I was originally drawn to politics by the ideals of Ronald Reagan. Having grown up in small towns like Etna Green and Shipshewana, Reagan's message of personal accountability, free enterprise, and a limited role for government made sense to me. Unfortunately, Republican members of Congress like Mark Souder abandoned those ideals in favor of special interest money and pork barrel spending in a cynical attempt to retain power. Not surprisingly, this quickly led to the fundraising scandals (Jack Abramoff, Ted Stevens, Tom DeLay, Duke Cunningham, etc.) that caused the public to lose faith in the Republican Party. As a direct result, Nancy Pelosi is now Speaker of the House of Representatives with a large Democrat majority, Harry Reid is Senate Majority Leader with a filibuster proof majority, and Barack Obama is our President.

In 2010, Republicans have an opportunity to regain control of Congress. However, if we simply re-elect the same members of Congress who chose the trappings of Washington over conservative principles, how can we expect the culture of corruption in Washington to change? As Einstein famously said, "We cannot fix today's problems with the same thinking that led to them."

I want to return our country to the principles that made it great. Government is not the solution to every problem. In fact, it is often the cause. Its role should be to encourage strong families, allow local communities to address their own issues, and permit the free enterprise system to function as intended. If we do not reverse the expansion of government and the resulting federal deficits, we will burden our children and grandchildren with a crippling debt that will lower their standard of living and jeopardize our nation's economic security. As the father of a bright, beautiful 9-year old daughter, I cannot sit by quietly and allow that to happen. With your help, we can reclaim our government and restore our country to a lasting prosperity.

Look for troyer for congress on these social networks:

Or check for campaign updates from Phil on the Troyer for Congress Blog:

Make a donation to Troyer for Congress: