March is nearly upon us and soon, we will begin to feel the warmth of the sun on our faces here in Nebraska’s 1st Congressional District.  I wonder though, if that warmth will also include the light of reason. In the Fall of 2008, I began considering a run at our district’s seat, currently held by Jeff Fortenberry. As the last few months have passed, the economic crisis has worsened, and Representative Fortenberry stood fast with his party members in a united show of childish, partisan politics-as-usual. During this time, I have realized that the people of our district really need someone that will actually represent their interests in Washington.
In beginning to consider this overwhelming endeavor, I have had to make several considerations.

First and foremost, I am not a lawyer or politician. I am not a banker or business owner. I am a regular, 40-hour-a-week, blue-collar guy with a wife and three kids. I am as affected by this economic down-turn as many of the people I would be seeking to represent. My lack of experience in politics will be a constant point of attack for my opponent. He will say that it takes more than common sense to represent a constituency in Washington. I will ask him where he has hidden his. He will say that now is the time when experience matters most.

I disagree. I think that common sense is precisely what we need. I think that the people of this district run their lives on common sense and don’t really see much of that in Washington. Certainly, they’ve not seen it in the actions of their current representative; standing against their better interests in deference to being “in good” with his party. I would never sacrifice the best interests of my constituency for anyone, party included.

It’s time to put and end to the, “take your ball and go home” mentality in Washington. And by the way, I understand that the Democrats do it too, and I don’t like that either. We need to start looking at legislation for what it is and not based on who wrote it. We need to stop the, “I’ll vote for your bill if you vote for mine,” shenanigans in Washington. Maybe we have too many lawyers and bankers running things. Maybe we need a few “real people” in the mix to bring them back down to earth once in awhile.

Originally posted in Matthew Dodd's personal blog http://matthewdodd2010.wordpress.com/

Matthew Dodd for United States Congress 2010