Next I must acknowledge my family. Let me start with my wife Debra Parks Root.Talk about blessings! She is a stunningly beautiful and brilliant wife, mother, and partner. She is college educated, with a master’s and PhD in Homeopathy (the science of healthy living and holistic healing). She speaks five languages. She’s a former Miss Oklahoma, and a former lead singer for music legends like Ginger Baker and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Too good to be true? I’m just getting warmed up. She’s a gourmet cook and a spiritual dynamo (she comes from a family of devoted, selfless Christian ministers and missionaries). Many men say that their wives are the perfect wives and mothers. Debra really is. She gave up all the beauty contests, stadiums full of music fans, and a television-acting career, to be Mrs. Wayne Root; to be my rock, and to be the mother of Dakota, Hudson, Remington, and Contessa; and to serve as CEO of the Root household. That frees me to follow my passions: write books, host TV and radio shows, create and run businesses, and spread my message of economic and personal freedom across this country. Debra makes it easy to be me—because she does everything else! All I have to do is show up and be me. God has blessed me—and Debra is the ultimate blessing.

Then there are the wonderful children that Debra has created, raised, and educated. My daughter Dakota has been a source of joy to me from the first day of her birth. I am proud of her talents—she can out-talk and out-debate her father (a pretty fair debater); she’s beautiful like her mother; and she is a world-class scholar and athlete. She earned her black belt at age 15, and has qualified for multiple fencing junior Olympics, nationals and international World Cup events (representing the United States). But the proudest moment of my life was when Dakota gave the Libertarian presidential nominating speech for her father on C-Span. In front of a live audience at the Libertarian convention and a national television viewing audience, my 16-year-old daughter showed poise, class, and communication skills that would shame any veteran, polished, political leader. She hit a home run out of the ball-park. Don’t take my word for it—Google “Dakota Root” and watch her speech. Remember the name Dakota Root. In about 20 years (or sooner) she will be a star on the U.S. political scene.

But Dakota is not the only special Root. Nine-year-old Hudson and five-year-old Remington Reagan (named after my hero President Ronald Reagan) are both smart-as-a-whip, strong-as-a-bull, macho daddy’s boys, who love to start their days by roughhousing with yours truly.

We start our days with football, car racing, tackling on the living room floor, and morning walks together. When you put Daddy, Hudson, and Remington together it spells testosterone.

And then there’s the new baby of the family—Contessa Churchill Antoinette Root. She is one year old (as I write this book) and she is the apple of daddy’s eye. I bound out of bed every morning to see Contessa playing in her crib. She makes daddy melt with one look of her dazzling smile! Dakota, Hudson, Remington Reagan, and Contessa are the lights of my life.

Speaking of best friends and family, there are a few close friends that must be acknowledged here. Doug Miller is at the top of any list. Best friend, mentor, and my loyal business partner for many years (he is now retired). He was the first adult who ever believed in me, and my talents. Without his counsel, advice, and wisdom, I could not and would not be where I am today. Roger Harrison is the best friend any man could have. He is the finest, fairest, and most honest individual I’ve ever met. Our discussions about politics have been a great source of joy, education, and entertainment for me for many years. But most importantly, he is “Uncle Roger” to my children. Hollis “Harvard” Barnhart has been by my side as friend, advisor, executive of my many entrepreneurial ventures, and, of course,“poker-player-extraordinaire.” Last but certainly not least is my attorney and trusted advisor Lee Sacks. Lee is that rarest of the rare—a true spiritual warrior. Lee is another business associate who has grown into a beloved member of my family. Every significant deal of my life has been done with Lee Sacks at my side. These friends are the heart and soul of Team Root. I love you all like brothers.

