Tuesday was such an exciting day for me. The kids stayed home from school, so I got to send my 17 year old son to do errands. I finally got to go vote, even if there was more to vote against, than there was to vote “for,” I still cherish the gift we have here in America to go vote for our Representation. To really top off the day, I had the honor of attending the Governor’s Party at the Westin Inn in Atlanta. There were MANY candidates holding parties there.

Just for some background information, back in 2004 I had the time of my life on the campaign trail as the campaign manager for retired US Army Lt Colonel, Doug McKittrick, in his bid for the GA State House of Representatives. When you are on the campaign trail, you see many of the same faces (candidates and their supporters) over and over again. You also get to know them all pretty well.

I gained many friends, but also learned some disheartening truths. One of the people I had gotten to learn a bit about was Tom Price. We had always gotten along on the campaign trail, but then again, he wanted my vote. Personally, I didn’t really like Tom; he seemed a bit too greasy for my liking. Cold and calculated. A typical BS politician. Even some (NOT ALL) of his staff were a tad snotty.

Last year, I heard an Atlanta morning talk show host railing on Tom Price. I have had the chance to meet this host, and we had emailed each other a few times. I emailed him and blasted him, defending Tom on his efforts to pass a bill requiring that Congressmen put their names next to their earmarks. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to see earmarks stopped, but I tried to give Tom credit for not letting grass grow under his feet for his first term as our Congressman.

In the last few months, Tom has insisted on proving my initial thoughts on him to be correct, but Tuesday night, he left me no doubt whatsoever. Tom has refused to answer any of my letters or calls in the last year. Tom has been exceptionally cruel to anyone who bothers to voice any disapproval on the behavior of Congress, or confront him with facts on the issues. In fact, his venom seems to more palpable towards frustrated conservatives than towards his buddies in Washington DC.

With ALL this in mind, I still realize that in the political world, we can disagree without being hateful or bitter. We can have honest debate, take our praise where we can get it and roll with the punches when they come too. I have had knock-down drag-outs (in the verbal sense) with many of my elected officials, but we have always parted ways with a hand shake. In fact, after our bantering I have offered my help to some of them, and they have called on me for help as well. The point being is that we are all a community, passionate about our convictions. We should be proud to fight for those convictions, but never proud to act in a un-statesman-like manner.

So off I went. I went to see Tom…… I walked into his designated room to say hello. When I saw Tom, he was talking to 2 or 3 people, so I politely stood off to the side, awaiting my turn. He turned to me with a big grin, said hello, and stuck out his hand. I shook his hand and said, “Hi Tom. How are you doing? You remember me; I’m the crazy red-head from Acworth, now I’m with Control Congress.”

He YANKED his hand away, stepped backwards and blurted out, “Control Congress is NOT Republican.”

I grinned from ear to ear, pitched my voice up a notch or two and answered, “Of course not, we are conservative. You should try it!” With that, Tom turned his back to me and proceeded to shake hands with……..uh, no one was there….He was frantically looking for another hand to shake and someone else to talk to. The rest of the night, my smile was bigger and brighter than I could have imagined! This was truly the HIGHLIGHT of my night!

You know you are doing something right when you are a conservative - and an incumbent Republican Congressman, in a Republican stronghold district, is this rattled by the mere mention of your radio show/web site. The best gift was his words. (to paraphrase) “YOU are NO Republican.”

So go ahead, Tom. Keep bashing your base. It is a BRILLIANT strategy. It is working so well for you and your buddies in DC. When the troops come home, I hope you tell them how hard you worked to make sure those crazy conservatives didn’t show up to support the Republicans on election day. Continue with your refusal to accept any criticism. I mean, personal accountability is just crazy “conservative speak.” Join Lizzy Dole in her state of denial, “It’s not MY Fault.”

I have the great pleasure and honor to know and work with some very amazing people. They are Americans, just your basic American. What makes them so amazing is that their dedication and passion to their ideas is spent tirelessly in ways to stop our government from spiraling totally out of control.

We are facing today, much the same type of elitist government disdain for the people, that our forefathers faced from the King of England. The difference we face is that the Americans of today are too worried about gas prices, stocks, the new "American Idol", and video games to look up and take notice. We take for granted that we are a super power, so no one will ever defeat us. We also take our freedoms for granted and laugh off any idea that we would ever fall from within. People take little notice to the power advertising and media have over us. Our basic American traditions are under attack in most every venue of public life, and even in our homes on a dialy basis through mediums such as television and the internet.

Our children are not safe from pornography in their own bedrooms or classrooms. How on earth have we come to a place where intelligent Americans have actually been convinced that teaching sexuality to 5 year olds is not only acceptable, but a good idea for the "betterment" of society? A football coach can use the name of Jesus Christ as a swear word, and any complaints seem to come from Christian Nazi Religious Zealots from the Right Wing Church of Hate, yet if the same coach were to bend to his knee and use the same name in Prayer he is a threat, offensive, and on his way to a courtroom for the sake of "diversity" and our "right not to be offended?"

It is high time we get back to the basics in this country. Our voice in our government has been choked by lobbyists and courtroom blackmail by the likes of the ACLU. Our Representatives in Washington have created a country club of rich elitists appalled by our common sense and amused by our lack of nuance. In light of all this- I would like to call three excellent links to your attention.

Please take the time to view this video:

The Declaration of Independence

Then take the time to read The "Congressional Code of Conduct." I believe we should embark on a movement to demand all our Congressmen to sign this document and set it as the basis for their service.

Lastly, I suggest we join together in support of passing the following Bill into Law.

The `Fairness in Forgiveness Act of 2006’