Why I am running

At a recent “Ask Ed Anything” meeting, like dozens I’ve attended over the past couple of months, someone asked me to tell him in the simplest, most direct way possible, why I am running for Congress. I’d like to share my answer to that question with you.

I am running for Congress for three very important reasons: my daughter, and my two little boys.

Becoming a father has been the scariest, most wonderful experience I could ever imagine. When I tuck my little girl in at night, there aren’t words to describe the moment. There is simply no better feeling than complete unconditional love from three little children.

My daughter definitely has a mind of her own. When she grows up, she wants to be a ballerina, or maybe a doctor like her mommy. I can already see my boys climbing the tallest tree in the yard and swimming in the deep end way too soon.

I want to be my daughter’s hero. I want my boys to respect their old man.

I want the world for my kids.

I want them to be safe. I want them to be happy. I want them to live long and productive lives. I want them to know Jesus and to know what it means to be an American.

I think I want for my children what every father wants. I know I fear what every father fears.

I had a teacher in high school who once defined for me the American Dream. He told me the American Dream is the idea that our children will be better off than we were. When I was 16, I didn’t really get it.

Today, this is what drives me.

For the first time in decades, most Americans believe that life for their children will not be better than it was for them. And while the optimist in me (maybe the politician in me) desperately wants to believe otherwise – we’re America! We can do anything! – our elected leaders seem bent on making those fears into a dark reality.

It took this Congress less than six months to double our national debt, and even as I write this they are working overtime to add trillions of dollars more to the total. My children aren’t out of preschool, and they already owe China nearly $40,000. EACH!

How can I as a parent hope to provide for my children when nearly 50 percent of what I earn is confiscated by the government? How can my kids ever hope to be successful in their own right when sending each of them to college will cost a half-million dollars?

I am running for Congress because this isn’t the America my parents wanted for me, and it isn’t the America my wife and I want for our children. I am running for Congress to ensure that my children and yours inherit what Ronald Reagan once called the fullness of freedom, dignity and opportunity that is their birthright.

Here is the part of this note where my campaign staff tells me I should ask for a donation. But I’m not going to do that. Instead, I will ask you to do three things:

First, please forward this email to anyone you think might be interested in what it has to say. Too often, people who feel like we do are led to believe they are alone in their beliefs, when in fact we are a significant majority.

Second, please join the conversation on Facebook and on Twitter, and invite your friends to do the same. I really want to know what’s on your mind. That is truly the only way I can ever hope to represent you in Washington.

The one thing I don’t like about running for Congress is how much it takes me away from my wife and children. So, finally, as we approach this national day of Thanksgiving, please set aside some time – today and every day - to spend with your family.

Thank you. And God bless.