Other family members who must be acknowledged: my in-laws Ralph and Martha Parks, who after the death of my parents literally just took over as my mom and dad. Married more than 50 years, they are the reason Debra is a world-class wife and mother.They moved two blocks away from us to be in their grandchildren’s lives on a daily basis. If my life sounds like a fairy tale—it is! The Parks family is the reason why. Many people talk about God and spirituality.The Parks family lives it. Thanks also to my sister Lori Brown and her husband Doug, and my siblings-in-law Minister Charlie and Darla Finnochiaro, and to my parents David and Stella Root, and grandparents Simon and Meta Reis. They are all up in heaven, but I feel their wisdom, motivation, and presence in my life every day. They were the original foundation in my life. I think of them often.

Now, to a few business acknowledgments: First, my publisher and editor at John Wiley & Sons: Debra Englander and Kelly O’Connor.

I am forever grateful for your faith, professionalism, work ethic, and teamwork. Wiley is the finest publisher I have had the honor of working with. I am forever grateful to my literary agent, Nancy Ellis—I call her my bulldog. She is the most tenacious and relentless person I’ve ever met—other than me, of course! She was responsible for getting me book deals on both Millionaire Republican (Tarcher/Penguin, 2005) and (after my political conversion) The Conscience of a Libertarian. Thank you, Nancy, for helping turn a Las Vegas odds maker and small businessman into a nationally recognized political author. And special thanks must go to my trusted publicist Sandy Frazier, who has landed me nonstop national media appearances for many years now. Sandy has taken my raw talent and molded me into a national television political pundit. Sandy is also relentless; she never gives up until she achieves her goal (which just happens to be my goal, too). I seem to attract relentless dynamos into my life!

Now to the talented team that has encouraged, empowered, and energized me as I wrote this book.Very few politicians write their own books. I’m proud to report that I wrote every word of this book—with no co-author or ghostwriter. But I had help from some very special people who read, reread, suggested, added, subtracted, and analyzed every word in this book. I could not have written this book without the heroic efforts of Aaron Starr, my Libertarian political guru, advisor, wordsmith, and trusted counselor. Thank you, Aaron, for all your efforts from the day I declared my intensions to run for the Libertarian presidential nomination, through my vice presidential campaign, and through the long days of writing this book.Your efforts were invaluable and greatly appreciated. Others who contributed so greatly to this book were Doug Miller, Roger Harrison, Hollis “Harvard” Barnhart, Doug Bandow (the policy advisor to the Barr/Root campaign), Kip Herraige (of Wealth Masters), John Lester,, and Tim Claiborne. Each of them added invaluable words, themes, and ideas to this book. Then there’s my wife Debra and daughter Dakota who each spent far too many hours reading the raw manuscript for this book and made countless suggestions. What a “Dream Team.”

Other key players at Team Root who must be acknowledged: Doug Fleming, my high school principal back in New Rochelle, New York, 25 years ago. Doug and I have a truly unique relationship. How many students count their high school principal as a close friend a quarter century later? People often talk about a favorite educator who changed their life and inspired their success. In my lifetime that one favorite educator who made such a difference in my life was Doug Fleming (along with Annemarie and all my wonderful friends at Thornton Donovan School). I must also recognize Joe Sugarman, a man I consider a trusted friend and mentor. Joe is one of smartest, savviest, most creative and successful marketing experts in the history of U.S. business. I’ve learned so much from the endless reservoir of knowledge that Joe possesses. I am blessed to count him as a friend. I hope to learn from him for many years to come.

Special thanks are owed to two professionals who have been with me forever. First to my trusted webmaster and web guru for so many years—Will Habdas. When you look up loyal, brilliant, creative and tech savvy in the dictionary—Will’s picture is there. He has designed and run all of my web sites for many years. Allyn Moskowitz deserves special mention here too as my loyal and dedicated accountant and friend for over 20 years.

