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tekkierich
05-04-2008, 03:11 PM
This is an open letter to the “Ron Paul community” online.

There seems to be a thought that there should be a high bar to be set for the community support of liberty minded candidates. We want to be sure these folks fit our ideals and will not embarrass us with scandal. This is understood, however, we should not lose the fact that there are many candidates out there that are deserved of your effort to seek them, vet out them in your own particular way and support them. Some of these candidates will win their races, some will not, but a strong display of fundraising, effort and vote totals will gain us respect and a future “seat at the table” regardless.

I am the Republican nominated candidate for the U.S. House in District Two (http://www.richardmatthews.org/) of Maryland, something I never conceived I would be doing at this time last year. I am running, because via the Ron Paul campaign I witnessed the hope and possibility of real political change in our lifetime. When organizing our delegates in Maryland many where also encouraged by our local groups (I was a meetup organizer) to run for other office. I took that challenge head on when I noted the lack of opposition to our incumbent Democrat, who voted to reauthorize the Patriot Act and continue funding the Iraq war. Along with the “big spender” label that he clearly deserves, my district’s incumbent is EXACTLY the type of politician I myself could never vote for. You will not find race in the country with more contrast.

I am one of you. By way of introduction, my name is Richard Matthews, I am a computer networking and security engineer by trade. I live in Maryland with my wonderful wife. We are expecting our first child in the next 30 days or so. Running for office is not the best move I have ever made for my current professional life, or crowed personal and family life. It is a sacrifice that I am willing to bear, however, to further the cause of liberty.

I have been a supporter of limited government and liberty for as many years as I have had political thought. It may stem from reading Orwell’s 1984 in high school, it may be due to an upbringing where I had to be rather self-reliant, I am not sure. Previous to this election cycle I had been a member of the Libertarian party and in general always supported the philosophy of maintenance of an unobtrusive government. I was cynical about achieving any of these ideals in reality, however.

This election cycle I heard of Ron Paul and his platform in May. I have been on board and working my tail off since that time. Some of the highlights of my activities:

- I organized the Anne Arundel County Ron Paul meetup (http://ronpaul.meetup.com/214/) group with over 200 members. Amongst other activities this group sponsored a large weekly sign waving through out the fall and into the winter.
- I helped organize and personally printed 6500 postcards (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=25841) to be sent to third party members in the state notifying them of our deadline to register as a Republican to vote for Dr. Paul in our closed primary.
- I ran for delegate (http://www.ronpaul2008.com/states/maryland/list-of-delegates-alternates/) to the national convention and organized others to fill the 5 remaining available ballot slots in my district.
- I acted as a technical coordinator for a high priced piece of voter data software the Ron Paul meetups bought for the primary.
- I organized and participated in a 5 day trip to New Hampshire with three other Ron Paul supporters from Maryland. We were not tourist during this trip, we slept in our sleeping bags in Operation Live Free or Die (http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071209/NEWS/712090352) housing and canvassed from sun up to sun down every day. (Incidentally you can see the back of my head and bald spot on the CNN feed from his NH primary after party)

Bottom line, I am one of you. Many other candidates (http://paulcongress.com/) out there also have plenty of skin in this game. We are running to further these causes that we all share. I have summed them up in a campaign theme of Liberty, Peace and Prosperity.

Please do your due diligence to check candidates out including myself. Most of us did A LOT of home work on Ron Paul before deciding that he in fact was the real deal and worthy of our support. What I am asking of you, is to in fact DO that homework. In the majority of cases our candidacies deserve your support.

I have placed a tool (http://www.richardmatthews.org/vote/)on my website to assist in your vetting of me. As I do not have a voting record in any previous office, I have developed a tool where I do vote on all non-procedural bills before the House of Representatives. A good amount of time goes in to both developing “How Would Matthews Vote” (http://www.richardmatthews.org/vote/) and researching the bills before I vote on them. I aim to have a comment on each bill, but due to time constraints I am not able to take it to this level yet.

