I started out mopping floors waiting tables and tending bar at my dad's tavern. I put myself through school working odd jobs and night shifts. I poured my heart and soul into a small business. And when I saw how out-of-touch Washington had become with the core values of this great nation I put my name forward and ran for office.
Washington has to become an ally of business not the opposition of business.
It's time to fundamentally change the way that we do business in Washington. To help build a new foundation for the 21st century we need to reform our government so that it is more efficient more transparent and more creative. That will demand new thinking and a new sense of responsibility for every dollar that is spent.
Activist government overreach and ongoing economic stagnation have shown us why Washington should not try to displace what is best left to civil society.
Somehow the greater the public opposition to the health care bill the more determined they seem to force it on us anyway. Their attitude shows Washington at its very worst - the presumption that they know best and they're going to get their way whether the American people like it or not.
It's so amazing standing on the corner -this happened in Washington D.C. - and somebody comes by in a Cadillac and you hear 'Manic Monday' on the radio and you don't even know this person and they're listening to it and singing along with it. Wow! Blows your mind.
If you spend enough time in or around Washington you'll meet amazing people who work for the government.
I was the first spokesperson for the Better Hearing Institute in Washington. And that's the message we tried to send out - there is hearing help out there and the technology and options are amazing.
Well I'm not a member of the permanent political establishment and I've learned quickly these last few days that if you're not a member in good standing of the Washington elite then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone.
The progress of evolution from President Washington to President Grant was alone evidence to upset Darwin.