Lately a lot of people I’ve talked to say nobody gets involved in politics anymore for the right reasons.  So I thought I'd tell you what my reasons are and let you judge for yourself.

I look at Congressional office the same way I looked at my time in the military; they're both a way to serve my country.  I served nearly 10 years on active duty because I wanted to be part of something larger than myself and to contribute to the defense of the United States.  I see serving in Congress as a way to continue that service.  As an Air Force officer, I lived by the Air Force's core values:  Integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do.  I still live by them; those are the values I would bring to politics. 

Congress shapes our foreign policy.  I've been to Iraq and I've seen first-hand that we need a new policy there.  Based on my experience and training I have a number of ideas about what our new policy should look like. 

I'm not interested in potentially going to Congress just to try and ram a different agenda down the throats of Republicans; agenda ramming doesn't work.  As a voter, I’m tired of watching it.   Republican or Democrat, we're all Americans and Congressman should work with other Congressmen regardless of which side of the aisle they're on.  Instead of working to win Congress for one side or the other, I'm interested in finding ways for Republicans and Democrats to come together and use Congress to help America win.

Finally, we need to remember that serving as a Congressman means there is a job to do.  Like most employers, citizens who elect Congressmen don't like it when the job doesn't get done.  Excuses are not good enough, and as a voter I’m tired of hearing them.  Am I going to tell you I can solve all the problems in our country in two years?  Of course not; if I did I'd be lying and you'd know it.  But can we improve the mess in Iraq in two years?  Yes we can.  Can we start rebuilding the credibility of Congress by finding representatives who want to work hard with each other instead of blaming each other?  Yes we can.  Can we bring better values and better ideas about how to shape our future to Congress and ditch the status quo?  Yes, you can.  If you’re interested in doing so, please contact me.