In a first-time run for political office, I finished a strong second place against GOP incumbent for U.S. Congressional District 4, Tom McClintock. Starting as a virtual unknown, I received 49,473 votes, or approximately 36% of the total. I will face McClintock in the general election on Tuesday, November 6.

With a handful of committed volunteers and very little funding, our campaign took on an incumbent career politician with statewide name recognition and pulled more than 35% of the vote,” Uppal said. “We believe that proves that many voters of District 4 would welcome an alternative to the self-serving actions and ineffective leadership Tom McClintock represents. Now we just need to let the rest of them know they have a choice.

I saw an interesting comment on an internet story about who the real job creators are in this country - it’s the middle class. That commentator is totally correct. We have had some of the lowest tax rates on businesses and individuals over the past 12 years, and yet job creation has been meager. Only a vibrant and confident middle class in America is capable of creating the demand which will lead to true job creation. If we look at the income of middle class families over the past 30 years, it’s been flat, and the downturn over the past 4 years has been devastating. So, if we want real job creation, let’s stimulate the real job creators - the middle class. 

Picture our nation as being on a raft careening towards a giant waterfall.  Our politicians have the oars, but some are steering our raft towards the right bank and some towards the left bank.  As a result, we are still heading towards the abyss.  Working together, we’ve got more than enough power to steer us upstream and move our country away from peril. But our Representatives see blaming others and refusing to work together as more important than steering our nation away from the certain catastrophe that lies ahead. We must elect moderate candidates who will do what is right to get our country back on course.
 
Great decisions in our nation have often come out of great, impassioned debates, but many of our representatives are still stuck debating ideology. They place their sacred dogma ahead of country by refusing to come together.  Richard Mourdock, who defeated Senator Richard Lugar in the Indiana GOP primary, has argued for even more partisanship, saying, “…if there's going to be bipartisanship, it's going to be the Democrats coming our way.” This divide exists on both sides of the political spectrum, with many Democratic and Republican Representatives unwilling to address their sacred issues. 

Meanwhile, our economy is in the worst downturn in over half a century, our unemployment rate is still unacceptably high, our national debt is at an all-time high and climbing, and student loans are set to sharply increase interest rates unless Congress acts.
 
Meanwhile, who suffers? Our children that rely on these loans suffer. Our Seniors who depend on Congress to make sure Medicare and Social Security is secure, and business big and small who need to plan for their future. We need Congress to act on the transportation bill, jobs bills, and the federal budget.  Yet nothing is getting done.
 
Nothing will get done unless we cleanse the toxic partisanship in Congress by removing staunch ideologues and electing more moderate candidates.  It will take moderates to put country over politics, and move our economy forward.  Overwhelmingly, we prefer to our representative to work with both parties, as opposed to being an ideologue that accomplishes nothing.  At a time when moderates like Olympia Snow are leaving Congress in disgust over the poisonous partisan environment, we must ensure more moderates are elected to Congress if we are to get anything accomplished over the next two years.
 
Senator Lugar, in his farewell message, said, “Bipartisanship is not the opposite of principle.”  As a candidate for Congress, I have my principles too.  My principles are for the prosperity and well being of all the American people, for economic, technological, and military strength in America, and for equal opportunities for all Americans to better their lives. To the extent that these principles are shared by Republicans and Democrats, I will be able to work with them. Those that have their hands tied by an assortment of pledges and party purity can not move our country forward. For the sake of our nation, I implore you to ask your friends across this nation to elect moderates into our Congress, and for you to elect me, Jack Uppal, to Congress representing California’s 4th district.