First of all, please excuse the grammar. I have asked nobody to write this, nor proof. This is mine and mine alone. 

Nobody yet knows what the outcome of tonight's election will be in my race, and countless others across America. 

However, I want to take this moment to recognize my family.  They have been through so much with me on this race. To my wife Brenda, and children Christene, Taylor, Savannah and Alexander, you mean the world to me.

Too many nights away. Too many missed activities.  Too many special moments I missed. Time I will never get back. 

Running for Congress in America today is a broken system. It's all about the money. I have grown to have disdain for the political elites in America on both sides.  I have often said out loud, "Who in their right mind would run for Congress today?  Either it's for ego, or for Country."  Yet, more often than not, I feel the system is controlled by a small group who have lost touch with the average American family. They have sold our system, and corrupted its process, and refused to fight for a better America based on honor. 

For the last two years I have spent much of my time meeting voters, but too much time raising money.  In all, I raised over $600,000 from donors in 44 states.  But why?  So that I could impress some DC establishment group and entice them to spend even more money on my race? Something about that does not feel right.... 

Can we not somehow agree on a system that candidates who run for Congress agree to raise and spend only what they raise from voters who actually live in their district? Can we not get back to the basics of community based campaigns and town halls that once flourished in our political system?

Look, I am grateful to all of my donors from all across America who took a leap of faith with me. We needed resources to compete with a congressman who spent 4 hours of his workday, every day, on the phones raising millions for his re-election. How does one compete against that?How does the average middle class American compete? And.. doesn't that process feel dirty?

I am bothered greatly by how America has segregated itself. "Latino Voter," "Black Voter," "White Voter," etc.  Since when does the melting pot - the USA, ever feel it's appropriate to box races of people into categories and to then, court those voters based simply on their race?  Are we not all Americans?  I cannot and will not accept this new normal in today's politics.  I was born colorblind and will lead colorblind. 

Three days a week I teach students at California Baptist University on the subjects of American government and another course on Federal campaigns.   I can't help but feel saddened that what I am teaching my students about the American government our Founders fought for is but a shell of its soul today.  How can responsible adults in Congress have allowed our Nation to drift so far of course. 

I know I don't have all the answers.  But win or lose tonight, I will remain saddened by the state of our Nation, and our dysfunctional and out of touch system that one must endure in running for office.

Should I win tonight, I will do all I can to rebuild American, both morally and structurally, including: 

1) serving a limited number of terms.  Our problems in D.C. rest largely with those who remain there for so long. 
2) pledging to only raise money from within my district, so long as my opponent (s) agree to the same standard. A handshake deal can once again mean something in America. 
3) to find like minded, average Americans in all corners of our Nation, to run on these same ideas.

I am reminded as I write this by a quote, which I may not write with complete accuracy, but here it goes... When Washington was first elected President, he was approached by a friend who wanted a political appointment. He told his friend in so many words, .. "as your friend, I would give you my heart and my house, but as President, I can do nothing."

The most powerful person of our new nation understood the limits of power and the impact of corruption. Oh how so far we have drifted away.

Our Nation is in trouble, friends. I do not, and never will have all the answers, but I do know that we must try.

America is nothing more than an experiment. We may be fleeting at this very moment.  Other nations have been around much longer than we. China, for example has seen empires come and go. Our youthful nation is in jeopardy, and I simply want to have a fighting chance to save Her so that your children and mine may have the blessings promised by what it means to be an American - a citizen of the free-world, unlike any other, which broke away from tyranny to form a more perfect Union.  

God Bless. Stay Strong. and... Fight On....
... and most importantly, take solace in the fact that our Founders were considered radicals themselves. Don't be afraid to challenge our system. In fact, you have a duty to do just that. 

-Paul Chabot
Candidate for U.S. Congress
CA31 

P.S. sorry for any grammar or typos.....
 
 
  Thank you for your support!




  Paul Chabot for Congress    info@paulchabot.com 
www.PaulChabot.com
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