I am forever indebted to a few very special Libertarian political gurus whose support and counsel led to the birth of many ideas in this book: First and foremost is Congressman Bob Barr, my Presidential running mate. It was a great honor learning how to run a national political campaign, at the side of a true patriot. I hope this country appreciates Bob Barr and all he has done for us. I must also thank Aaron Starr (again), Manny Klausner, M. Carling, Bruce Cohen, Martha DeForest, Mark Schreiber, Jeff Dimit, and Scott Lieberman. Without their help, I would never have become a vice presidential nominee. Also, I am forever indebted for the political support of many Libertarian leaders. Let me mention a few that mean so much to me: Kevin Knedler, Lou Jasikoff, Travis Nicks, Kevin Takenaga, Steve Kubby, Stewart Flood, Bill Redpath (Chairman of the Libertarian Party), Richard Burke, Peter Beary, and Sam Goldstein. Outside of the Libertarian party, I owe a debt of gratitude for the political friendship, counsel, and support of Rick Williams, Chuck Muth, Matt Brooks, Kieran Mahoney, Larry Greenfield, Jake Witmer and Eric Dondero (whose original blog that recommended me for the Libertarian presidential nomination got me started on this long journey).

I owe a debt of gratitude to business supporters like George Abraham, Wil Rondini, Richard Spring, Monte Weiner, Steve and Charlene Richman, Fred Zeidman, Tim Connolly, Tim Keating, Petar Lasic, Steve Carlston, Jeff and Erica Combs, Jeff Peterman, Danny Goldberg, Rudy Ruettiger, Bruce Merrin, Kevin Hogan, Bobby Consentino. Robert Ringer (the author who inspired my writing career), and my great friends from Wealth Masters International Kip Herraige and Karl Bessey. I thank all of you for your support, friendship, hard work, and generosity. These remarkable people have always been there when I needed them. And I will always be there for you.

Some media personalities who must be mentioned and thanked for their support and generosity include Neil Cavuto (host of Your World and Cavuto), who has featured my opinions so often at FOX News Channel and FOX Business; nationally syndicated radio hosts Michael Savage (host of Savage Nation), Mancow Muller (host of The Mancow Show), and Jerry Doyle (host of the Jerry Doyle Show) who have made me a regular part of their shows; KABC Los Angeles radio host Al Rantel, who was the first major radio personality in the country to feature me regularly on his show; Rita Cosby who has been such a big supporter; and Chris Ruddy, publisher of Newsmax, who has featured me on the pages of his popular conservative magazine and Newsmax. com web site so often. Extra special thanks are necessary for Mancow Muller, whose early support and nomination speech on my behalf at the Libertarian National Convention was instrumental in boosting my vice presidential nomination. Mancow Muller defines “class act.”

Finally, I must give thanks and acknowledgment to the critics. No statue has ever been built to honor a critic.You are the people who sit back and achieve, accomplish, and create absolutely nothing. You have the easiest job in the world—you just criticize and insult the creativity and work of others. But you do serve a purpose—you have inspired my success every step of the way.To all of you who didn’t see the spark, didn’t recognize my potential, never acknowledged my talents, criticized me or attempted to humiliate me—you have been a valuable resource toward my success! Thank you. It is you who produced my energy, enthusiasm, passion, commitment, tenacity, fire, drive, and determination. It was your inspiration that led to the publication and success of this book. It is your ignorant and mean-spirited words that make me relentless!

Who am I? I was the 2008 Libertarian Party vice presidential nominee. Today I am a leading contender for the 2012 Libertarian presidential nomination. But those are just titles.Who I am? I am an S.O.B.—a blue-collar son of a butcher—just what the United States so desperately needs right now.

I’m not some fancy Ivy League lawyer, with the perfect resume, running for president. Actually, my resume defines the phrase “breaking the status quo.”

I’m a small businessman, a second-generation U.S. citizen, a home-school father of four young children, the quintessential citizen politician, just what the Founding Fathers envisioned back in 1776. I’m also the first-ever Nevadan on a presidential ticket—my adopted home-town is Las Vegas, Nevada. And I’m a big-mouthed New Yorker (born and raised) with a chip on my shoulder and a strong, loud, colorful, passionate opinion on most every issue. I will forever be my father’s son—a rebel with a pitchfork, or in my case, a meat cleaver.