If elected this tool will be extended, and every single vote will have public comment of why I voted as I did within twenty-four hours. Any time I vote yes, I will include a statement, similar in concept to the enumerated powers act (http://www.richardmatthews.org/read/?The-Enumerated-Powers-Act-HR-1359-3767), regarding specifically what section of the Constitution allowed me to do so. Dr. Paul is known as Dr. No. I want to be known as Mr. Transparent.


In closing, please, vet us. I know many are looking for a “service” or other outside authority to do so, but really the onus is on you. Just as you probably did for Dr. Paul, please spend a few nights researching our congressional candidates (http://www.paulcongress.com/Candidates2.html). The future of our movement can be furthered with successful campaigns for congress and lower offices.


http://www.richardmatthews.org/vote/

MoneyWhereMyMouthIs2
05-04-2008, 05:16 PM
We want to be sure these folks fit our ideals and will not embarrass us with scandal.

Considering that 99% of the current congress repulses me by not following their oath of office, I'm not too afraid of scandal.

Thanks for stepping up to the plate. This is how we change things. I can see that you're putting in a lot of effort.

tekkierich
05-04-2008, 07:04 PM
Thanks for the support. Any other comments? Who are you supporting in their congressional bid? What have you done for them?

mdh
05-04-2008, 07:21 PM
We don't have any congresscritter candidates here in WV, but I'm managing Ed Burgess' statehouse campaign and there's another Ron Paul Republican for statehouse named Harry Bertram.

tekkierich
05-04-2008, 07:34 PM
Thanks mdh

I know I had a long post, but I was getting at is vetting. Please looks us up, make sure we are credible, then get behind us, we need you.

My eyes are wide open, and I see a political environment that is open for us. We can make so much more lasting traction with several, even dozens, of congressmen than we could even taking the presidency.

Methodical progress is what always wins the battle in the political arena.

Cowlesy
05-04-2008, 07:38 PM
How many years has the incumbent been in office in your district?

Dave39168
05-04-2008, 07:51 PM
We are expecting our first child in the next 30 days or so. Running for office is not the best move I have ever made for my current professional life, or crowed personal and family life. It is a sacrifice that I am willing to bear, however, to further the cause of liberty.



You could have just said "ummm i've got to much on my plate right now, somebody else will do it."

But you didn't, thank you!

NEPA_Revolution
05-04-2008, 08:02 PM
Lets get this man a money bomb!

tekkierich
05-04-2008, 08:03 PM
How many years has the incumbent been in office in your district?

Six years. Before that the seat was held by a Republican.

mdh
05-04-2008, 08:11 PM
Six years. Before that the seat was held by a Republican.

Who's your incumbent?

I can't remember which districts were who over there, and it's been years since I knew any of those people. It looks like your district includes a chunk of Baltimore city, which leads me to believe some gerrymandering has taken place since a Republican held office there...

pepperpete1
05-04-2008, 08:17 PM
You made some very good points, and if I were in your district I would vote for you in a heart beat. Thank you for stepping forward!

mkeller
05-04-2008, 08:23 PM
Just took a look at that voting record you linked to - and your opponent almost always votes Yes! I think he has only one No on the whole list. Freaky.

MS0453
05-04-2008, 08:23 PM
You could have just said "ummm i've got to much on my plate right now, somebody else will do it."

But you didn't, thank you!

+1

tekkierich
05-04-2008, 08:24 PM
Who's your incumbent?

I can't remember which districts were who over there, and it's been years since I knew any of those people. It looks like your district includes a chunk of Baltimore city, which leads me to believe some gerrymandering has taken place since a Republican held office there...

Dutch Ruppersberger. Pretty popular as the previous County Executive of Baltimore County, but has not really made a national name for himself in congress.

Yes, a little gerrymandering has happened. My district is mostly suburban, Baltimore County to the east and North of the City, Hartford County and Anne Arundel County to the south (I'm in Anne Arundel).

tekkierich
05-04-2008, 09:20 PM
Are there any questions I can answer about my "voting record".

