My Fellow Citizens:

With just over 70-days left until the 2006 general election, I sense you can hardly contain your excitement. Seriously though, low voter turn-out suggests that many take this noble and peaceful means of transferring power -- for granted.

But what's the source of this disenchantment? Is it complacency from living in the land of opportunity? Surely the war on terror, the health of the economy, or myriad social policy questions are compelling enough issues to raise voter interest.

So let's see, that leaves the choice of candidates or the two-party system as reasons for apathy, right? Why, for example, are congressional approval ratings at 12-year lows? Does it have more to do with the 2,000 cases of corruption under investigation by the FBI, or partisan infighting and legislative obstruction in the nation's capital?

Maybe it's the duration of campaigning or the huge sums of money required to consider public service that has you turned-off. Research indicates that the power of incumbency results in an average tenure of 5-terms in office. Of necessity these barriers to entry not only preclude our best and brightest, but they require today's politicians to either be aristocrats or the pawns of special interests.

And here are the questions that puzzle me the most...if conservatives control the majority of governorships, the White House and both houses of Congress, why are judicial nominees still being blocked, why can't we control our nation's borders, and why is federal spending still so out of control?

If these are the results, after 60-million "values voters" turned-out in 2004 to provide a conservative mandate, is it any wonder why some folks would rather just stay home on election day? Well if any of these reasons describe your source of disillusionment in the political process then take heart, there is a way to hold the two-party system more accountable.

Nothing gets the attention of "career" politicians like the mention of: non-partisan, independent, and term-limited public servants. If you'd like to learn more about how we can achieve platform independence, principled leadership, and process improvement in higher office, I invite you to visit www.tannerforsenate.com

There is a viable third alternative, for such a time as this.

Roy Tanner
for U.S. Senate

218 Velveteen Place
Oviedo, FL 32766-6002
phone: 407-620-7589
fax: 407-386-3028

http://www.tannerforsenate.com/