Why am I doing this, and how can you help?

Actual Difference

Christopher Nogy for Senate

This election year promises great hope for the American people.  It is always easier to make progress toward your goals when you can clearly see your obstacles, and the current Washington crowd has certainly identified themselves as obstacles to the average citizen.

I have never had a desire to be an elected official.  Like so many I have been content to send folks to Washington to do all that political stuff.  Sadly, I have seldom succeeded in sending the person I cast my vote for to Washington.  I believed that simply by voting I discharged my civic duty and could go on without bother.  The recent actions of our current elected Federal officials made me rethink that position entirely.

I am the father of two pre-teen daughters and an eighteen-month old son.  I cannot sit idly by and allow their futures to be ruined because a group of 534 people believe they have a birthright that mandates their legacy as more important than that of my family or myself.  So I looked at where all the trouble was coming from, and saw that the most effective place to make a stand was in the US Senate.  And with no desire to make a career out of politics, I also knew that 6 years in the Senate is enough time to start.  Hopefully the results of what I can accomplish will be inspirational enough to bring other average citizens into the process, to do their civic duty and make their meaningful contributions before returning to their real careers and lives.

But first I need help.  In Arkansas it requires either an approved party affiliation or 10,000 signatures to get on the general election ballot.  There has never been a federal candidate on an Arkansas ballot by signature before – by simply clearing this first obstacle we can make history and provide encouragement for those independents that will follow.

When the framers of the Constitution began to consider the options this country would have, they had significant debates over whether the structure of the country would be top-down (like the monarchies and empires of Europe at the end of the 18^th century) or bottom-up (based in large part on the largely democratic governments of the Norwegian nations of that time).  Many believed that the country could not function without an all-powerful and fully controlling central government – they did not have faith that the common man could properly govern himself.  But in the end the promise of individual liberty won out – we were still in the middle of a struggle of separation against one of the most reasonable and fair top-down governments of the time but even a less than 5% tax rate and a general indifference to the majority of activities here in the New World was more than the freedom-seeking people of this new country could bear.

The Founding Fathers were not genius, they were very observant.  They looked at the situations that people had escaped in order to come here, and saw many things in common.  Most importantly, they saw that the farther the rulers or governors were from regular contact with the people, and the more insulated they were from honest interaction with those they ruled, the more likely the average citizen was to be ignored or abused.  They knew that a strong central government that was given the authority to build its own power as it saw fit would always encroach on the liberties and opportunities of the citizens.  And they knew that the more people you had to consider when making laws, the less likely that those laws would be suitable for anyone.

The group of people who still believed that an authoritarian central government was a good idea never actually got the message the American people delivered when they ratified the Constitution.  After all, in their minds the people were not capable of establishing rules for themselves and their communities, so how could they be capable of adopting this government system?  And so they never actually realized that in the battle for federal power, they had lost.  They simply continued on as usual, without consideration of the new Supreme Law of the Land, the Constitution.

That Supreme Law was crafted in a way to avoid troubles in the future.  It stated not what the Federal Government was forbidden to do (always a way around that kind of restriction), but only what it WAS allowed to do, specifically, and then provided one of the most powerful restrictions ever imposed on any central government.  It specified that any power, authority, right, privilege or ability not specifically given in the previous sections of the law did not belong to the Federal Government, but instead belonged to the people and their local governments.

The Constitution provides for the ability of the people to change it or even abolish it if such a need arose, but it did not provide the means for the Federal Government to alter it or abolish it without a massive majority of the citizens approving the action.  That does not seem to matter, as the idealistic descendants of the believers of strong central government have inherited the system (as they always will when power and wealth are centralized in central government) and are treating it as if it doesn’t exist, taking for themselves powers and authority they are banned from taking, and removing bit by bit the liberties and responsibilities of self-government that the Constitution tells us belong directly to the citizens.

In this election cycle you will hear candidates for federal office discussing how to get things done in Washington, how to work towards passing laws and creating national changes with either a progressive or conservative bias.  You will hear about balancing budgets and providing jobs, repairing the economy and improving the environment.  What you will not hear from them is how they intend to follow the Constitution and achieve their goals and agenda while doing it.