I’m also a college classmate of our new President Barack Obama. We both graduated Columbia University on the same day in 1983, from the same class, both political science majors, both pre-Law. That’s where our paths diverged. Obama’s world revolved from that day forward around Chicago, Illinois. My life revolves around Las Vegas, Nevada. Never have there been two such contrasting polar opposites. Nevada represents smaller government, among the lowest taxes in the United States, entrepreneurship, personal and economic freedom, and personal responsibility. Conversely, Chicago represents big government, big unions, corrupt politicians, high taxes, high murder rates, and strict gun control—a “Nanny State.”

No, Nevada is not a place that big-government-loving Beltway Insiders like Barack Obama understand. I’m about as far from a Beltway Insider as you get. I’m not a lobbyist. I’m not a lawyer. I’m not a career politician or bureaucrat. I’m not an establishment insider. As a matter of fact, in my entire life, I’ve only stepped foot in Washington, DC, three times and that was as a citizen parent proudly showing and teaching my children the history of this country I love so much. I’ve never worked for local, state, or federal government. I’ve never done business with government. I’ve never taken a check from government, other than an IRS refund of my own money, or a student loan (which I paid back in full, with interest).

What I am is the same as all of you—a taxpaying citizen of these United States of America. I’m a proud member of that small group of entrepreneurs and businesspeople who actually creates most of the jobs and pays most of the taxes in this country. Small business is the economic engine of the United States. We have created the majority of all nongovernment jobs in the United States, and 75 percent of all new jobs. We’re the group that pays for others to live the American Dream. We work the long hours and pay the taxes that allow government to hire all the unnecessary government employees, pay for their bloated pensions, and keep expanding government programs. We may dislike government, but ironically, we pay for it all!

The fact is that almost everyone lives off the small group of us who daily put our money, energy, and talents on the line to create and expand our businesses. While liberal politicians pollute the air by talking nonstop about the problems of health insurance, we actually pay the health insurance for tens of millions of U.S. workers. When you hear experts talk about the wasteful spending and outrageous earmarks in Congress, we’re the group that pays for it all.

We’re also the group that pays for the legal bribery called “corporate welfare.” When government gives away more than $100 billion per year in corporate welfare to special interest groups, it’s our tax money being wasted. We’re the group that pays the tab for the special interest cabal in DC—all the lobbyists, lawyers, and defense contractors who legally bribe the politicians by the millions, so their clients can fleece the system by the billions. We’re the group that paid for the trillion dollar wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.We’re the group that paid for the trillion dollar Wall Street banking bailout of 2008—the greatest taxpayer rip-off in history. We’re the group that paid for Obama’s first big act as president—his trillion dollar economic stimulus plan.You know, the one who gave tax cuts to people who don’t pay taxes in the first place. We not only paid for it with our blood, sweat, tears, and taxes, but most of us won’t even share in it.You see, small business owners make too much money according to politicians like Obama, so we don’t get a stimulus check. We pay for it, but the checks don’t go to us. We create most of the jobs, but the politicians think that we must be punished for our hard work and success.

Government tends to forget (or purposely ignore) our contributions—without our tax dollars, there are no “pet projects” or earmarks or wars or entitlements. Taxpayers are the heroes who make it all possible. And small business owners form the solid foundation of the taxpayers union. I know what you’re thinking—there is no taxpayers union. Well there should be.We’re the group that is “too big to fail.”We’re the group that needs a union to fight taxation without representation. Government tends to forget that it’s our money in the first place. Politicians tend to forget that without taxpayers there could be no government. Without businesspeople there would be no taxpayers. So, how does government choose to treat those of us who risk all we have to create the wealth that pays the freight for everyone else? They tax us more! They punish us for our efforts.

As a child I understood the meaning of the nursery rhyme, “Jack and the Bean Stalk.” Only a fool would kill the golden goose. But, that is exactly what government is doing. Inch by inch, or more properly, a percent here, a percent there, and the golden goose is being strangled. And, once the goose is dead there are no more golden eggs. As one of my heroes Ronald Reagan once said, “Government is not the solution, government is the problem.”