How would Matthews Vote? (http://www.richardmatthews.org/vote/)

Knightskye
05-05-2008, 12:09 AM
Are there any questions I can answer about my "voting record".

How would Matthews Vote? (http://www.richardmatthews.org/vote/)

Not your voting record, but your radio appearance (http://www.richardmatthews.org/audio/20080414_Mon_Indy1.mp3) on 'Ron Paul Revolution Radio'. It seemed like you were more interested in talking about Ron Paul (and his book) than Maryland, Congress, or voting. :rolleyes:

But a comment about your voting record - thank you for supporting the Enumerated Powers Act.

tekkierich
05-05-2008, 09:04 AM
Huh? Did you listen to the whole interview? I talked for the first few minutes about the book, and other wise about the congressional race and myself. I had to veer the host back to the congressional race a few times.

tekkierich
05-06-2008, 10:14 PM
bump

tekkierich
05-14-2008, 05:33 PM
I would like to make an appeal to the Ron Paul Forums community out there.

I would like to request critique, how can I be a better, more attractive candidate? We have a lot of enthusiasm and have worked our buts off with the resources we have.

I need an infusion of resources and help. The community asked for candidates to step forward, I have, and I have won my primary. I am now asking for folks to step forward and support one of the candidacies that they asked for.

rancher89
05-14-2008, 05:37 PM
congrats on winning your primary, wish I had a suggestion other than tell the truth.

tekkierich
05-14-2008, 10:26 PM
congrats on winning your primary, wish I had a suggestion other than tell the truth.

I speak the truth because I am too lazy to keep track of lies ;-). It is a hard thing to do and I am impressed that our typical politicians keep ask good of track of their lies as they do.

Thanks for the support.

constituent
05-14-2008, 11:08 PM
This is an open letter to the “Ron Paul community” online.

There seems to be a thought that there should be a high bar to be set for the community support of liberty minded candidates. We want to be sure these folks fit our ideals and will not embarrass us with scandal. This is understood, however, we should not lose the fact that there are many candidates out there that are deserved of your effort to seek them, vet out them in your own particular way and support them. Some of these candidates will win their races, some will not, but a strong display of fundraising, effort and vote totals will gain us respect and a future “seat at the table” regardless.

I am the Republican nominated candidate for the U.S. House in District Two (http://www.richardmatthews.org/) of Maryland, something I never conceived I would be doing at this time last year. I am running, because via the Ron Paul campaign I witnessed the hope and possibility of real political change in our lifetime. When organizing our delegates in Maryland many where also encouraged by our local groups (I was a meetup organizer) to run for other office. I took that challenge head on when I noted the lack of opposition to our incumbent Democrat, who voted to reauthorize the Patriot Act and continue funding the Iraq war. Along with the “big spender” label that he clearly deserves, my district’s incumbent is EXACTLY the type of politician I myself could never vote for. You will not find race in the country with more contrast.

I am one of you. By way of introduction, my name is Richard Matthews, I am a computer networking and security engineer by trade. I live in Maryland with my wonderful wife. We are expecting our first child in the next 30 days or so. Running for office is not the best move I have ever made for my current professional life, or crowed personal and family life. It is a sacrifice that I am willing to bear, however, to further the cause of liberty.

I have been a supporter of limited government and liberty for as many years as I have had political thought. It may stem from reading Orwell’s 1984 in high school, it may be due to an upbringing where I had to be rather self-reliant, I am not sure. Previous to this election cycle I had been a member of the Libertarian party and in general always supported the philosophy of maintenance of an unobtrusive government. I was cynical about achieving any of these ideals in reality, however.

