A successful politician is like a good CEO. Their job is not simply to highlight problems and challenges facing their constituents, but to propose progressive solutions to these issues.

In my conversations with First District residents, many issues have been highlighted time and time again as particularly important for Nebraskans. These issues include: the economic collapse of many rural communities, national security, middle class students being priced out of college educations and a loss of faith in the nation's leaders.

Below, I have outlined my comprehensive R's to some of these issues.

REVITALIZE rural America through public/private eco-tourism partnerships and green collar jobs that recognize the potentially collaborative role between local farmers and agri-business interests in a sustainable economy.

RECONFIGURE Congressional committees to enhance America's overall national security and its oversight, while minimizing layers of red tape and bureaucracy. The 9/11 Commission directed Congress to eliminate scores of  Senate and House subcommittees and establish just one Permanent Standing Committee on National Security for both the House and Senate. Pushing for this substantive change would be one of my priorities in Congress.

REFORM the "middleman" predatory private student loan industry which has saddled American students and their families with unsustainable lifetime debt. Massive student loan debt forces prospective rural doctors to choose urban venues and high-paying practices, diminishing the quality of living in rural communities across the country, and in Nebraska as well.

RECRUIT Americans with big hearts and a passionate interest in issues into public service. With independent leaders - focused on resolving issues, rather than maintaining the status quo; interested more in real people than in vested interests - the critical challenges of job creation, debt reduction, fair health care, national security, environmental stewardship and reversing the decline of rural America will be successfully met.

Ultimately, however, success depends not just on innovative solutions, but on building partnerships that will cross party lines and allow these solutions to be successfully implemented. As Nebraska's common ground candidate, I will be able to build these bi-partisan, cooperative partnerships both within Nebraska's congressional delegation, as well as in the House!