Answer: That is a very good question?
First of all, I have not yet made the decision but I am close. Two words can summarize why I would be motivated to run for the Senate in Pennsylvania:
1. Liberty
2. Freedom
As a husband and father, my family is very important in this decision. Four years ago, in the Congressional decision, I considered running and my family and I discussed it at length and I decided not to run. Then two years ago, for the run against Paul Kanjorski, I got major encouragement from my family, though there was still some trepidation about the potential impact on our family unit. We'd like to remain reasonably private and regular people. At the same time, there are other factors.
This time, more than a year later, I am seriously considering running for the Senate of the United States of America. My family agrees that things are not as good in America as we would like. They would prefer that one of their uncles would step forward so that we could have honest government. My family and your family know that our biggest problem is our representation in the House and the Senate. We have sent away numerous representatives who have dishonored us and so there is very little trust that either House of Congress will do the right thing. The safe approach for America is that Congress must go, and one of our trusted family members should take over their vacated positions.
I would be happy to defer my candidacy to a like-minded person if one shows up. Short of that there are a lot of things that are wrong with our country.
I think about how to fix America all the time as many of us have unfortunately had to begin thinking. I would love the opportunity to get my hands dirty to help fix the issues that plague us. It is the right time of my life and I see no reason why I should stand by and watch as my family’s liberties and your family's liberties, both economic and civil, are being wiped out by our own "progressive" government.
You may remember Ronald Reagan's great sense of humor. Reagan, for example is credited with a number of sayings. Without me offering any commentary, you can learn a lot about why I am running for Congress from the fact that I really do love the following Reagan quotes:
"The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'"
"Approximately 80 percent of our air pollution stems from hydrocarbons released by vegetations, so let's not go overboard in setting and enforcing tough emission standards from man-made sources."
"I've noticed that everyone who is for abortion has already been born."
"I am not worried about the deficit. It is big enough to take care of itself."
[Brian Kelly adds that Ronald Reagan never met Barack Obama]
"Politics is supposed to be the second-oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first."
Does that help you know where I stand on those issues. There is a whole menu on this site. It is called "Platform Points." It discusses just about any point in my platform and offers where I stand on it.
In life, we are often told that we must be for something, not just against things. I am for a lot of things but one of my best ways of describing why I am running for the Senate is to speak in the negative. "I do not want the government controlling my life." Yes, there is a corollary to that precept: "I do not want the government controlling your life."
I can recall some great people in my life making comments that now make so much more sense. For example Dennis Grimes Senior from Fulton Street in Wilkes-Barre, who, when told that Congress did not get much done this term, would always, yes, always say, "good!" Then, of course with an unmistakable twinkle in his Irish eyes, he would add a little priceless gem to make the sentence end well, and I would smile. How profound he was.
Each time Congress meets we lose more freedom. There are too many people who think that you should do this and you should do that. They are the socialist / progressive Democrats that are ruining our country. It is bad news when they get into office. They want to make sure you do it and they have the power to make laws to make whatever it is mandatory. I want to let you alone to lead your own life, and I hope if you are in similar circumstance, that you will let me alone to lead my life.
We take it for granted that we all understand the notion of liberty and of freedom. Because our freedom and our liberty are being minimized by our government today it is important to understand the essence of what government is doing to us by exacting its multitude of regulations from the number of plies in toilet paper to the lunches in school cafeterias to the restricted use of the incandescent light bulb.
So, let’s come up with one simple definition each for liberty and freedom, since they are not really the same.
Liberty is the state of a free person.
Freedom is the ability to do what you want to do
We can further define liberty with regard to our government by noting that it is the exemption from subjection to the will of another entity or person. Regarding liberty and slavery, for example, liberty is the exemption from subjection to the will of another claiming ownership of the person.
I found a very fine article on liberty and freedom written by Paul V. Hartman, available at http://www.naciente.com/essay36.htm. I have included it below in its entirety as it is short but compelling. It is simply titled,
"Freedom" and "Liberty" Are Not the Same Thing
Freedom is the exemption from control by some other person, or from arbitrary restriction of specific defined rights like Worship, or Speech. Liberty is the sum of the rights possessed in common by the people of a community/state/nation as they apply to its government, and/or the expectation that a nation's people have of exemption from control by a foreign power.
Freedoms are things that people EXTRACT from their government; Liberty is less derivative, more formative; a thing GRANTED by the people to the people in common. The ability to Assemble, for instance, while commonly thought of as a freedom, is really an aspect of liberty.
Freedoms end when they encounter a contrary freedom of another person. You are free to smoke, until you encounter my freedom not to inhale your smoke. Liberty lacks that distinction: my liberty never contradicts or limits yours.
