Why I love politics

Being from a "bi-political" family (mother, Grundy County Democrat, father, Fentress County Republican and Veteran), I was fortunate enough to be raised in a house filled with spirited political discussions during every election. I turned 18 only a couple of weeks before the '80 Presidential election, so my biggest disappointment that year was not being able to finally vote. But that didn't stop me from getting caught up in the Reagan Revolution and boy, that feeling never left me. Somewhere out there is a picture of my college pals and I with a big '84 Reagan Bush sign in front of our PAC house, just a bunch of radical conservative students believing that there was a bright future ahead of us because of a man called Ronald Reagan. That '84 sign hangs in my office today, a reminder to never forget those youthful ideologies.

After years of concentrating on career achievements then motherhood, I finally came back "into the fold" in 2001 when I worked on Michael O'Brien's State Rep campaign then Judd Matheny's State Rep campaigns. Both had the same qualities of Ronald Reagan that I had always admired...Strength, Optimism & Passion for the pure political process. These were the guys in white hats. I am proud to say that my educated hunch about Judd was dead-on. He has never swayed from the path while in office. He is one of the finest examples of a citizen legislator that I have been privileged to witness firsthand. There are several in office today that hold that honor...but we need more.

Working in politics is kind of like visiting your favorite restaurant and getting a peek at what goes on in the kitchen. Sometimes you really don't like what you see or even stomach the results. From all indicators, we are one step away from losing the conservative battle and falling into the bigger government trap that apathy and, in my opinion, laziness has gotten us into. We can't have it both ways. Either you are in control of your life, or government is. Our founding fathers never envisioned nor approved of the kind of all-encompassing, bloated government structure that we live in today. They were freedom fighters throwing off the shackles of government oppression when they signed the Declaration of Independence and fought the great battle for sovereignty. Maybe it's time to become freedom fighters again. I'm in!

Therefore in that vain, I am committed to supporting any candidate (federal, state or local) who best reflects the Reagan ideology. I am always on the search for those people who want to run for the right reasons, to serve the people. I will help them in any way I can and work hard for the end result. Victory for the people. And sometimes you just have to step up to the plate yourself when no one else will just to get the ball rolling in the right direction. In 2006, my campaign as a State Representative Candidate for District 37 (Grundy, Marion, Sequatchie & VanBuren Counties) was a very successful one. 30% of the vote, $5000 spent and two major endorsements by NRA and NFIB. Who knows what '08 will hold. It will be a very interesting and intense political season. One we must all be involved in.