The election is over. The fifth district elected Jim Cooper again. It's been an interesting race, and I believe I've learned quite a lot. I thank everyone for your support. At present, I have no intention to run for office in the future. I'll be leaving this page up for a while as a reference. I still believe in many of the ideas expressed here. I hope others take them and use them well.

I do plan to continue to work towards local electoral reform. Please visit this Facebook group to learn more.

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Government is important. It affects all our lives, and there are problems only government can address. But these problems are ignored. Instead, government creates more problems.

Why?

Is it because government is a fundamentally bad concept? Is it because evil people want this country to fail? If you listen to the political discourse in this country, you hear both things said. But both are wrong. The reason the system doesn't work isn't that government is inherently evil, or because people are purposefully trying to break the system. People lie about where the actual problem is. And that's the problem.

We've seen what the Republicans do with power. We've seen what the Democrats do with it. Neither side fixes anything, even when we give them every chance in the world. The only conclusion can be that the major parties aren't interested in solving problems. They're interested in beating each other. To do that, they lie to us, they divide us, and they make us afraid.

I choose not to be afraid.

I want a government that acts based on facts, not on ideologies.
I want a government that acts when necessary, but only to solve problems, not to create them.
I want a government that responds to the concerns of the people that elected it, not corporate donors.

Look at the last ten years. We've seen power swing all the way from one side of the aisle to the other. No matter which party won, we didn't get any of those things.

The federal budget is still unbalanced, and getting worse every year.
The financial sector is still behaving in the exact way that caused the original collapse and recession.
Massive trade deficits are sucking manufacturing jobs out of the country at a time we need them the most.
Health care costs are completely ignored, in favor of ideological struggles over universal coverage.
Illegal immigrants and drugs pour into our country, while our guns and money fuel a Mexican civil war.

And yet we re-elect the same people, year after year. We see the same campaigns, every election. Campaigns that aren't about who can do the job the best, or who proposes the best solutions. Instead we see elections dominated by money and slogans. By name-calling, posturing, lies, and fear.

I refuse to play those games.

I want an election that turns on issues, facts, discussion, and solutions. I believe the people of this district want the same thing.

My name is Stephen Collings. I'm a 27 year old electrical engineer from Nashville, TN, and I'm running for US Congress in Tennessee's 5th district. If you live in Nashville, Lebanon, Mount Juliet, Pegram, or Goodlettsville, odds are you live in my district. Check here to find out for sure.

You can follow the links above to find out more about me and my campaign. Most importantly, my positions on a variety of issues are explained in detail. Compare me to the people you usually vote for. Do they even take positions on issues you care about? Or do they avoid the subject entirely? If you agree with me more than with them, then vote for me in 2010.

Send a message that business as usual isn't acceptable any more. Make your vote matter.