replaced. It seems to me that those in Washington have lost touch with why we sent them there. It seems as if they are taking no personal responsibility for the messes we are in, and they fear the cures for our problems more than the problems.

It is time for some new thinking. I mean real new thinking, like people being in the Senate who will have the interest of the people, first and foremost, on their mind, and where a real fear of a real God is a driving force for good. We need leaders who will gather and talk about what is best for our nation rather than what deals they can cut for their state. It is time to hold our government officials accountable for the lies they have peddled, the bribes they have given, and the self-interest they have served.

I will not be running as a Republican, Democrat, or Libertarian, because I am not sure what any of them really believe. I will run as a citizen who hates what is in Washington, and will fight to make it what it could be.

I know that that last line sounds like rhetoric, so let me be specific about what changes would be made.

First, I would change the electoral process. Instead of wasting billions of dollars on campaigns when we could be using that money in so many good ways, I will not accept any money from anyone. I will not go out on the campaign trail. Instead I will produce a "white paper" of my views and ideas and have it posted on a website for all to read. This will give everyone in the nation a chance to look at exactly what I believe in an acceptable timeframe for both reading and understanding. I personally will pay for the web site. I will not attack my opponents or tell you what they believe. You can do that on your own.

Secondly, I will make few promises. The issues facing this country are complex, and need someone to take them on one at a time, and work the plan they have while they make another plan. It is ludicrous to believe that anyone is so smart today that they can actually have answers for tomorrow, when they have no real idea of what tomorrow will bring. Therefore, I will not only work the plan I have while I make a better plan, I will pray often for God to guide my decisions, and live in a way, and make decisions in a way where God could bless these decisions.

Again you might be asking what that looks like. Well, abortion for example, would be something that I would say nothing about. Although I am opposed to abortion, I think that it has become the issue when the real issue is that we as nation that have turned our back on God and His ways. You see, God created man and woman and the family, and has made it clear that before marriage we are to be sexually abstinent, and that after marriage, we are to be committed to each other for life, and be faithful (sexually) to each other. You see, when this is the emphasis, there is no need to talk about abortion, because there would be no need for it. We have the issue of abortion because we refuse to talk about, listen to, acknowledge, or suggest that God has a right way to do things. I would even suggest that with or without God, man/woman is better off in life being abstinent before marriage and faithful in marriage. This lifestyle would solve many, many problems, from sexually transmitted diseases to unwanted pregnancies. Since we are looking at how I would do things differently, I will continue. I would work towards eliminating alcohol advertising and raise the drinking age to 30. I know that my critics would say prohibition does not work, but, obviously, neither does indulgence. You see, our prison system seems full of people who made mistakes while under the influence, there are many killed on our roads because someone was under the influence, our domestic abuse shelters have too much business due to alcohol, and there are too many, once again, unwanted babies due to drunk unions. It seems to me that our desire, as a nation, to drink is causing extraordinary pain and suffering. In fact, I believe (if facts found on the internet are true…which you never know…) that we see more people die each year from alcohol abuse than we have seen in the entire Iraqi War so far. Something just seems wrong about this, and you would think those in charge of watching over the people would have something to say about it. (Unless, of course, it would ruin their parties.)

Since I am trying to show how things can be different I will continue….I would give those of us who work for the government less of a salary, and I would limit the President's trips on that expensive airplane. I am not sure he needs to hop around the world for state business as much as he is doing. We live in an age where he can connect in other less expensive ways. As far as salaries, I would identify a middle class and come up with what the average salary and benefits are for someone we classify as middle class, and I would give my colleagues and myself that salary. It just makes sense.

Thirdly, I would work at the cure instead of prepare for the death of our economy. I guess I would need to have my wife in on this one, because I am not that good with numbers. So, I would ask her to come up with a national budget and be the enforcer. We have had to do this as a family, and she has been successful, so it is time we put someone with real experience on the job. There will be some tough choices because our leaders to date have spent on the national credit card and lost all control. It is really too bad that our children will need to tighten their belts so much, but we have left them no option.

Fourthly, I would handle the health care bill a bit differently. I would first identify what is going well in our health care system, and talk of ways to strengthen that. Then, with that clearly in mind, I would begin working at what is broken. I would take one issue at a time and discuss it. For example, I would talk about allowing insurance companies to compete across state lines. I would stay with this one issue until we come to a consensus. President Obama had a great idea in being transparent, so I would do that. (I would like to say that I would continue that policy, but it has not happened.) I would want to make sure that the American people saw what we were talking about. After we came to a conclusion on that, we would work on frivolous medical law suits or something else that rises to the top, and pick them off one at a time. Honestly, what they are doing in Washington now is just plain goofy.

I know I do not have a whole lot of experience in foreign policy or being commander-in-chief, but I did play football in college and learned a lot about teamwork, goals, fighting, etc. that I will apply as needed. I have been a faithful husband for thirty years and have two wonderful daughters who are somewhat normal. I know that after you check me out, you will find out that I grew up in Chicago, so I want to get that out of the way right away. I really was young then, and had nothing to do with Chicago politics, but, I cannot run from what it was. Perhaps I had a good seat to see how it should not have been.

Seriously, I am not really running for office just playing with ideas. I would not know what I would need to do in order to qualify for office, although, it would be easy to see that I was a natural born citizen of these United States. I do write this to warn our people and to encourage our people to think differently about who we send to Washington in 2010 and beyond. Maybe we need to focus on those who do not want to go, but who would be good for us. Maybe we need to reform the election system in our minds and band together to dismiss all of the incumbents and put in place a bunch of commoners who actually know how decisions in Washington affect real life. Maybe we need leadership who are humble enough to admit that they do not yet know all of the answers or even all of the questions, and who tell us the process they use to make decisions. Maybe we need leaders who love God with all of their hearts and souls and minds and the people as themselves.

Then again…..this is America. We're probably too sophisticated for this simple way of life.