If you are a businessperson, you critically think about things and then go for it. There isn’t a lot of waiting around because time is money. When I traded, sometimes I found out in seconds. If I had to get a trade, I didn’t wait around. I went and got it. When I invested in companies, if there was one I liked, I didn’t wait for them to call me. I got on a plane or hopped in the car, and I went and saw them.

The same was true when I jumped into this race. I didn’t care who else was running. I had to decide if I was qualified, if I wanted the job, and then I jumped in. Like an entrepreneur, the pieces fell into place once I got a little traction.

In politics, you critically think about things. Then, you talk to a lot of people and think about them again with their input. Then, you talk to more people. Then, you socialize the idea a little. Then, maybe you go for it.

I remember when I was in Washington DC lobbying for CME. I asked the Chief of Staff for a Senator, “How do you know if you got anything done?” He said, “Most of the time, it takes years.”

Therein lies the frustration with John Thune and the SAVE Act.

All of us think like businesspeople. Thune isn’t a business guy. This is from his website. He is a career politician.

In 1991, then-Gov. George S. Mickelson appointed him to be state railroad director, a position he held until 1993, when he became executive director of the South Dakota Municipal League.

In 1996, with a shoestring budget and the support of family and friends, John won his first term as South Dakota’s lone member of the U.S. House of Representatives. John was re-elected to a second term by the largest margin in South Dakota history. He returned again to Washington in 2001 to serve his third term in the House.

John then honored his 1996 campaign pledge to serve only three terms in the House. After a narrow loss in a U.S. Senate race in 2002, he won his current Senate seat in 2004, when he made history by defeating a sitting Senate party leader for the first time in 52 years.

In 2010, John was elected to serve a second term in the Senate in a rare unopposed race. He was only the third Republican and the only South Dakotan to run unopposed for the Senate since direct elections were created in 1913. John was elected to a third term in 2016. In 2022, John became the second South Dakotan in history to be elected to a fourth term in the U.S. Senate.

I think that explains a lot. Almost 80% of us in America would like to see the SAVE Act get passed. Most of us Republicans would like to see Trump’s appointments get through the Senate. Thune isn’t budging.

That’s why we need fewer career politicians and more businesspeople in political positions. We act.

Here is a corollary to this in the private sector.

When you look at the makeup of venture funds, a lot of times, they are investor-led. They have a bunch of MBAs from top schools who might have been investment bankers or consultants at one time. Those funds are not as successful as funds with a different kind of makeup.

Tom Churchwell is a very veteran investor in Chicago. When I was in the process of putting together Hyde Park Angels, we had lunch. He said he had done a lot of research. Which funds were the most successful?

Not the ones with MBAs, consultants, and investment bankers. The successful ones combined 60% entrepreneurs who had built companies, and 40% banker/MBA/consultant class. That diversity allowed them to make better investments and be more active in helping companies grow.

I never forgot that.

I think we need to get rid of A LOT of career politicians in government. When one runs, we need to beat them now so they don’t get started. Some families, like the Murkowskis and Dingells, see it as a family coronation. What if we had a 60-40 split? Maybe more shit would get done that people wanted done.

I was having a conversation with an old friend who is supporting the campaign with his hard-earned dollars this morning. One of the things he is inspired by is that a civilian is going from what we did to political office. If I can do it, he can do it!

If I win, how many of you will think about giving it a try?

It doesn’t have to be a headliner office. It can be any office because, as we from the business world know, every level of government is sclerotic. Getting people like us in the office will grease the skids and make it work faster, better, and more efficiently for citizens.

The train is rolling. Donate and support the campaign here. Everyone pulling together on the rope helps.

If you are a businessperson, you critically think about things and then go for it. There isn’t a lot of waiting around because time is money. When I traded, sometimes I found out in seconds. If I had to get a trade, I didn’t wait around. I went and got it. When I invested in companies, if there was one I liked, I didn’t wait for them to call me. I got on a plane or hopped in the car, and I went and saw them.

The same was true when I jumped into this race. I didn’t care who else was running. I had to decide if I was qualified, if I wanted the job, and then I jumped in. Like an entrepreneur, the pieces fell into place once I got a little traction.

In politics, you critically think about things. Then, you talk to a lot of people and think about them again with their input. Then, you talk to more people. Then, you socialize the idea a little. Then, maybe you go for it.

I remember when I was in Washington DC lobbying for CME. I asked the Chief of Staff for a Senator, “How do you know if you got anything done?” He said, “Most of the time, it takes years.”

Therein lies the frustration with John Thune and the SAVE Act.

All of us think like businesspeople. Thune isn’t a business guy. This is from his website. He is a career politician.

In 1991, then-Gov. George S. Mickelson appointed him to be state railroad director, a position he held until 1993, when he became executive director of the South Dakota Municipal League.

In 1996, with a shoestring budget and the support of family and friends, John won his first term as South Dakota’s lone member of the U.S. House of Representatives. John was re-elected to a second term by the largest margin in South Dakota history. He returned again to Washington in 2001 to serve his third term in the House.

John then honored his 1996 campaign pledge to serve only three terms in the House. After a narrow loss in a U.S. Senate race in 2002, he won his current Senate seat in 2004, when he made history by defeating a sitting Senate party leader for the first time in 52 years.

In 2010, John was elected to serve a second term in the Senate in a rare unopposed race. He was only the third Republican and the only South Dakotan to run unopposed for the Senate since direct elections were created in 1913. John was elected to a third term in 2016. In 2022, John became the second South Dakotan in history to be elected to a fourth term in the U.S. Senate.

I think that explains a lot. Almost 80% of us in America would like to see the SAVE Act get passed. Most of us Republicans would like to see Trump’s appointments get through the Senate. Thune isn’t budging.

That’s why we need fewer career politicians and more businesspeople in political positions. We act.

Here is a corollary to this in the private sector.

When you look at the makeup of venture funds, a lot of times, they are investor-led. They have a bunch of MBAs from top schools who might have been investment bankers or consultants at one time. Those funds are not as successful as funds with a different kind of makeup.

Tom Churchwell is a very veteran investor in Chicago. When I was in the process of putting together Hyde Park Angels, we had lunch. He said he had done a lot of research. Which funds were the most successful?

Not the ones with MBAs, consultants, and investment bankers. The successful ones combined 60% entrepreneurs who had built companies, and 40% banker/MBA/consultant class. That diversity allowed them to make better investments and be more active in helping companies grow.

I never forgot that.

I think we need to get rid of A LOT of career politicians in government. When one runs, we need to beat them now so they don’t get started. Some families, like the Murkowskis and Dingells, see it as a family coronation. What if we had a 60-40 split? Maybe more shit would get done that people wanted done.

I was having a conversation with an old friend who is supporting the campaign with his hard-earned dollars this morning. One of the things he is inspired by is that a civilian is going from what we did to political office. If I can do it, he can do it!

If I win, how many of you will think about giving it a try?

It doesn’t have to be a headliner office. It can be any office because, as we from the business world know, every level of government is sclerotic. Getting people like us in the office will grease the skids and make it work faster, better, and more efficiently for citizens.

The train is rolling. Donate and support the campaign here. Everyone pulling together on the rope helps.