Why Vote For Me?
The Simplest Answer
I can give three good reasons why you should at least consider voting for me. First, I have the skills to find good solutions to our country’s problems. I also have the genuine desire to do right by the majority, rather than the wealthy few. Perhaps most importantly, I have no other interests beyond the honest purpose our nation’s founders intended for members of Congress: fixing the problems facing the United States and its citizens. That’s the straightest answer I can give, pure and true. If that’s all you needed to hear… great! On the other hand, if you’d like a little more detail on those three points, then please read on.
I Abide By Honest Principles
I don’t own any stocks, shares, businesses, or even rental property. My car is serviceable, but not luxurious. My lifestyle is humble, rather than extravagent. And I have a deeply-held belief that the only income I should ever receive is the income I earn with my own two hands. If I’m not doing something that directly and logically translates to either work or trade, then I don’t want to pull any income from it. Especially not if someone else is doing the work for me. I live my life as a person of earnest convictions, filled with a fervent belief that financial success should be earned, rather than an accident or luck. I also feel an obligation to keep from troubling others, so long as they don’t trouble me. The Golden Rule and all that.
It also bears mentioning that I’ve lived in poverty before. I know exactly how hard life on low wages can be. And I also know exactly how far even the smallest amount of extra money can be stretched out for. That means I have a real appreciation and respect for just how much a Congressional salary is. At $174,000 a year, no member of Congress has any excuse whatsoever to pander to special interests or lobbyists in exchange for even more money. Most Americans can only dream of making that kind of salary, even just for a single year. To live on a Congress member’s salary and still not be satisfied, in my eyes, is the ultimate disrespect for the working American citizen. If we can figure out how to get by on just $20k a year, they can figure out how to be happy with a whopping $174k salary.
To back up everything I’m saying: I’m refusing to take campaign money from any source other than small contributions from individuals. I’ll also keep my political finances transparent and publicly available so that it’s crystal clear I’m not being bought. As an added bonus, you can bet I’ll also vote against any and all increases to Congressional pay and benefits, and vote for any and all legislation that reasonably limits Congressional compensation and bribery. Until working people in both Texas and the rest of America are all able to live comfortably and securely, there’s not a single damn good reason why any member of Congress should ever have the gall to want more than what they’re already given.
I have nothing to hide, and am more than glad to publish my tax returns and other financial information. No organization can buy me because, at my heart, I’m a simple man who prefers to live simply. For as long as I live, no one will ever be able to subvert my intentions.
I'm Sincerely Here For You
If you’ve ever had the chance to meet me, then hopefully, my passion for fixing the mess we’re in came through loud and clear. If not, you’ll likely have at least a couple chances in the future to experience that firsthand. I’ve already traveled over a good part of the district over the past few months. In the near future, I’ll visit every single county, some of them multiple times. The purpose is straightforward: if I’m going to actually represent you properly, I need to hear from as many of you as possible. I need to understand what problems the majority of you are actually facing right now so that I can actually make sure I’m fixing the problems that need to be fixed. To be sure, I’ve heard from a lot of you. But, this district is 780,000 people strong. And I’ve come nowhere close to hearing from as many of you as I’d like to.
Ask yourself: when was the last time Nathan Moran visited your district? When was the last time he went out of his way to ask you what you thought about any particular issue? How often does he actually reach out to you to touch base with what’s happening in your life? For too many of the people I’ve already spoken with, none of these questions have satisfying answers. And what’s worse, this behavior is normal across Senators and Representatives. That’s completely unacceptable. How is anyone supposed to believe that they’re representing their constituents properly? Congressional Districts are large, yes; but, far too often, we see members of Congress spending their off-session time doing photo ops. Holding private meetings with donors and business owners. Pulling publicity stunts that don’t actually do anything for their communities.
