As we head into the holiday season, I am remindful of the many blessings my family and I have enjoyed over the past year. Good health, sound employment, and a bright future grace my family, and I hope that you are equally blessed.
In my opinion, this is the hope of America. No matter the circumstances faced by any individual or group of individuals, America always has a brighter tomorrow. Now let me be very clear, that brighter future is not assured by destiny or by any sort of magic quotient. It is assured by the sheer determination and guts of Americans themselves. In other words, America works, its institutions work, and we have 200 years of experience which show they work.
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As we go into 2010, we have a number of issues that must be faced. Some of these issues – warfare, economy, education – are ongoing and require a continuing reevaluation of our basic interests, common values, and best determinations. They are by no means easy issues.
Here is what I believe we can agree upon, though. Our national security interests are ill served by non-defined and never-ending wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. With clearly defined missions and well-defined end-states in these two conflicts, America has the best chance of continuing to be the world’s leader in not only military matters, but diplomatic matters. Once America firmly determines its role in the world community, it will not only be in America’s best interest, it will be in the world’s best interest.
The above rationale also will serve us well in economic matters. As we have seen since the start of the Great Recession in December 2007, when America’s economy falters, the world’s economy falters. In my opinion, there is only one way to correct the many faults in our economic systems – regulation. Now, I don’t believe regulation has to be an overarching burden to innovation, entrepreneurship, or grand ideas. I do believe that regulation should keep excessive risk-taking from putting us all in danger. As a friend of mine told me, "Corporate regulations are like guardrails on the highway. The vast majority of us never need them, but if you hit one, you’re glad you didn’t go over the bridge."
On matters of education, I truly believe that America must absolutely, positively make education our number one long-term domestic priority. Let me rephrase that: We have to invest time, treasure, and talent into our nation’s overall educational goals. When we talk about education, we can’t just talk about K-12, we must also talk about continuing education. We have to talk about vocational education, continuing education, and advanced education. Yes, we must target disadvantaged children for early help. We must understand that not all students will be college bound, and we must do everything possible to ensure that our colleges and universities are the finest in the world. That will require a national commitment to our nation’s future.
This has been a long post, but I wanted you to have a better feel for what I believe are the important issues we face as a nation.
Here’s the rub, though. My conservative opponents in the FL-12 race are very well funded. They are collecting tens of thousands of lobbyists’ checks from the insurance and financial service industries. These industries, of course, are opposed to our progressive ideals. To a person, each of my conservative opponents are showing they are willing to be cast as totally bought by those industries which are opposed to the Progressive agenda.
If you able, please contribute to my grassroots campaign today. I need your help. My conservative opponents are garnering thousands of dollars from those industries that are opposed to us. My secret weapon is you. Please Contribute Today!
Happy Holidays, and Merry Christmas. I have no doubt that 2010 is going to be a great year for America. I look forward to continuing to press the fight, making the argument, and winning our election. Please join us by Contributing Today
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