When we are through with you, the people who sit behind you in church will get up and move when you come in.”
This was just one of the many pieces of “advice” I was given in order to discourage me from challenging Mitch McConnell in Kentucky’s Republican Senate primary. Some were less subtle.
Our nation was not founded, nor should it be led today, by men and women who could be either bought off or bullied.
There is a pervasive sense of hopelessness that has infected the opinion of Americans regarding our elected officials. A sense that it doesn’t really matter who we vote for or even if we vote at all. A sense that all politicians are the same and that they do not understand or care about how we live our everyday lives in the rural towns and urban cities of America.
I am often asked why I would even want to run for political office. The answer is simple. This is less the result of what I want to do and more a function of what I am willing to do. There is a significant difference.
History has always called upon everyday citizens to step up in times of crisis.
Winston Churchill noted: “Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened.”
In America today, we have more than simply stumbled over the truth. We have slammed into it with a jarring reality. We know that our nation is on a financially unsustainable path. We know that our leaders are unwilling to do anything about the unconscionable levels of debt crippling our economy. We know that our children and grandchildren will be punished for the selfish cowardice of our supposed leaders. We know the truth.
Washington is broken. A recent, glaring case in point is Mitch McConnell’s arm twisting of fellow Republicans to help Harry Reid and Barack Obama raise the debt ceiling. In handing this administration a blank check, McConnell gave a one-fingered salute to future generations who will suffer the consequences of this reckless behavior.
While the Washington press corps and elites have been fixated on the gotcha politics of the past, the voters in Kentucky and across the country are longing for a real discussion of the issues.
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