Dear Friend:
“Uh-oh, here we go.” That’s the reaction of many people when they get a letter from a professional politician running for office. Those letters are carefully written…they hem and haw…weave in and out…play it safe…and tell the voters almost nothing. That’s not what you’ll get in this letter—if you would be so kind as to take a few minutes to read it.
This is my very first run for political office. I don’t have the usual political background, and I see my task as telling you who I am, why I’m running, what I think about things, and what I’d like to do—all in plain English.
I don’t care if some people think it’s corny or unsophisticated, but I love the whole idea of patriotism, respect for country, the flag, and all the rest. My parents were very big on such things, so I guess that’s where it came from.
It was this thinking that motivated me to join the U.S. Marines early on and see combat service in the Persian Gulf War. It was the same thinking that prompted me to join the FBI, where I worked as an undercover agent on cases ranging from the world of Organized Crime to the corridors of Wall Street fraud.
In both instances, it was the chance to serve our country that I found most satisfying, maybe because it came naturally to me. This became clear as a bell when an opportunity to pursue a lucrative career in the financial sector paled in comparison to what I knew I really loved.
Recognizing the importance of education, I studied and earned two degrees, one in law and one in accounting. And I also became, and still am today, a small business owner, learning first-hand how heavy-handed big government policies adversely affect the small business community in America.
But, more and more, beginning about a year ago, I began to feel uneasy, unsure, even worried about the things I was seeing, hearing and reading regarding our country. It wasn’t just me. I listened to many people expressing concern about the direction in which we were headed. And all the polls confirmed that this sentiment was growing nationwide.
To me, it was like something precious being lost. Our country, the America we’ve always known, was becoming, bit by bit, a little less like that same country. Sometimes the changes were barely noticeable, or maybe they were covered up, but they were there.
I thought about an economy in which costs and taxes are up, but not wages. And about small business folks who, if they worked harder to earn more money and expand, got punished, not rewarded, with higher taxes. Since small businesses are the biggest job creators in America, this is, for so many unemployed Americans, a tragic state of affairs.
I also thought about my generation of Americans (I’m now 40) as being the first not likely to be able to give their children more than they had. That’s never been the American way.
And there’s something else that really bothers me. I look around at people—just average people without any special influence or connections—and they typically go about their lives in a quiet manner. But when they do speak out, today’s Washington ignores them. They said no to higher taxes—but got them. They expressed a desire for less government spending—and the government spent more. They said they wanted health care reform, but not Obamacare—and they got Obamacare. The stimulus? Bailouts? The people said no. The government said yes—and that was that, period.
Well, the time for talking about the wrong-way trends in Washington these days is over. Action is needed, and I feel the front lines calling once again. This time, however, those lines can be found smack in the middle of the United State Congress. And that’s where I’d like to take the fight, sleeves rolled up, ready to work around the clock to turn things around and get our country back on track before it’s too late.
There is some good news. Americans are finally angry—and they’re expected this year to elect lots of new people to Congress, many of whom will share my view that the Obama Administration’s direction is the wrong one.
Were I granted the honor of serving as your Congressman, I would work closely with every one of them—reporting regularly to YOU along the way—on very specific ways to get our economy growing, make our nation stronger and safer, and, yes, start to get that great-to-be-an-American feeling very much in the air once again.
Thank you for your time and consideration, and may God bless you, your loved ones, and our nation.
Sincerely,
Michael Grimm
P.S. – Politicians running for office like to talk about their experience, meaning their years in government, though not the politics involved in getting them there. Well, people with lots of ‘experience’ dominate Washington these days—and look at the mess they’ve made. Could it be that a few determined members of Congress who DON’T have political backgrounds can help to pave a better way, cut through the politics-as-usual clutter, and actually get a few things done? I’d sure like to take a crack at it. Thanks again.
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