Leadership– it's about nurturing relationships, bringing people together and being your representative means carrying your ideas, your interests and your values to Washington, DC.

I’m Byron DeLear and I’m running to be your representative in the 2^nd Congressional District here in Missouri and I’d like to take a moment to share with you some of my values and vision for what drives this campaign.

We don't feel secure because the track record has shown that Bush and Akin's policies have left us, the American people, vulnerable and economically weakened......

Many say that our economy’s headed for a recession, but one thing’s for sure, for more than a decade the economic policies coming out of Washington DC have been one-sided, ineffective and have weakened our Middle Class.

Protecting and defending the economic interests of Missouri’s working families and strengthening America’s Middle Class will be a cornerstone of my candidacy and public service.

With the outsourcing of our prosperity and increasing foreign ownership of American industries, the restoration of America’s economic sectors is not only an issue of fiscal concern, but one of National Security and sovereign integrity.....

This is the story of our growing Health Care crisis and the necessary shift in our national priorities to get things turned around.

Largely it’s a story of how politicians have become oblivious to the needs of our people and have sacrificed those needs in favor of serving special interests. I believe in representing people – not special interests.

Delivering quality and affordable Health Care for every American is an absolute priority for this Congressional campaign. It has been a personal pledge and commitment for my entire political career....

The defense of our nation is absolutely important.

But when it comes to sending our troops into war, that policy must be conducted with generous measures of wisdom and restraint.

The war in Iraq was ill-conceived, has been grossly mismanaged, and is far too costly, both in terms of the loss of precious human life and money squandered in what leading economist Joseph Stiglitz calls, “The Three Trillion Dollar War”.

Rep. Akin has voted to initiate and continually maintain this tragic war, as one of the worst strategic blunders in our nation’s history.

I support responsibly withdrawing our troops from Iraq and focusing those valuable resources on our own domestic challenges....

Environmental stewardship and long-term planning must become prioritized organizing principles to insure safety and security for our children’s future.

Creating a sustainable and harmonious relationship between our civilization’s needs and the environment that meets those needs, is a necessity for survival’s sake.

There is a scientific, corporate and now, political consensus emerging that we must replace the polluting fossil-fuel based economy with a new economy; a Green economy.

This presents great job-creating prospects for Missouri and America; we should embrace this shift with the same spirit embodied in Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal, the Marshall Plan after World War II, or the technological explosion born out of NASA’s Apollo Program sending the first man to the Moon.

Sustainability is not just some buzz word for ‘environmentalism’; it is the economic reality of good asset management.....

We as a national family should fund education as a first priority. Investing in our children’s education sets the tone for the care and concern needed for a bright future for America. No other issue can bless future generations with the power that critical thinking brings like providing a rich and productive education for our children.

Having been both a product of public and private schools, I have seen first hand the breadth of possibility in our educational environments here in Missouri. My initial experience in public service over ten years ago was in the helping to co-create a curriculum for at-risk youth in an inner-city school. Both of my parents were teachers and they always taught me.....