It’s time we demanded more from our Congress members, because we deserve better. That’s why I’m basing a huge part of my campaign around taking the time to meet with you all face-to-face. To genuinely hear you out and ask for your thoughts. Time Congress members spend prioritizing special interests instead of connecting with their constituents is time wasted. Worse, it’s a direct conflict of interest in the very job they’re supposed to be doing. There’s no excuse for that. In an era where Congress members command large budgets for skilled staff and where messaging, public speaking, and debate are broken down to a science, the inability or refusal to maintain healthy communication with voters is unforgivable. I’m traveling, visiting, and connecting with you all constantly to prove to everyone that it can be done; our current Representative just chooses not to.
If elected, I’ll continue to stay connected. Because, quite frankly, that’s the job: listening to constituents and working with them to solve problems. Not ignoring them, then telling them condescendingly why they need to fall in line.
I Have The Necessary Skills
As it turns out, programming and legislating are very similar. For any issue a programmer or legislator tackles, both professionals conduct research to understand the problem. Both debate the importance and nature of not only the issue itself, but also various aspects of it. Both draft solution proposals to present to their peers. Both perform group evaluations of the various components of a proposal. Both perform revisions of the proposal in light of these debates and evaluations. And, of course, both engage in voting to either enact or reject the change. In many cases, both will also monitor how enacted changes are truly affecting the overall system. The specifics differ, naturally, but the core process is almost identical. And it’s something I’ve made a very successful living from.
On top of that, legal jargon is far from alien to me. I actually have a solid background in reading case law and following along with court rulings, due to my criminal justice degree and associated internship with a relatively large public defender’s office. While I ultimately pursued a career in programming instead of law, I’ve never stopped keeping up with developments in both criminal justice matters and administrative politics. It’s exactly because of this knowledge that I’m not only able to clearly describe the causes of the major problems facing Americans today, but the specific changes to law and policy that we need to make in order to fix them. You don’t even need to take my word for it: the ‘Issues’ section of my site allows any reader to see for themselves how I’m able to bring these two skill sets together.
Let me now help you to understand why this is such an important difference from candidates and incumbents who spent their careers as lawyers and judges. Computer code, at its core, is just a collection of rules. Much like our laws. Lawyers and judges spend their careers acting as interpreters, applying these rules to people as correctly as possible. In essence, their careers train them to become computers that execute the code they’re given. Working as a programmer requires a similar amount of skill in interpreting rules. However, it also requires a great amount of skill in learning what kinds of rules should be written, in the first place. A good programmer needs to understand peoples’ needs and tailor the rules to fit them. A good lawyer or judge, on the other hand, only needs to apply the rules as they’re written, regardless of whether they should be written that way.
It’s with my unique mix of skills that I’ve been able to identify and present everything written on this site. It’s also how I’m able to explain everything in more-or-less layman’s terms. It’s a powerful and valuable combination that, to my knowledge, no other Congress member has.
Summing It Up
From reading through all of this, it’s easy to see how you might think to yourself, “Wow, this person really wants to run for office!” But, the reality is… I kind of wish there were other suitable candidates instead of me. I don’t like the popularity contests. I don’t like the deception. I don’t like the hate-mongering. I don’t like the bullshit. I’d be so much happier just working on building and fixing digital systems in peace. Remaining alone and unnoticed by the world.
The problem is, I think our political system needs more people like me. It’s probably needed them for years, if I’m being honest. For a while, I guess I was just hoping that, if I kept waiting long enough, enough good people would step up that I wouldn’t need to do anything. That’s not happening, though. Sitting around and wishing for people to show up and do the work that needs to be done isn’t working. I’m at the point where I realize that, if I don’t step up to do the job, it might never fix itself. After all these years, I’ve not seen nearly the number of good candidates I’d hoped to see, and I just can’t ignore that anymore. In a way, I’m personally responsible for not having done anything sooner.
I understand that there’s a lot to read on this website. And I also understand that most of the people reading this are already pressed for time, money, and peace-of-mind. But, if saving our country and our people means anything to you, then please: take whatever time you can spare to read whatever you need to on this site, so that you can make up your mind about me. On some level, every election ‘matters’. But, the next several elections will matter a whole lot more than normal. Because of that, it’s really important that you make the best choice possible.
We don’t have a lot of time left. In light of that: thank you for the time that you’ve already given me.