Bob Olson: New Direction Means Committing to Change

by: Bob Olson for Congress

Sun Nov 04, 2007 at 21:31:37 PM CST

By Bob Olson

President Bush and Congress don't get low marks from the American public because people are reflexively opposed to government. Their abysmal ratings are instead a reflection of their combined performance on key issues facing the country.

Business as usual in Washington all too often means people in places like Forest Lake or Ramsey or Sauk Rapids go without the representation they deserve. From the Iraq War to health care to a lagging economy and record-high gas prices, our government has been asleep at the switch.

People didn't get excited about Stephen Colbert's faux presidential campaign because they really want a Bill O'Reilly impersonator in the White House. No. Americans want results and absent that they're glad to have a laugh at the system. The alternative is screaming at it and they're understandably tired of doing that.

It doesn't have to be that way. On Election Day next year we can chart a new course. But the hard work has to begin right here, right now.

It's time we commit to getting a government that sees a problem and solves it rather than manages it.

It's time we commit to getting a government more concerned with producing results than taking credit or framing the debate for future gain.

And it's time we commit to getting a government that understands it draws its power from the active consent of the people, not by lulling them into complacency - convincing them that what happens in Washington doesn't matter.

We can do this, but we're not going to get there by simply replacing Republicans with Democrats. We need to elect people committed to bold change, not a modified version of the status quo.

I'm running for Congress because it's time we stop talking about getting our troops out of Iraq's civil war and actually start bringing them home.

I'm running for Congress because we can end our lethal reliance on foreign oil, but for too long have chosen not to. Clean energy technology exits right here in Minnesota, it's just a matter of the federal government helping entrepreneurs foster its development on a larger scale.

I'm running for Congress because the Middle Class has been trickled on for too long. Look at the home foreclosure auctions, the rising number of uninsured Americans, soaring college tuition and the price at the gas pump. It's time we stop judging our economy by corporate earnings reports and pay closer attention to what's happening on Main Street.

We can do these things, but we have to dedicate ourselves to taking action. We've waited long enough. Fear can no longer be used as an excuse for doing nothing.

In a few months campaign season will start picking up - it starts earlier each time - and you'll hear a lot of ads, a lot of political-speak and not much substance. But I pledge to you this: if you ask a question of me, you'll get a straight answer.

Please feel free to post comments here, visit my Web site or send me an e-mail. I look forward to hearing from you and working with you to build a stronger, more prosperous America. We face determined opponents, but together we will not fail.

Bob Olson, a DFL candidate in the 6th Congressional District, is the owner of St. Stephen State Bank and the founder of the American Sustainable Energy Council. He lives in St. Cloud.