My name is Ryan Sanders. I am a 10th generation central Pennsylvanian. I grew up on a small farm close to the Susquehanna River. With a family rooted in York and Adams County you can expect that I was taught the Central Pennsylvania traits of frugality, respect for others and a strong work ethic. I am a small business owner with two small businesses that have created or support 12 jobs.

I am not a politician. As the campaign proceeds you will see me stumble. You will watch me put my foot in my mouth. You will hear my passion. You will learn about my successes. You will learn that I spent 2 years without health insurance. You will learn that my businesses have struggled during this recession. You will learn that I have a lot of the same daily headaches the everyday American has. I worry about paying the mortgage and about other bills like too many of us. I worry about providing for my family and myself like all of us.

You will also learn that this is exactly why I am running. I am angry and frustrated that so many of my colleagues, friends and family are working so hard and getting so little support from our leadership in Washington DC while their special interest financiers take home billions of dollars in bonuses. I am not a millionaire like 45% of Congress. They don’t have the same concerns that we do. They don’t have to worry about the mortgage or health insurance or their jobs. So how can they represent us if they don’t understand our problems?

I want to see the Central Pennsylvania traits I know so well; frugality, respect and hard work become central once again to our government. This won’t be an easy task. The odds are always stacked against people combating special interests because these groups have the time and money to combat us. But through it all, one thing won't change; my determination to fight for the people who make our country strong: small business and working families. I will focus on our freedoms, responsible government and practical solutions that get results.

But to reach that goal, I need your help to defeat paralyzing partisanship and the manipulation of our fears by politicians for selfish reasons.

My campaign is not about winning the next election as if it were a sport. This is not a football game! My campaign, and all campaigns, should be about our lives and our communities. But the cynical politicians obstructing progress in DC do not care about you. They only care about winning. They only care about their next paycheck from the special interests who are buying their loyalty at every election. They must be voted out!

I cannot do this alone. I need your help. Join me in bringing practical results back to our government.

But what are practical results?

Small businesses account for two thirds of the US workforce. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that small businesses have created 65 percent of the net new jobs in the U.S. over the last 12 years. But small business owners are struggling to get access to good credit sources so they can grow and invest. The government must protect and support small businesses as they apply for credit to hire new employees, invest in research and development and develop new avenues of growth.

Stronger local businesses. More Jobs. That’s practical.

We have inadequate investment in science and technology. Research and development as a share of GDP has declined, while it has risen in many other countries. Federal policymakers have failed to act and we need to make sure we stay ahead of the curve on technology. The United States has always been the country that produces and attracts the best and the brightest. They then start businesses, create jobs, teach our children and make our country the envy of the world by the wealth they create and share. This is one of our country’s key competitive tools that allows us to maintain highly paid jobs and the largest and most successful economy in the world.

Smarter graduates. Advanced technology. High paying jobs. That’s practical.

The federal government has not consistently protected the decentralization and regional specialization that drives our economy. State experimentalization has been a hallmark of successful policies like the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (Welfare Reform) of 1996. Congress and bureaucrats too often waste billions of dollars on top-down mandates, whether for federal economic development programs, environmental policy or poverty reduction. These programs too often do not send money where it will have the greatest impact in each region but to the district with the most powerful politician. In the mean time, distressed urban or rural communities, where poverty in America is concentrated, are starved of the infrastructure spending needed for job development.

Lack of regulatory oversight and ineffective capital requirements, in the name of liberalization and well-meaning efforts to extend credit to lower-income citizens, has undermined the stability of the financial markets and was a major factor in the current downturn. America under-regulates in some areas while it over-regulates in others. This is s a result of the power of special interests buying our government off.

We need to rationalize our policies for practical results not ideological ones. This means creating incentives that provide education and opportunity for the poor and unemployed so they not only have a stake in society but participate. This means protecting the right to enjoy the wealth you create. This means supporting a truly free market with equal access to all, not just rich bankers intent on cornering a market through complex and dangerous new financial services.

Effective government. Low taxes. Transparent and honest markets. That’s Practical.

I need your help to make practical happen. You know that the only way to win is to get active and to donate. I need your time and your resources to get the message out. Please support me and support our progressive principles in 2010.