This election cycle I heard of Ron Paul and his platform in May. I have been on board and working my tail off since that time. Some of the highlights of my activities:

- I organized the Anne Arundel County Ron Paul meetup (http://ronpaul.meetup.com/214/) group with over 200 members. Amongst other activities this group sponsored a large weekly sign waving through out the fall and into the winter.
- I helped organize and personally printed 6500 postcards (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=25841) to be sent to third party members in the state notifying them of our deadline to register as a Republican to vote for Dr. Paul in our closed primary.
- I ran for delegate (http://www.ronpaul2008.com/states/maryland/list-of-delegates-alternates/) to the national convention and organized others to fill the 5 remaining available ballot slots in my district.
- I acted as a technical coordinator for a high priced piece of voter data software the Ron Paul meetups bought for the primary.
- I organized and participated in a 5 day trip to New Hampshire with three other Ron Paul supporters from Maryland. We were not tourist during this trip, we slept in our sleeping bags in Operation Live Free or Die (http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071209/NEWS/712090352) housing and canvassed from sun up to sun down every day. (Incidentally you can see the back of my head and bald spot on the CNN feed from his NH primary after party)

Bottom line, I am one of you. Many other candidates (http://paulcongress.com/) out there also have plenty of skin in this game. We are running to further these causes that we all share. I have summed them up in a campaign theme of Liberty, Peace and Prosperity.

Please do your due diligence to check candidates out including myself. Most of us did A LOT of home work on Ron Paul before deciding that he in fact was the real deal and worthy of our support. What I am asking of you, is to in fact DO that homework. In the majority of cases our candidacies deserve your support.

I have placed a tool (http://www.richardmatthews.org/vote/)on my website to assist in your vetting of me. As I do not have a voting record in any previous office, I have developed a tool where I do vote on all non-procedural bills before the House of Representatives. A good amount of time goes in to both developing “How Would Matthews Vote” (http://www.richardmatthews.org/vote/) and researching the bills before I vote on them. I aim to have a comment on each bill, but due to time constraints I am not able to take it to this level yet.

If elected this tool will be extended, and every single vote will have public comment of why I voted as I did within twenty-four hours. Any time I vote yes, I will include a statement, similar in concept to the enumerated powers act (http://www.richardmatthews.org/read/?The-Enumerated-Powers-Act-HR-1359-3767), regarding specifically what section of the Constitution allowed me to do so. Dr. Paul is known as Dr. No. I want to be known as Mr. Transparent.


In closing, please, vet us. I know many are looking for a “service” or other outside authority to do so, but really the onus is on you. Just as you probably did for Dr. Paul, please spend a few nights researching our congressional candidates (http://www.paulcongress.com/Candidates2.html). The future of our movement can be furthered with successful campaigns for congress and lower offices.


http://www.richardmatthews.org/vote/


tekkierich, i have read your posts since you started here.

i'm a freelance writer (i use that term loosely these days as now i actually have a real job as a writer), and a genuine politics junkie. if you need any help, any internet punditry, please let me know and i will gladly volunteer my time.

constituent is not my only internet name, and i have great rapport in a few online political communities (though few know my real name, or that i go by other names) of every stripe and will gladly go out of my way to pull for you.

good luck to you and thank you for entering the frey!

tekkierich
05-21-2008, 01:56 PM
tekkierich, i have read your posts since you started here.

i'm a freelance writer (i use that term loosely these days as now i actually have a real job as a writer), and a genuine politics junkie. if you need any help, any internet punditry, please let me know and i will gladly volunteer my time.

constituent is not my only internet name, and i have great rapport in a few online political communities (though few know my real name, or that i go by other names) of every stripe and will gladly go out of my way to pull for you.

good luck to you and thank you for entering the frey!

Thank-you, I could use a little help in the writing department. Someone who is well versed with the liberty moment's positions who could occasionally write an article on my behalf would be a real asset.
To help keep me organized could you fill out http://www.richardmatthews.org/volunteer/

amy31416
05-21-2008, 02:39 PM
Who's your incumbent?

I can't remember which districts were who over there, and it's been years since I knew any of those people. It looks like your district includes a chunk of Baltimore city, which leads me to believe some gerrymandering has taken place since a Republican held office there...

I don't think any gerrymandering has taken place in a while, but have a piece of Baltimore city in your district = very Democratic, generally speaking.

What's your plan to overcome the fact that you are running for office in a heavily Democratic area vs. Ruppersberger, who, if I recall correctly--won pretty easily?