So here is where I stand out as truly different.  I do not intend to be a career politician.  To that end I will file a contract with the State of Arkansas stating that I am running to serve one term in the office of US Senator and if elected will not be on the ballot for any congressional office again when that term is complete.  The founding fathers knew the problems associated with those whose greatest desire was to make a career out of governing the citizens.  They believed duty to the federal government was akin to jury duty – it was a civic duty and not a career path.  In the beginning, Congress did not even offer a salary, instead paying travel and lodging expenses for congressmen during their brief visits to Washington for the short sessions of Congress.  And it was expected that you would have to go home to work in the world you might alter, because keeping yourself tied to the governed, instead of setting yourself apart as a governor, was the most certain way to make sure that abuses of power were limited.

I am running as an Independent.  The framers knew the dangers of a two-party system and actually warned about it in their other writings.  Without the threat of a failed re-election and the pressure of party politics I believe that I can be much more effective in promoting the one change that will help more than any other – forcing Congress to follow the laws set down to guide it before any other procedure, policy or tradition.  Once Congress actually starts to follow the Constitution, such disasters as the Stimulus, the Health Care reform legislation, Cap and Trade, nothing like this can become an issue.

I have no plans to create projects, to remove personal burdens, to try to legislate away false victimization.  I know that the Federal Government, in overseeing more than 300,000,000 people, can do little more than bring everyone down to the lowest common denominator and then praise itself for being fair and equitable.  They can tax, and with that tax pay their own special projects, but once the Government gets hold of your money, they cannot simply return it to it’s owner, they must attach strings as if it were their money, create requirements and restrictions.  This will not provide improvement.

All improvements must come from the individuals and communities.  People must create companies to create jobs that actually make money – government jobs can keep a person employed but since the Government pays with tax dollars, and they do not tax at 100%, it takes 3 private sector jobs at any pay rate to fully support 1 government job.  Government job growth is unsustainable.  Nationalizing banks and industries can provide a source of income for the Government, but it is not allowed by the Constitution – remember, the law states that if a power is not specifically granted to the Federal Government in the Constitution, then it does not belong there.  And the Constitution did not specifically grant the Federal Government the right to take over any private sector industry except temporarily because of and in an extreme state of conflict or war.

You will have a choice to make this year – a choice between candidates that are dedicated to agendas and projects done in either a progressive or conservative manner, or a candidate that is dedicated to returning the rule and power of law to a government that has spent too much time ignoring it.  There can be no difference as long as we continue to elect officials who believe it is their right to do whatever they feel like doing – it doesn’t matter if they are Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, as long as they believe they have a wide-ranging power to accomplish agenda goals and party desires, there can be no fundamental change.  Only by electing officials whose primary goal is to act in accordance with the Constitution and whose projects include only those actions that return the Federal Government to it’s rightful and lawful restricted status, whose agenda is based solely on strengthening those agencies and laws that support the Constitution and eliminating those agencies, outside influences and laws that are not supported by it can you make a true difference for yourselves and your children.

I said earlier that clearing the first hurdle would make history, but lets make even more history.  I plan to run a very different campaign.  Instead of asking for your money, I am asking for your vote.  Instead of asking you to blindly support me on 30-second talking points, I am going to deliver significant information regularly.  I am not going to spend your money on flashy busses and tours, but instead am going to make myself available to you personally.  I am not going to focus on multi candidate forums and debates (although I will do as many of those as are necessary) but instead will focus on personal appearances scheduled to give you the time you need to get to know me and get the answers to your questions.  I am not going to spend millions advertising, but instead intend to rely on you to get signatures, spread the word, let people know about my campaign.

So let’s make history in a big way.  Let’s take back what is ours and do it in accordance with the Supreme Law of the Land.  Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness – these are not just words, and are definitely not gifts from the government.  They are the only true entitlements, and since they don’t come from the Government, the Government cannot legally take them.  But that doesn’t mean the Government won’t try.  They have, and they will continue to do so, unless you become active in protecting them.  This is not a path that ends with me in Washington and you home without a care, it is just the first step of real difference.  That step is not any more important than those to follow, but the journey doesn’t start until the first step is taken.  Together we can take our turns creating, protecting, and simply enjoying a better future.

Christopher Nogy