Conservatives traditionally support Liberty, but they may tend to be pliant about certain freedoms, aware as they are to the potentional (sic) dissonance.
--- end of Hartman Essay
I believe that freedom and liberty are our most important gifts. God has given us liberty and freedom as a natural essence of human kind, and so we owe neither to any mortal or any entity such as government. Our forefathers shed their blood for our freedom and liberty. Freedom has no real limits but being a good person does add restrictions to freedom. For example, I believe that in many and possibly most cases, a particular individual's freedom ends where another person's freedom begins.
So, there will always be disputes between people and so it is OK to have some rules that help arbitrate man's behavior to his fellow man. My favorite rulebook was created by the Founders. It is called the Constitution. Barack Obama and the 111th Congress think they know better than the rules in this book and that is one major source of the angst in this country.
The fewer impositions of government on the people, the better. Government should get out of our lives. We can handle salt, and sugar, and heat and cold. Government should worry about roads, bridges, traffic, and defense and a few other limited items.
I see no reason, for example to have a government law that outlaws beer, or two-ply toilet tissue, or red hair, or tattoos. I see no reason for laws that command that I must do something such as (1) attend church services on Sundays -- or (2) that I may not attend, or (3) turn on my air conditioner because somebody might be warm, or (4) turn off my air conditioner in the summer (car or home) because somebody wants me to save energy. Moreover, (5) I would not want to be commanded to use Dr. X as my family physician instead of Dr. Y.
(6) I surely would not want to have a visit scheduled by the government with Dr. Kevorkian. (7) I would not want to have to use gasohol when gasoline or an alternative energy source suits my tastes. (8) I would not want to have to buy health insurance, (9) a pair of mittens, (10) blue socks, (11) a notepad, or (12) cough medicine if I am not so inclined. I want liberty and I want the freedom to make my own choices in life. I am pro-choce or pro-freedom on everything in life in which a helpless, innocent human life is not at stake. For example, I am not pro-abortion, but I am pro-death penalty, and I am for killing in self defense. .
For me, it really is all about freedom, which is the positive of "no government control." I do not want government monitoring or controlling my life from womb to tomb or any other area in between. I have written three books in recent years, each of which includes a full copy of the Constitution of the United States. The Constitution was created in order to form a "more perfect union," since it corrected a number of flaws in the Articles of Confederation. It is not perfect but it is lots better than Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid and Barack Obama making up freedom-destroying rules on the fly, as they often choose to do.
My Senatorial campaign is a very new campaign and for many it will not seem like much of a campaign. That's OK, the founding fathers would love it. If the truth be known, there is no real "campaign," just a bunch of friends who will help me get on the ballot and who will help guide my actions as I select mostly "free" events in which to participate.
The vast percentage of the people I know believe that we must fight back against a monstrous, out of control government. Those who know me believe that I would make a difference in Washington, and though they have cautioned that nobody gets elected without putting together at least a little machine, they enjoy the fact that we are doing this without any machine and with limited, faceless contributions. Thank you all.
We will be out getting signatures in early 2012 but since all of us have some type of gainful employment, we will not have an exhaustive campaign and will not try to knock on all the doors in Pennsylvania after the signatures are gained.
My daughter placed my Congressional campaign on Facebook and she will do the same for this Senate campaign at the right time. There will be a forum forum there and an email ability so that anybody can talk to anybody as well as the candidate. You don;t have to worry about my campaign showing up at your Weddings, Funerals, Bar Mitzvahs, Baptisms, or any other private events. We'll be seeing you only at public events, or at least those to which there will be expectation that the camapign will attend.
I had never run for Public Office in my life before the 2010 Congressional campaign. I can;t claim that any more but I can say that I have never held Public office and with your help and the help of my small team of friends and family, I hope I can no longer say that after the 2012 elections.
For sure, we will make some mistakes in this Senatorial campaign. I will try to apologize for all mistakes and always try to do the right thing in the campaign and once elected. You will see that this Web site has some misspellings and I may say things incorrectly. Please point them out to me and I will correct them.
It is true that most voters (rightly) mistrust their Congressmen and their Senators, My plan is to be one of a new breed that puts the ordinary person first. My plan is to listen to the people of Pennsylvnaia and work to help make the founding principles, the very best principles for our country, as the best solutions to make all of our lives better. That's the way it is supposed to be.
Though I am a Democrat, I am a conservative and have no use for the radical progressive hard left, whose influence is undermining our democracy. As a constitutional conservative democrat, I will work to get us back on track while always listening to the people to know when more track or a few switches are needed.
Thank you for "listening."
Don't forget to vote on May 18, 2012
May God bless you for taking the time to read this essay and for your continued support.