I believe that the best way to hold Congress accountable for their actions, or inaction as the case may be, is three fold:
First, I will press for term limits for Congress. I believe that House members should serve no more than four 2-year terms (8 years in total) and Senators no more than two 6-year terms (12 years total). This is important because it prevents these members of Congress from becoming too comfortable in their positions and, consequently, to lose touch with their constituents. I pledge, as your candidate for the 5th District of TN, to serve no more than 8 years in the house. I will be a fierce advocate for term limits and I will abide by them myself.
Second, I strongly OPPOSE any increase in Congressional pay. Why should members of Congress be able to earn more money when the economy is failing, unemployment is rising and they have spend our nation into a 1.3 TRILLION dollar deficit. If they punish the American people with their idiotic policies, then they themselves should NOT be rewarded for their failures! Until Congress can balance the budget, cut the deficit in half and put people back to work, they don't deserve a pay raise and I will vote against it in the House. If I lose this vote, I will do my best to take the amount of the raise and give it back to the 5th District of Nashville or to charity.
Three, I will hold open town hall forums for the voters; I won't do it by invitation only and I won't invite only a select few. I am running to serve my district, to serve ALL of its constituents...thus, I will hold town halls in bigger forums where more people can attend. Also, I will give voters my personal e-mail so that they may have better access to me and to the issues. I will do my best to hold at least 1 town hall meeting upon each return to Nashville and to answer your concerns as quickly and efficiently as possible. After all, I am here to serve YOU, not the other way around.
My friends, these are only a few of my proposals, but they are at the heart of my campaign. Politicians in Washington, on both sides of the aisle, have become too accustomed to serving themselves and following the status quo, rather than listening to the concerns of the voters. Nothing has been more evident of this, than the HUGE deficit spending, the stimulus bill that benefited big corporations but not small businesses and, of course, the current debate on healthcare. We need a better way to hold our politicians accountable, and I hope, my policies will serve as a catalyst to better serve the voters, not our cronies, lobbyists or fellow Congressional leaders.
