Photo by Don Davis

A May 19th Article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal entitled Polls Say: Nevadans Not Wild About Harry paints an encouraging picture, but as the Zen Master in the movie “Charlie’s War” said, We will See.

I have traveled across the State during the last 6 weeks speaking with Nevada residents, and this poll validates my personal experiences and observations. The “Anti-Reid” sentiment I have encountered was actually much higher than indicated in the poll, but I have not yet engaged in meeting the people in strong hold areas where Mr. Reid receives his die-hard support.

I believe in personal accountability, and Harry Reid must accept direct responsibility for where our countries fiscal woes originated. 80.4% of the U.S Debt ($9.056 trillion) has been created in the 22 years since Reid joined the Senate in 1987. 23% of the U.S. Debt ($2.591 trillion) was created in only 28 months (Jan 07 to May 2009), the period Reid has been Senate Majority Leader; and it is growing faster than we can count! The proposed 2010 budget forecasts $1.75 trillion more to be added to the debt in a single year. Harry Reid’s enthusiastic support for the prolific sending of the Congress and the President in the first 120 days of 2009 casts doubt that even this horrific level can be stabilized.

Beating Harry Reid will be an uphill battle. The polls are against him currently, but there are multiple candidates who have announced campaigns to run or explore running against Harry Reid (myself being one who has filed with the FEC to run), and others may still join the contest of ideas, values, and vision for our future. In my six weeks of pursuing this campaign and engaging Nevadan’s one on one and in small groups I have established a strong belief that success in November 2010 will only be achieved by abandoning the “Centrist” style campaign that has been waged over the last 20 to 30 years. Success will require a candidate with an unwavering commitment to constitutional governance, a core dedication to a fiscally conservative agenda, and a commitment to reduction (not slowing) in the size our Federal Government. Fortunately for me, these are all principles I have held my entire life, not areas that I should move to to accommodate the tone of voters.

Removing Harry Reid from the Senate is my personal commitment, but it will be only one element of a greater battle for the return of our country to Constitutional principles of governance. The deep commitment of many of our citizens to removing Harry Reid from office must also extend across this great nation to removal from office in 2010 all of the members of the House and Senate who have participated in bringing this great country to the brink of financial collapse. Those long term career House and Senate members who participated in setting the stage for bank collapses, hyper-inflation of the housing market and the associated bubble bursting, and the throwing of Tax Payer money at failed businesses which are now declaring bankruptcy. Our Nation’s future requires that in 2010 we reestablish a strong constitutionally sound and fiscally conservative House and Senate.

I am confident that “We the People” will rise up and take our Nation back. Beating Harry Reid and other self-serving career politicians in the House and Senate will require support from the citizens of Nevada and all across our nation in the form of volunteering, donations, and voting. We must come together and work in an unified front over the next 18 months.