Loren Collins for Congress

*Pulls out the soapbox*

I've mentioned it before, and you've probably noticed the links on the left sidebar of this page, but I am running for Congress. No joke, the real, honest-to-goodness United States House of Representatives.

I've got the campaign website, campaign blog, an initial and ultra-cheap campaign ad, and I'm listed on Wikipedia. And we all know Wikipedia doesn't lie.

Granted, I'm only a write-in candidate in this election, but that's an unfortunate consequence of both election law and pragmatism. Running for a major party nomination would have been an exercise in futility with either party, and Georgia has remarkably restrictive ballot access laws for other candidates. Plus, there was the difference between the $4863 filing fee to be on the ballot, versus the $10 charge to be a write-in.

I realize that I'm lucky if there are a handful of Georgia Fourth District constituents among this blog's readership, but it is still a fantastic means of outreach. And write-ins (especially write-ins on limited budgets) benefit greatly from word of mouth.

So aside from petty matters like where I stand on the issues, and the fact that most of you can't actually vote for me, what reason is there to support me? What sets me apart?

• Whether you agree with me or not on a particular issue, I'd like to think that my posts on this blog illustrate my dedication to research, accuracy, and informed and persuasive argument. So even if we come down on opposite sides of an issue, you can at least trust that I got there honestly.


• People love the idea of grassroots campaigns, and campaigns don't get more grassroots than this one. Tired of Democratic and Republican shenanigans, Jim MacQuarrie and I are working together on launching the Bull Moose Party. I have no special interest connections, a miniscule campaigning budget by national standards, and a personal history so clean that you'd think I retcon-punched away all the bad stuff.


• I am a young and spry 28 years old. The average age of US House members is 55, possibly the oldest in US history. When some of the big issues of the day are Social Security, Medicare, and deficit spending, Congress needs younger voices taking part. Our generation has a direct interest in the consequences of federal decisions in these areas, because we will live out those consequences firsthand. For the average member of Congress, Social Security is something they're about to collect on; for me and my generation, it's something we're preparing to spend the next four decades funding.


• With all the recent talk of the power of bloggers, I'm a blogger who's actually making a stab at running for office myself. And unlike many candidates who attempt campaign blogs, I actually write my own posts.


• I imagine I'm the first comic blogger to run for Congress. In fact, there aren't many public officials who are known to be comic fans. Clarence Thomas is one, being a big fan of such books as Icon and the original Rawhide Kid. I've met Clarence Thomas, and do you know what we talked about? Comic books.


• And I can virtually guarantee that I will be the only Congressional candidate in the entire country to tackle the most pressing fictional political issue of our day: the Super Human Registration Act.

Now it's around Labor Day when election season typically kicks into high gear, and it's no different for me. That's why I'm sharing this here, on a blog that gets considerably more traffic than my campaign one right now. If you'd be willing to lend some support, I'd greatly appreciate it. More on that later, but for now, I'll leave you with this: