The actions of the federal government during the past year have been the most intrusive and unconstitutional that I can recall. These elected officials want to dictate what we can eat, what type of light bulbs we can use in our homes, what type of cars we can drive, what type of health care we will be entitled to, how much we can earn, where we can smoke, where we can practice our religion, what sort of jobs we can have,  how we raise our children, and the list goes on.  Their primary agenda is 'Reform' - they desire to reshape our lives to conform to their whims and that of special interests.

At the same time, governmental action has led to the current recession, resulted in nearly 12% unemployment, placed our grandchildren in debt, has greatly devalued our currency, and placed our economy at risk. This is mainly the result of entitlement programs and corporate welfare used to buy votes at the expense of citizens. All the while, the government has been intruding more and more into our daily lives far beyond the scope allowed by the US Constitution. I agree that Reform is essential but it needs to start with governmental reform and returning the power to our citizens rather than special interest and corrupt political officials.

Our current governmental processes are broken and corrupted - the top item on my agenda is to address this issue. We need 'good government' before we can tackle the other issues. The following initiatives, which I strongly support, are steps in the right direction:

• Read The Bills Act - Most people are surprised to learn that Congress no longer reads legislation before it votes. Often, Congressmen are handed the final version of a bill as they walk in to vote on it. Spending trillions of taxpayer dollars, with a significant amount of pork spending, as a result of legislation that our 'representatives' didn't even read is unacceptable. This legislation should be written in a fashion that is clear and understandable to the common man; many Congressmen, when presented with the proposed Health Care Reform plan, indicated they needed attorneys just to understand it. This leaves bills open to interpretation and corruption.
  
  
• One Subject at a Time Act - Frequently, controversial legislation that cannot pass on its own is tacked onto other bills (usually pork-stuffed spending bills) to get passed in the dark of night. I support limiting legislation to a given topic and voting on the merits of that bill.
  
  
• Write the Laws Act -The role of the legislative branch is to pass laws and the role of the executive branch is to execute those laws; Executive Orders. and regulations imposed by administrative agencies, which have the force of law and expands the jurisdiction of government are unconstitutional based on the Separation of Powers doctrine. Further, every piece of legislation should indicate the section of the US Constitution that authorizes Congress to exercise that authority.
  
  
• Enumerated Powers Act - Americans agree that Congress should not have free reign over our lives and that Congress should limit legislation to those powers explicitly granted in Article I of the US Constitution. This should be common sense, but in the absence of this common sense and morality, we get abominations like Obamacare. These limitations were put in place to protect US citizens and federal government must respect those.
  
  
• Transparency - Any government 'for the people' should be accountable to its constituents and appropriately transparent. Congress exempted organizations such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Reserve from the standard accountability process. As a result, politics resulted in unethical business practices and shady dealings leading to our current recession. Backroom deals with labor unions in lieu of our Republican representatives led to a hideous health care reform proposal. By opening up the books and allowing all of us to see what is actually happening, all citizens will benefit and can act accordingly.
  
  
• Term Limits - I strongly support limits on the consecutive number of terms our representatives may serve in the US House. Career politicians, like Congressman Etheridge (who is campaigning for his 16th year in Washington DC), have lost touch with their constituents back home. Fresh faces with fresh ideas and an understanding of what is happening back home are needed to represent Americans. I support limiting members of the US House of Representatives to three consecutive terms. This six-year period is the same duration for one term held in the US Senate. However, after that period, the representative should return home to reconnect with their constituents. After a minimum of two years back home, the citizens of his or her district would then be free to send the representative back to Washington should they desire to do so. This approach breaks the significant advantage held by incumbents during an election, provides a means to eliminate career politicians, and does not unduly limit a voter's ability to send the best representative to DC.
  

We must begin by reforming government if we are going to address the other issues facing us today. And the first step in accomplishing this is taking back our US House of Representatives in 2010.

On the Record

A quick recap of the voting record and positions of the candidates.