It would be funny if it weren’t the truth.Think about it. Government wants half of your money when you succeed—even though they never helped you one bit. They never risked a dime. They never worked late. They never helped you with your payroll or health insurance. And where is the government when you fail? When you’re close to going out of business, is that same 50/50 partner there to help you? When you need a loan to stay in business, does the government agree to personally guarantee half of it? (I guess if your company employed enough union workers they might.) When you go bankrupt, are they there to hand you back half your losses? What exactly do they do for you to deserve that 50 percent cut of your profits? When the Mafia asks for 10 percent in return for providing “protection,” that’s called extortion. They go to jail for that crime for many years. But when the government asks for 50 percent and provides nothing in return, that’s called legal taxation. It’s all a matter of how you word it.

But the best example of the incompetence of government and the folly of depending on big government to improve your life, to save your life, to come up with solutions to save the economy, to best decide what to do with your money, is again found in my home state of Nevada. In Nevada, prostitution is legal in certain rural counties—the only place in the United States with legalized prostitution. The most famous brothel ever was the Mustang Ranch run by Joe Conforte. Mr. Conforte made more than $100 million, and paid taxes on very little of his fortune. He was indicted for income tax evasion and escaped to Brazil as a fugitive from the U.S. government. The IRS seized the Mustang Ranch and rather than selling it, decided to keep running it. In less than a year, under government management, the same brothel that produced profits of more than $100 million went broke! Bankrupt. Out of business. Can you imagine? The federal government can’t even run a brothel!!!

Yet we allow the same corrupt, incompetent government to run our economy and our schools. Is it any wonder that our children and educational standards are rapidly falling far behind the rest of the world? And now, this same incompetent government appears to have convinced the public to let the government run our health care system as well. How can we possibly even be considering it? How can you want government to keep even more of your money? Do you think they’ll make better decisions with your money than you would? Do you think they’ll choose the best doctors for your family? Do you think they’ll make the right medical decisions to save your life? Do you want them to control your life—to decide what you do in your bedroom, what choices you make on your computer, what shows you’re allowed to watch on TV?

Do you want government to solve the banking crisis? These are the people who caused the crisis in the first place. Then these same people claimed they had the solution to that banking crisis. They gave away several trillion dollars in bailouts, and things got worse. Credit tightened further. Housing continued to spiral downward. Businesses closed by the tens of thousands. Jobs are lost by the hundreds of thousands per month. So did government have the solution? Do you want the people who brainstormed the bailout to bring us more solutions? With friends like that, who needs enemies? These are the people who hand billions of dollars of taxpayer money to banks—with no oversight, and no stipulations. Then those banks turn around and deny us (the citizens and taxpayers) credit, or home loans, because they claim our credit is shaky. Really? Well, what was the credit rating of the banks when they stood at the brink of bankruptcy, on their knees, begging Uncle Sam to rescue them? How could they deny us credit, or reduce our credit, when they only survived based on a loan from our tax money?

Do you want to put the people who ran the post-Iraq war planning . . . Hurricane Katrina . . . the Great Society war on poverty . . . the Walter Reed hospital crisis, in control of your life? Do you want Eliot Spitzer, the same guy who prosecuted Wall Street executives for minor crimes while he was frequenting illegal prostitutes, to define morality for you? Do you want Mark Foley deciding whether your moral behavior is legal or not—while he sends suggestive messages to male pages on Capitol Hill? Do you want Congressman Barney Frank overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac while he points fingers at everyone—everyone, that is, except his lover who ran the programs at Fannie Mae that helped to bankrupt the housing and banking industry? If the Republicans had taken control of Congress, Frank would undoubtedly have been investigated and quite possibly forced to resign. Instead he has become one of the most powerful politicians in Congress—a man with the power to control our economic future—amazing. Absolutely amazing! Is this the change you were looking for?

