Paul, what issues are you running on? I’m getting this question more and more.

Probably one of the biggest issues for me is that of political unity. I’m a pragmatist. I’m into effectiveness. I like to get stuff done.

Problem today is that things haven’t been getting done in years in Washington DC. Everybody’s fighting. Republicans hate Democrats and Democrats hate Republicans. And the mainstream media is the only one profiting.

The fact that nothing gets done means little to career politicians; even during a recession, they get their hefty salaries, benefits, summers off.

The ineffectiveness of Congress has little bearing on the job security of many of its members.

Here’s a question I ask you to consider. How can this organization we call the United States government be successful when people on opposite sides hate each other? How can a family or a company or any organization function when its members loathe fellow members?

How can there be progress when one side considers it a “win” when the other side loses?

The win-lose spirit in Washington D.C is the primary reason for Congress’s current national approval rating of 13% — voters don’t like it. And why should they?

At the core of my campaign is an overwhelming sense that the division between left and right is damaging this great nation. Further, I do not believe blaming the other side is the answer.

I don’t care if you are left of Bernie Sanders, I don’t care if you’re right of Ted Cruz — it does our nation no good to despise fellow citizens. Even if their beliefs are opposite to yours.

So I am running as a “raging centrist.” That just means that I am, ferociously if you will, stubbornly committed to bringing people from both sides together.

And I consider it a great compliment, as a lifetime Republican, to have the support of Independents and even Democrats.

I consider it a victory, in large part, because working with Democrats was one of Ronald Reagan’s greatest legacies. Staunchly conservative, and, yet, able to have the finesse to work with the political “enemy.”

The best example of this finesse was Reagan’s relationship with Tip O’Neil. O’Neil was the Speaker of the House of Representatives during most of Reagan’s two terms in office.

You couldn’t have two men who had two leaders with more opposite views. Reagan essentially saw government as essentially bad; O’Neil wanted nothing more than to expand it.

The two men basically loathed each other’s policies.

And, yet, they forged a relationship based on respect. As important, they realized that the kind of partisanship that embodies today’s polarized American politics today would result in not just the hating of your fellow citizen, but paralysis in Washington.

O’Neil’s son, Thomas, wrote about their relationship, in this article, Frenemies: A Love Story. I think anyone passionate about politics needs to read this. It brings tears to my eyes as I imagine what is possible in our divided nation.

Here’s an excerpt:

“What both men deplored more than the other’s political philosophy was stalemate, and a country that was so polarized by ideology and party politics that it could not move forward. There were tough words and important disagreements over everything from taxation to Medicare and military spending. But there was yet a stronger commitment to getting things done.”

If I have the honor of representing the voters in the 48th Congressional District, I can assure them that I’m going there to get things done, in the spirit of Ronald Reagan and Tip O’Neil.

Because let’s face it, when we strip away all the polarizing junk we see in the media or on social media, people are people.

We are all in this together.

We can do better.

If this post resonates with you, I humbly ask you to click HERE NOW and read more about my other priorities.