LETTER TO THE EDITOR
I would like to thank all those who participated in our nation's recent election. I met many new folks and have made some friendships that I believe will last a life time. Our campaign received more votes (over 72,000) than any other candidate in the state that ran against an incumbent democrat. I think that the voters' displeasure at the out of control spending, among other things, that took place from 2000 to 2006 was reflected in the vote this election. As I campaigned for smaller Constitutional government, fiscal responsibility, sound money, individual responsibility, economic and personal liberty, and American independence and national sovereignty I met many folks that agreed with me that Washington is broken and were as tired as I am with the partisan bickering, out of control spending and taxpayer abuse.
One of my goals was to show by example how there can be a respectful discussion about serious issues. I would like to commend Congressman Hoyer for the respect he showed me and I hope he feels that he was treated with respect as well when I discussed issues. I would also like to commend Congressman Hoyer for the statement released by his campaign and printed in the paper of his "pledge to work in a bipartisan manner to forge solutions to the challenges that face us: strengthening our economy, creating jobs, ending our dependence on foreign oil and securing our nation." Those are, of course, important issues. And there are different philosophies of how to best address them. I wish our elected leaders well.
I admit that I am disappointed that voters from across our nation did not vote to repeal the bailout. This could have been done by voting out everyone that voted for the bailout. Maybe the new Congress will vote to take that money back from Wall Street CEOs and instead have a tax holiday for all Americans for the first $50,000.00 of income for the next three years. Whereas the bailout helped a select few, I believe a three year tax holiday would do more good and cost less than the 850 billion dollar bill passed by Congress on October the 3rd. The next Congress and its leaders will have a great opportunity to address many challenges. What they won't have is a legitimate excuse to blame the other party. I wish them the best.
Collins Bailey
Waldorf, Md.
2008 Candidate for Congress in Maryland's 5th congressional district