If your answer to these questions is no, then you’d better stand up now and start doing something about it today—tomorrow may be too late. And, unfortunately, “doing something about it” no longer means you can vote for the other, out-of-power political party. The fact is, the two major political parties, the Democrats and the Republicans, have morphed into what can best be called “The Big Brother Bureaucracy.” Sadly, a vote for either Republicans or Democrats is a vote for more of the same: bigger government, more power for government, more government spending, and far less power for the people.

The government doesn’t have the solution. They are the problem.

My paternal grandfather Louis Root arrived at Ellis Island from Russia and died a sad, unnecessary death in the poor ward of a Brooklyn hospital. He left behind seven children (including my father) and a wife with no assets or income. But my grandmother, Anna Root, never took a penny in welfare or entitlements in her entire life. Those seven young children all went to work (my dad shined shoes on the streets of Brooklyn). Later in life, those seven loving and grateful children each chipped in to pay for my grandmother’s retirement. Through sheer determination, tenacity, and personal responsibility, that young, immigrant family survived and thrived, without asking government for help.

They did it for their own survival, but more than that they did it for their children and their children’s children—it’s called pursuing the American Dream. And, today here I am, the beneficiary of their hard work and sacrifice living the American Dream. What a great country the United States is. Today, virtually every grandchild of my paternal grandparents, Louis and Anna Root, and my maternal grandparents, Simon and Meta Reis, is an educated contributing member of society. Today, in three generations’ time, as the grandchild of penniless immigrants, as the son of a blue-collar butcher, I have achieved business and personal success—and most remarkably earned the Libertarian Party’s nomination for Vice President of the United States. Only in America.

As an experienced small businessman and citizen-politician, my vision of how to achieve the American Dream is different from that of most politicians.You see, I don’t think Beltway Insiders, politicians, or government bureaucrats have anything to do with achieving that dream—at least nothing positive. The American Dream isn’t about entitlements or handouts. It isn’t about lawyers or lawsuits. It isn’t about affirmative action or quotas. It is about one thing—freedom. It is about the freedom to pursue your dreams without government interference or persecution; the freedom to let talent, smarts, and hard work determine your level of success in a free market capitalist society; the freedom to keep more of your own money, without the government choosing to punish your success and redistribute it to others. It is up to the individual U.S. citizen, as it has always been, to achieve the American Dream. If it is to be, it is up to me. Government has no positive part in this dream—the only role of government should be to get out of the way.

I guess this background of mine—with the butcher father and grandfather, with my ownership of small businesses—fuels this burning passion of mine to change government, to limit its size and scope and power, to give power back to the people, just as the Founding Fathers intended. It fuels my Don Quixote-like journey to win the White House someday, so that someone represents the people, instead of the lawyers, lobbyists, big unions, and big corporations. It’s a long shot, but hey what were the odds that a B-movie actor who played second fiddle to a chimp named Bonzo would become president? My hero Ronald Reagan tilted at windmills, too. My goal may be crazy, it may be a long shot, it may be laughable to liberals like Obama, but I’m a street fighter from the mean streets of New York. And I’ve never backed down from a fight in my life.This is the fight of my life.This is the fight I was born to lead. I won’t rest until I win the battle to get respect and representation for the taxpayers. I won’t rest until I get government out of the way and give the power and control back to the people.

Because of my background, I look at things from a completely different perspective than our new president. Even though we graduated in the same class at Columbia University, and got there in similar ways (both of our young lives were saved and shaped by our grandparents), I’m fighting a completely different battle than Obama. I’m representing a completely different group. As a small businessman, I have seen (and experienced) up close and personal the damage lawyers due to business. I call them “job killers.” I have seen the damage that government bureaucrats have done to business. I have seen the damage that taxes do to small business owners. I see the daily struggle for small business owners to survive in spite of government, not because of it. I consciously chose not to go to law school when I graduated Columbia. I chose to start businesses, to risk my own money on my ideas and passions. I chose to live in a low-tax state like Nevada, so I could keep more of my own money and make my own decisions about what to do with it. My choices and decisions could not have been more polar opposite than Obama’s. But I discuss those choices in detail in a later chapter.

