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Wednesday, June 30, 2010

My response to article comments from the 6/29 Article in the Frederick News-Post

I have read every blog comment, and have wanted to respond to the sentiment of “oh great, just what we need, another lawyer on Capitol Hill.” I agree, there are quite a few lawyers in Congress - too many perhaps. And I agree that we need more doctors, lawyers, engineers, businessmen and women, and Veterans serving in Congress. I support everyone getting involved in politics. I support healthy debate between all people, regardless of their political leanings. Attend meetings with people that share your belief system. Write to the editor of your local paper. Comment on reporters’ articles and blog posts. And yes – even run for political office. Though, if you run you will get occasional opposition from those in power because they, of course, wish to stay in power. I am not running for ego. I am not running because I’ve amassed a large war chest of funds as a trial lawyer, such as a John Edwards. I am not running because an environmental lobby, an oil lobby or union lobby or education lobby or aerospace and defense lobby has suggested that I run. I am not “propped up” by anything else other than my convictions. Reading the comments tells me that there are people active and interested in the direction that Maryland and the Country are going. That’s great – I want people to think for themselves, and not how a party would tell us how to think. I understand that most professional politicians and their supporters state that one needs experience to serve in office. “You just don’t understand the complexities of what the office entails,” they say. You need someone experienced to deftly “navigate the treacherous political waters,” they say. I believe that it is much simpler than that. Despite all the words spoken in House Sessions, despite all the grandstanding that occurs during Congressional hearings, despite all the procedural formality that you may see on C-SPAN [think “I yield five minutes to the Gentleman from Kentucky” “Without objection” and “So ordered”]– it all boils down to this…. Part 1 - Listen to the voters in your District. Part 2a- If the voters in your District are for a bill, vote for it Part 2b – If the voters in your District are against a bill, vote against it. Part 3 – If the voters in your district are passionately urging you to act by introducing or co-sponsoring a bill, do so. If they wish a Constitutional amendment, propose one. Part 4 – If a member of Congress, or the President, acts in a way that is unconstitutional, speak out. The Federal governments’ powers are clear and limited. Please do not misunderstand me. Experience is good, and can be a useful tool; however, I submit that experience is secondary to serving the will of the voters. This simplifies matters greatly. Running for and serving in office is not a closed book exam. You are allowed to use protractors, rulers, calculators and whatever else is needed to “pass.” As Congressman, I will utilize whatever resources and people are willing and available to best assist me in serving the Sixth District. Thanks for your comments. I welcome them and appreciate your views.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Let's Get Started

So, let’s get started.

The trouble with both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party is that, in their “one size fits all” presentation, they have become too large to care about anything else than their agenda as dictated by the special interests they serve. This in turn forces Americans to pick “the lesser of two evils” every election cycle.

I could spend hours detailing the hypocrisy of both parties, and I will do that over the coming weeks. However, at this time, let’s examine some problems:

· When the government feels it necessary to commandeer entire industries and spend $1 trillion in bailout funds that it does not have, this is not merely problematic, it is unconstitutional.

· When the Nation’s executive takes a corporate officer into the Oval Office, and twenty minutes later the corporate officer states that he will make $20 billion available – without any adjudication or due process, this is not merely problematic, it is unconstitutional.

· When the Nation’s executive creates between twenty and thirty-four policy “czars” that have extraordinary administrative agency powers, but were not confirmed by the Senate, this is not merely problematic, it is unconstitutional.

· When the Nation’s legislature passes a law forcing free individuals to purchase health care, this is not merely problematic, it is unconstitutional. When the Congress passes this law, and yet exempts itself from paying into this forced place health insurance (or Social Security for that matter) - it is not merely problematic, it is unconstitutional and unconscionable.

· When the Nation’s executive sends troops into harm’s way halfway across the globe – and the nation’s legislature authorizes the spending of billions of dollars a day on these military actions -- all without a formal declaration of war, this is not merely problematic, it is unconstitutional.

· When the Nation’s judicial branch bends over backwards to avoid any appearance of violating the Establishment Clause, while prohibiting its individuals from exercising their religious beliefs, this is not merely problematic, it infringes on our right to free exercise of religion, and it is unconstitutional.

· When the Nation’s legislative branch reminds voters that anything resembling “term limits” must be approved by Constitutional amendment, but yet votes itself a pay raise without a Constitutional amendment, this is not merely problematic, it is unconstitutional.

This government runs on the consent of the governed. If you do nothing or say nothing, then the government will continue to operate unimpeded, assuming that you consent to what they are doing. Worse still, it appears that the current party in power may be operating without regard to what you may think. That must stop and it must stop now. The oil spill in the Gulf is an unfortunate metaphor for what is going on in Washington – there is a “gusher” of money being printed in Washington D.C. as the federal government is spending recklessly and negligently without any regard for how this money will be repaid. The first solution is to stop the hemorrhaging.

I am not seeking election to the Sixth Congressional District merely to vote “yea” or “nay” on a bill and let the matter rest. I am going to speak out for the citizens of the Sixth District. I will call out ANY representative in the House or Senate – or in the White House, or at the Supreme Court for that matter. I will tell them exactly what you feel. None of us in this Country are above the law. We have our constituents and God to answer for the decisions that we make.

I ask that you consider my candidacy and welcome any questions or comments that you may have.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

True Story

Thank you everyone, for such an outpouring of support and encouragement over the last 24 hours. I am grateful for all of your kind words.

I do have a funny story that happened at the end of the evening. I called my wife from my office, telling her, in the following order, that "I had two meetings about a corporate merger, announced my Congressional candidacy, fixed the printer network spooling error here at the office, and prepped for my purchase settlement this Wednesday."

