The "Change the laws, bend the laws, and break the laws" philosophy of the Republican leadership in Washington has spawned more and more investigations and indictments, and the people of this country deserve better. As the chief prosecutor for Minnesota's largest county, I know what it means to take on the rich and powerful when they break the laws, whether they are CEOs or judges. Running an office of nearly 400 people, I know what it means to put people in power based on merit, not on connections. And as a public servant called on to make tough calls everyday, I know what it means to make decisions without fear or favor.

Abraham Lincoln called this country to service in the Gettysburg address when he heralded our democracy as "government of the people, by the people, and for the people." Well in just six years, one-party rule, lobbyist-legislating, and power grabs in Washington have taken those historic words and turned them on their head: we are now a government of the lobbyists, by the lobbyists and for the lobbyists.

It's time to restore integrity to Washington. We need to send a message to Republicans in Washington that the days of backroom deals and back scratching are over.

This administration has turned a government of the people into a government where critical jobs and government contracts have gone to cronies and contributors.

The Republican leadership in Washington has taken a government by the people and turned it into a government where lobbyists are routinely invited into closed backrooms of Congress and the White House and given pen and paper to write the laws.

One party rule in Washington has converted a government for the people into a government that gives away huge tax breaks for the wealthiest among us with government officials taking perks and trips from those who lobby them.

Sign my Petition to Put People First Today!

I want to bring Minnesota values of hard work, fair play and responsibility to Washington--the core values that Frist, Delay, Rove, and Abramoff and their pals have benched on the sidelines. To end the abuses of one-party rule, lobbyist-legislating, and power grabs motivated by greed, we need to put the people first in the halls of Congress. As a start, we need to change the rules of their game:

(1) Elect leaders who put their country first by putting people in positions of authority based on merit rather than campaign contributions (No more heads of FEMA whose last previous experience was heading up the Arabian Horse Association);

(2) Expose lobbyists and their dollars by requiring better disclosure of lobbyists' roles in the legislative process including immediate disclosure of lobbyist information on the internet (when the prescription drug companies spend over $700 million in one year lobbying to get what they want, don't you want to know what they're doing today?);

(3) Limit travel, tickets, and entertainment and do it right (People shouldn't be going on golf trips to Scotland in exchange for their votes and their help); and(4) End special treatment for lobbyists (how come some of them get to go onto the floor of the chamber and you don't?).

It's time to return our democracy to a "government of the people, by the people, and for the people."