I guess by the standards of Obama, and the ultraliberal media, and the big-government-loving Beltway politicians, lobbyists, and bureaucrats, I’m completely unqualified to lead this great nation. But those big government snobs will be surprised to find out that I agree with them. I am unqualified to run the U.S. government. At least by the standards of the bums who have been running it into the ground for decades. They are the very people who have bankrupted our economy and crippled our country with debt for generations to come.

Thank goodness I’m not qualified to run this bloated, wasteful, arrogant Nanny State government. Who wants someone “qualified” in charge who has done all this damage to the average U.S. citizen, voter, and taxpayer?

There is no better example of the damage done by politicians to taxpayers and the U.S. economy than the amazing story of the Congressional Effect Fund. This Wall Street mutual fund is run by a friend of mine, Eric Singer. Eric has studied the effects of Congress on the U.S. economy over the last half century. Since 1964, every time Congress is in session, the stock market goes up an average of 1.7 percent. During that same period, when Congress is not in session, the stock market is up an average of 17.7 percent. Amazing! Concrete proof of the damage that politicians do to the U.S. economy. The Congressional Effect Fund provides the answer to the question, “How do you know when a politician is doing damage to the economy?” The answer, “When he’s sitting in his seat in Congress.”

It’s time for a change. “Business as usual” has led us to the point where 90 percent of Americans are dissatisfied with government; where 90 percent of Americans believe our country is on the “wrong track.”¹ Who could possibly want more of the same? I’m proud to be nothing like the bums who now occupy all levels of government. The only thing they are qualified for is to continue to lead us straight down the path of debt, deficit, bankruptcy, and loss of freedom and individual rights.

I neither need, nor want, to be “qualified” by standards of the liberal media or Beltway Insiders to accomplish my goals.You see, my goals are very different from the current leaders of our government. I don’t want to run government. I don’t want to expand government. I don’t want to grow government. I don’t want to manage government.

I only want to dismantle it—bring it down to a size where it is responsive to the people and is capable of being efficiently and effectively managed.

I want to dramatically cut the power, size, and scope of all levels of government. I may be the only politician in history who actually wants to make my office less important, less powerful, and less visible—certainly one of the only politicians since our Founding Fathers. The Founding Fathers—Jefferson, Washington, Madison, Adams—were small businessmen. They were home-school fathers. They were citizen politicians, not career politicians. They were schooled in what happens when government gets too big and too powerful and too controlling; they saw it all up close and personal at the foot and muzzle of the British King and his army of ruthless tyrants.

As a student of the American Revolution, I understand only too well the lessons our Founding Fathers learned about big government. I have not forgotten their sacrifices. I have not forgotten or forsaken the Constitution they were willing to fight and die for. I understand that the “taxation without representation” for which they fought a revolution to overturn is alive and well today. Their principles and ideals fuel my fire, my passion, my burning desire to revolt against the tyrants who run our government today. It fuels my desire to make government so small you could fit it into one line in the phone directory. I want to make government so unimportant, that you won’t even notice it’s missing. All I want to do is give the power back to the people.

For all that, I have the perfect qualifications. I’ll forever be the butcher’s son, a rebel with a meat cleaver, a maverick with a pitchfork, a Las Vegas small businessman with a chip on his shoulder. There’s never been a more qualified American to dramatically cut government down to size, to protect and uphold the constitution, and to restore our nation to the vision of our Founding Fathers. For all of those goals, I am uniquely qualified.

I can hear the snide comments coming all the way from Washington, DC—the “experts” and the media snobs and the lifelong government bureaucrats howling with laughter and smirking and slapping each other on the back. They’re saying, “A small businessman from Nevada thinks he can change Washington, DC?”They are falling over with laughter.

But the Beltway Insiders won’t be laughing for long. Maybe a Las Vegas odds maker is exactly what this country needs. In Vegas, you may lose your money, but at least you have a chance. No one cheated you. The game was fair. And even if you lose, you get free drinks and a nice room.You get entertained for your money.You walk away feeling good about your trip.

