Quite simply, there is still work to be done.

When I first decided to seek public office, it was because I was alarmed by Washington’s desire to impose collectivism and socialism on the public, particularly in the area of health care. Today, we face the very same challenge.

To our founders, America was, and is, an idea that trusts individuals more than the government, and it is an idea that trusts the competition of ideas and the entrepreneurial spirit to produce a more fair and just outcome than the cold calculations of governing elites.

But today many in Washington are claiming that all problems can be solved with more government spending and less individual freedom. Those ideas have never worked and they never will.

Very few leaders are talking honestly about the real causes of our challenges, much less the real solutions. I believe the decisions Washington makes today and in the near future will decide the fate of our republic. In short, I’m running again because I believe America, and future generations, are worth fighting for.

Therefore, the fight continues.

We must work hard to cut the federal deficit and stop the outrageous federal spending spree that is currently going on in Washington.

As a strict Constitutionalist, I also believe we must stand up for Supreme Court nominees who will interpret the law, and stand against those who want to legislate from the bench. One of the greatest threats to our freedom today is Washington’s denial of the limited, enumerated powers granted Congress under our Constitution.

Unless Congress has the specific authority to make a law, I believe it should be up to the states. That’s why our founders wrote the Tenth Amendment. When federal bureaucrats took steps to trump the Second Amendment and criminalize the possession of firearms on certain federal lands I stepped in and successfully defended the right of states to make their own gun laws.

We also need to stand together and resist plans to put politicians and bureaucrats in charge of our health care system. I’ve authored legislation to ensure that every American has access to affordable quality health care that is controlled by the individual rather than government or insurance company bureaucrats.

Oklahomans – and conservatives across the country – deserve to have a reliable voice for smaller government and common sense representing them in the Senate. And now more than ever, we need to fight for the principles of freedom, individual responsibility, and limited government that made America great.

I ran for the Senate because I wanted my children and grandchildren to enjoy the same blessings of freedom and opportunity I’ve enjoyed. America was built on a heritage of service and sacrifice, in which each generation made sacrifices to pass on liberty to the next generation. So much is at stake for our country in this moment in history. I will never tire in this fight, and should people of Oklahoma choose me to carry on in this effort, I will ensure that their conservative values remain represented in DC for the next six years.

Thank you for your continued efforts in our movement.

It’s important to note that what the Majority Leader defines as “unprecedented obstruction” is my desire to see an eight percent decline in the number of bills that pass the Senate with no debate, no amendment and no recorded vote. In the 110th Congress, I have helped the Majority Leader pass 855 bills by unanimous consent while I only have holds on about 77 bills presently. If anything, I owe taxpayers an apology for being so permissive when we have a $9.5 trillion national debt.

The first reason Reid’s package of bills should not proceed at this time is because the Senate has so far failed to act in a meaningful way on America’s true priorities, beginning with our energy crisis. Passing a bill that regulates primate ownership, celebrates the War of 1812 and allows politicians to micromanage medical research at NIH will do nothing to lower the price of gas.

In fact, the timing of this debate is an effort by the Majority Leader to distract the public from his obstruction of a comprehensive energy plan. Yet, even if Congress were to pass a meaningful energy plan I would still insist that this body live within its means like every other American. After all, working Americans live in a world of offsets, budget choices and priorities because they have no choice. Congress needs to reenter this world not just as a matter of principle, but as a matter of national survival.

If energy and housing is today’s crisis, tomorrow’s crisis is the impending bankruptcy of entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare. Congress may not want to consider offsets today, but it surely will tomorrow.

This impasse over offsets, more than any other issue, has brought us to this cloture vote. I have prevented many bills from being hotlined even when I supported the underlying policy because I believe that we have to start finding offsets now, not after it’s too late. When a community knows a river is rising the responsible thing to do is to put the sand bags in place before the flood arrives, not after.

Yet, instead of simply paying for new programs by agreeing to spend less elsewhere, I’m disappointed the Majority Leader has offered excuses rather than solutions.

For instance, Reid claimed negotiating with me was a “waste of time” even though his own party’s nominee for president, Barack Obama, has singled me out as Republican he’d like to work with if elected because of our proven ability to work together on common sense solutions. Reid also hasn’t acknowledged the dozens of bills I’ve held then let go, like PEPFAR and GINA, after the bill sponsors sat down for a reasonable give and take negotiation. Unfortunately, the Majority Leader hasn’t responded to my offers to limit debate, and he has ignored my menu of offsets.

Another excuse for not finding offsets is the intellectually dishonest inside-baseball argument that authorization bills don’t spend money and don’t need to be offset. This argument fascinates me because if the bills I am holding essentially do nothing and provide no resources for the various causes in the bill what am obstructing? Am I obstructing real legislation or press conferences with interest groups?

Also, if Senator Reid accepts this logic, has he informed the beneficiaries of his bill, such as victims of heinous civil rights crimes, that his bill provides no resources as he promised and that the Senate has no plans to pass appropriations bills this year to fund their cause?

A quick survey of the Majority Leader’s press releases shows that he believes authorizations do matter, particularly if they go to Nevada. I believe Senator Reid’s press releases, which don’t treat authorizations as a vague contingency. I share Reid’s view, and the view of most honest observers, that authorization bills are a serious intent to spend real money. Plus, my colleagues know that authorizations often open the door to spending far in excess of authorized amounts, such as with the PEPFAR program that received appropriations double the amount of its authorized level last year.

If Senator Reid would simply agree to pay for his new programs most of his package would pass today. He could even maintain his belief that authorizations don’t matter. If my de-authorizations are budget neutral why oppose them?

The Majority Leader can attempt to file cloture on his “Coburn Omnibus,” but he can’t file cloture on economic reality. Sooner or later, he and every member of Congress will be forced to confront an economic day of reckoning that will arrive, whether we like it or not.

Sites like RedState have already proven their ability to influence the outcome of critical public debates, and your ability to adapt and improve, such as with RedState 3.0, will only increase the importance of your role in the public square in coming years.

The genius of RedState and other sites isn’t so much that you have discovered new ideas but that you are using new technologies to communicate ideas that have always been true and have always worked. When Congress’ experiments with socialism – such as government-run health care – are washed away by the demographic tsunami of retiring Baby Boomers, RedState will be a tool the American people can use to put our economy and representative government back together again. The principles of limited government and freedom RedState steadfastly defends are the ideas that have always worked in our country.

RedState is already doing a heroic job of encouraging Republicans to behave like Republicans. What that task is ultimately about is forcing members of Congress to follow their oath to the Constitution and to not go beyond the limit enumerated powers outlined in the Constitution.

In recent years, revisionists in both parties have misused the Constitution to justify a ‘blank check’ approach to spending and earmarking. James Madison, the father of the Constitution, had this to say about the “blank check” philosophy of government: “With respect to the words general welfare, I have always regarded them as qualified by the detail of [enumerated] powers connected with them. To take them in a literal and unlimited sense would be a metamorphosis of the Constitution into a character which there is a host of proofs was not contemplated by its creators.”

America’s future is at risk precisely because career politicians in both parties have created vast programs and bureaucracies that were never contemplated by our founders. Congress will never put our nation back on a sustainable course until the people rise up and take their government back. RedState will continue to do our country, particularly the next generation of Americans, a tremendous service by making politicians in Washington exceedingly uncomfortable when they push the role of federal government beyond the limited powers outlined in our Constitution.

Congrats on your re-launch. America will thank you even if Washington does not.