I paused for a moment, expecting Tina to give me some sort of positive reinforcement about my decision to try to make a difference in Washington.

Tina's response?

"Oh, good, you fixed the printer."

No chance of my ego getting big at all.

Have a great evening,
Mike

Monday, June 21, 2010

An Open Letter to the Voters in the Sixth Congressional District of Maryland

My name is Michael Reed, and I am seeking the nomination of the Constitution Party to be their candidate to run for the United States House of Representatives Sixth Congressional District of Maryland.

When the Japanese government bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave an address to a joint session of Congress and asked that it declare war, which it did. This procedure was constitutionally mandated and followed. Not long after that, my grandfather Paul Riggenbach, part of the “Greatest Generation,” flew B-25 bombers in North Africa and helped to fight the tyranny that had threatened our freedom and liberty.

Unfortunately, the Constitution has not been followed very well over the last several decades, and it is directly affecting our Nation – including its growth, its confidence and its spirit. Neither of the two primary political parties have been immune from unconstitutionally expanding the federal government into areas that have been reserved for the States.

Why the Constitution Party?

The Constitution Party’s goal is “to restore America to its Biblical foundations and to limit the federal government to its Constitutional boundaries.” It is one of the unfortunate by-products of this democratic republic that only two parties that seem available to the public. However, neither the Republican Party nor the Democratic Party has truly represented the people that so desperately need leadership.

The stark reality is that “history makes it clear that left unchecked, it is the nature of government to usurp the liberty of its citizens and eventually become a major violator of the people’s rights; and that, therefore, it is essential to bind government with the chains of the Constitution and carefully divide and jealously limit the powers of government to those assigned by the consent of the governed.” [Constitution Party platform, www.constitutionparty.com].

There is a lack of leadership and accountability in Washington. What this Country needs are leaders who serve. These servant-leaders are noticeably lacking in both the executive and legislative branches of government.

In his Official Announcement of Candidacy for President dated November 13, 1979, Ronald Reagan stated that the “Citizens of this great nation want leadership, yes, but not a ‘man on a white horse’ demanding obedience to his commands …. A leader who will unleash their [the people’s] great strength and remove the roadblocks government has put in their way.”

The Incumbent

I am running against Roscoe Bartlett, not out of any animosity, but out of respect. I respect that he has served the District for almost twenty years. I respect that he has, for the most part, represented our District with a similar ideology.

However, if I may borrow a military term, I believe it is time for the voters of our District to provide Congressman Bartlett with an “honorable discharge” of service. He has become a member of the political establishment for nearly twenty years. He has become a professional politician. He has, for example, become beholden to the wishes of his political party - which just recently forced a Congressional representative from Texas to retract an apology that he made to BP after an unconstitutional $20 billion “shakedown” in the Oval Office.

While there may be disagreement between scholars and historians regarding the desire of Adams, Jefferson and Hamilton to institute term limits, I do strongly believe that the Founding Fathers never intended legislators to serve in Congress for life. The Founders were teachers, farmers, lawyers, blacksmiths and tradesmen. They served their Country when called by their constituents to serve, and then they went home.

When I am elected Congressman, I promise that I will serve no more than three two-year terms, (should the voters wish to have me serve that long), and then I will go home. I have no intention to spend my life in the Capitol – certainly not nine straight terms. But, based on the lack of leadership and accountability in Congress and the White House, I feel that I must run immediately, for my family and friends and the people of Frederick, Cumberland, Hagerstown, Westminster and throughout the Sixth District.

Reagan’s reasoning which led him to seek the presidency in 1979 is no less applicable then as it is today:
I cannot and will not stand by and see this great country destroy itself. Our leaders attempt to blame their failures on circumstances beyond their control, on false estimates by unknown, unidentifiable experts who rewrite modern history in an attempt to convince us our high standard of living, the result of thrift and hard work, is somehow selfish extravagance which we must renounce as we join in sharing scarcity.”

It is never a crime to work hard and want a better life for you and your family, and you should not feel guilty for doing so. I will work to oppose any attempt to take away that which you have earned. I will oppose any forced health care plan. I will oppose any attempt to consolidate power within the already-bloated federal government – the 10th Amendment of the Constitution clearly states that powers not enumerated in the Constitution shall be reserved to the States.

And, most importantly, I will propose that any laws passed by Congress will be equally applicable to those legislators who passed these laws. No man is above the law. No politician is above the law. We are all one Nation, under God. Our Country has been blessed beyond measure and we are at an important crossroads – will we continue the legacy passed on by the Greatest Generation, and that envisioned by our Founding Fathers – or do we continue in a constant state of malaise, at risk of losing this blessing?

John F. Kennedy, in his January 2, 1960 presidential candidacy announcement, stated, “From all of this, I have developed an image of America as fulfilling a noble and historic role as the defender of freedom in a time of maximum peril -- and of the American people as confident, courageous and persevering.” I see a confident America with its people no longer willing to sit idly by and rail at a government that at its best - is focused on two political factions bickering to preserve their power base and maintaining the status quo, and at its worst – depriving its Citizens of liberty and free enterprise by numerous bailouts and takeovers of private companies.

I humbly ask for your prayers and your support. Thank you for your time and consideration. You will hear from me again soon.

Michael S. Reed, Esq.
Constitution Party Candidate for Nomination
United States House of Representatives
Sixth Congressional District of Maryland
P.O. Box 1873
Frederick, MD 21702-0873
Phone: (240) 498-6833
Email: reedformaryland@gmail.com
Web: http://reed4maryland.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/reedformaryland