In Washington, DC, the game is rigged. The system is fixed—and it is fixed against you, the taxpayer. You don’t have a chance. You are screwed before you ever step foot in Washington, DC, and you don’t even get a free drink or a comped room. There is no entertainment. They fleece you, pick your pockets, kick you in the butt, and send you back home—with the laughter of lawyers, lobbyists, bureaucrats, unions and politicians ringing in your ears. I’ll take Vegas anytime. Nevada may allow legal prostitution, but the real pimps and whores wear nice suits and reside in Washington, DC.

No, I’m not your typical politician looking to win and retain power. I want no power over your life. I actually respect you—I think you’re smart enough to run your own life. I think you’re smart enough to keep your own money, and make your own decisions about what to do with it. I think you’re smart enough to figure out how to educate your own children. They’re your kids—you should decide how to best educate them.You should have the power to determine their futures. I’m actually willing to give you school choice and parental control. Can you imagine? I know this must baffle the media elite and Beltway Insiders.

I can hear the comments from the career bureaucrats right now: “You can’t let the people think for themselves? You cannot possibly let the common man or woman in the streets have control over their own lives? What this Root guy is proposing is dangerous to the people.” What they really mean is that this kind of thinking is dangerous to their power as government officials. Actually, this kind of thinking from our political leaders is nothing new. Thinking like this used to be prevalent and it is this kind of thinking from which our great democracy was born. Americans fought and died in a revolution to free ourselves from the grasp of political tyrants much less oppressive than our current government. The Boston Tea Party was an act of rebellion against a tax on tea, which was much less than most sales taxes today. Remember, there was no income tax. Working people kept their entire earnings in those days. What would the colonists’ reaction have been if the king had attempted to impose an income tax? They fought a revolution over a small sales tax on one product (tea)!

It is time for a new revolution—a citizen revolution led by a citizen politician. My goal may be considered “revolutionary” by today’s big government Nanny State standards. But, my philosophy is strictly based on the Constitution—you know, that silly bunch of words written by our Founding Fathers, the same words upon which our entire nation was founded. Just as our brilliant Founding Fathers intended, my goal on the day that I take office is to give the power back to you—the citizens and taxpayers. For that job, an S.O.B. (son of a butcher), small businessman, home-school dad—a citizen politician—who just happens to be an odds maker from Las Vegas, Nevada, is ideal.

Remember, my home state of Nevada is a place where the Constitution, including the Second Amendment, is respected; where personal and economic freedom is honored; where personal responsibility is encouraged; where state income tax, business income tax, and inheritance tax is zero; where income taxes are actually banned by our state constitution. It’s a place where property taxes are limited by law. It’s a place where big government is considered a foreign idea.

So here at this intersection of big government, big taxes, government bailouts of Wall Street, economic stimulus packages, government intrusion into every aspect of our lives, warrantless wiretaps of U.S. citizens, IRS undercover stings on U.S. taxpayers, redistribution of wealth, and, of course, the election of President Barack Obama, the biggest proponent of big government in U.S. political history stands the loyal opposition—W.A.R. (Wayne Allyn Root) and the Libertarian Party, “America’s Third Party.”

We are the party of rebels with pitchforks and meat cleavers; decent, hardworking U.S. taxpayers who despise government, lobbyists, lawyers, power brokers, corrupt union leaders, career politicians, and overpaid government bureaucrats. And I hope you’ll agree that we now have the ideal candidate—the anti-politician, anti-establishment, homeschooling, small businessman, proud gun owner, citizen politician. Some might call me the Anti-Obama.Yes, I am the loyal opposition to President Obama and his big-government, tax-and-spend ideology. But I’m also the anti-Bush, anti-Republican, anti-Democrat, anti-lobbyist, anti-lawyer, anti-corporate fat cats. I’m the equal opportunity anti-politician. Both parties have got one heck of a problem on their hands. It’s called a Citizen Revolution. And we have only just begun.