I rejoiced with North Dakota when I heard the news that Dorgan realized his “service” to the people had reached its end. He saved the people of North Dakota hours of time and thousands if not millions of dollars when he resigned.
The matter now is who you will elect to represent you. Did you notice my choice of words – “…his service to the people…” I intentionally did not call him a servant OF the people because I do not really see much service to his constituents lately.
Your Primary Election is on June 8. Please spend the time between now and then learning about and listening to Paul Sorum. He is a Republican conservative candidate for US Senate from your state.
He has some very strong and valid reasons for entering the race for office. He laid out his reasons quite clearly in an article published in the Fargo Forum on December 12, a few days before Dorgan announced his retirement.
The approval rating of our congress is at a near all-time low. According to an October Gallop poll, 21% of Americans approve of Congress’s performance while 72% disapprove. [These numbers have changed to 26% approval, 68% disapproval as of November 13, 2009.] This frustration reflects the fact that Americans do not trust our politicians in Washington to protect our financial future, our security, or our liberty. This distrust is justified if you look at the lack of focus by this congress on our nation’s looming economic problems including the following:
- Our nation’s annual deficit in 2009 is $1.4 Trillion – three times larger than the 2008 deficit driving our national debt much closer to the level of our gross domestic product.
- Due to Congress’s spending, the dollar continues its rapid drop in value, our country’s biggest creditors, like China, express their reluctance to buy more U.S. debt.
- Unemployment is 10.2% and getting worse. This past July, our Federal Reserve projected no new jobs for five years. This is especially hard on new college graduates.
- Our Medicare and Social Security systems are quickly on their way to insolvency (they comprise a $43 trillion liability over the next 75 years).
- 106 banks have collapsed in 2009. Up to 200 more banks are expected to go under in the next two to three years and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) deposit insurance fund is in the red.
- Hundreds of billions of dollars worth of adjustable rate mortgages are expeted to be foreclosed from 2010 through 2012. There is no proposed fix from Congress to help people stay in their homes and avoid another housing market collapse.
- Federal tax revenues continue their rapid decline (an 18% decline is projected for 2009) as a result of increasing unemployment and lower revenues in businesses.
- Because of increasing vacancies in commercial real estate, it is now projected that a major bailout will be needed in 2010 as developers of commercial office and retail parks are defaulting on large-scale commercial loans.
- Our nation’s dependence on foreign sources of energy continues as talk in Washington of a massive energy tax (Cap & Trade) paralyzes our domestic energy development.
All of these problems can be solved by focusing on fiscally sound policies in Washington. Yet, congress is willfully distracted by an array of other issues. One of our North Dakota senators has focused on introducing a bill in congress to make using a laptop computer in the cockpit of an airplane illegal. This is a knee-jerk reaction to the news headlines of two Northwest Airlines pilots who said using their laptops was a distraction that caused them to lose track of the destination of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Byron Dorgan has a track record of getting his name in the news through such frivolous distractions as holding hearings on steroids in baseball, writing books and touring for book signing events, and, more recently, creating the scandalous Natural Heritage Area in western North Dakota against the will of land owners.
This next election in 2010 is about whether our children will have more money in their pockets or less money in their pockets. If we continue to allow Byron Dorgan to represent North Dakota in the U.S. Senate, young people in North Dakota will definitely have a lot less money in their pockets and a lot fewer opportunities than prior generations.
Paul has been listening to the people of North Dakota, and I have no doubt he will continue to do so. He has developed sound and legitimate solutions to the problems that face North Dakotans and all Americans.
I admit to a serious lack of knowledge about politics in North Dakota. I live in Texas – I just write for and support conservative candidates wherever I can find them. I have found one in North Dakota. I will never attempt to tell you how you should vote – only that you must vote. I may from time to time suggest particular candidates that I believe are deserving of your vote because of their stance on conservative issues.
It is becoming more evident to me with each passing day that our elected leaders are not doing their jobs. The American people have spoken loudly and clearly and still they refuse to listen to us. We must elect leaders, such as Paul Sorum in your state, who will. We need louder conservative voices speaking for us in our state houses and our federal houses of government, and together we can bring conservatism back to the forefront of the American political picture.
Please join me, and the Conservative Party, in supporting Paul Sorum to represent North Dakota in the US Senate.
