Why Run for Congress?

By Douglas William "Ambassador" (Kmiec) Kmiec

The insight and optimism needed to reaffirm the essential goodness of the American experiment.

The Democrats and the Republicans have let us down, especially in the last Congress where the display of behavior more associated with a spoiled child led to the closure of the government, a badly explained and administered health reform, and a foreign policy far too slow for the dynamics of the 21st century where religious and cultural animosities are constantly threatening the peace. The story of President Obama sadly is one of enormous promise and questionable performance; the Republicans lack even the rhetorical gift of inspirational promise.

What is needed? Independence from unproductive bickering. Instead of the politics of personality and negativity, an embrace of fresh ideas and new alliances expressed not in the stifled or distorted ways of party, but in new ways informed by new membership drawn from the great diversity of our people.

Today, the "people" -- as in "we the people" -- are re-awakening to the things that really matter: family, work, neighborhood, peace and freedom. And yet, the unalloyed good that each of these words stirs within us will not come to pass unless we address: the inability of the present Congress and President to find common ground and work with civility toward the common good; the misdirection of the Supreme Court in allowing unlimited corporate expenditures for political campaigns, thereby making public office the province of the wealthy; the manipulation of Congressional district lines to favor incumbents and the Supreme Court's mistaken invalidation of term limits desired by the people, and most of all, the increasing acceptance of the accumulation of material goods as the false measure of who we are as a people. The story of America is far greater than merely an accounting of what we own. It is the story of the people exceptional in their own right, granted the blessing of an extraordinary land, and confessing from the beginning that the rights of all come not from government but from the recognition of the Creator of the universe as a self-evident truth.

The importance of not allowing the disregard of the things most important or their subversion by those who have accumulated vast amounts of wealth even in times of economic distress played a substantial role in convincing me to offer to be of service to you at this time and place. Specifically, I am asking the people of the 26th District to represent them for the next two years in order to address these and other challenges we face. I lay stress on two years because that is the period of time the founders of our Republic envisioned for service in the House of Representatives. While they themselves rejected term limits, it was never expected that people would make a career out of congressional representation. Indeed, the two-year period was selected deliberately to promote accountability as well as diversity in perspective. The people of the 26th district do not offend anyone by choosing not to continue them in office, they merely reaffirm the operating assumptions of those whose wisdom we rely upon every day when we are faithful to the guidance of the text of the Constitution.

You are vital to this effort. Help renew the spirit of Independence that made the country exceptional in its desire to hone principles that fulfill the potential and truth of the human person. Join our all-volunteer effort; or help us with individual donations until the Supreme Court overturns its mistaken pretend transformation of the corporation, intended by history to be merely a convenient way to structure a business, into the most influential "persons' in our Republic. Corporations are not persons, and the mistake of giving them that moniker is to insidiously invite the end of representative democracy putting the control of our lives and fortunes not in the prudent hands of mutual courage in opposition to tyranny that we rightly associate with those who drafted our Constitution, but in a permanently subservient role to the hidden desires of the ultra-rich.