WOW! What an election! Tuesday was a big day for Russell County and our Nation.

An impressive 53 percent of the registered voters here in Russell County showed up at the polls to cast their ballet for their favorite candidates.  

Jeff Hoover and Tony Kerr did a great job of covering the results of the election and staying much later than usual due to a delay in results from the Jamestown Precinct.

Of course, we all know now that the wait was worth it for our next County Judge Executive, Gary Robertson who was declared the winner by only 61 votes. My hat comes off though to Ralph Creech for running such a great race and to the citizens of Russell County for the fantastic support that the gave all of the candidates.

Tony Kerr said it best when he shared a statement with a voter as to why we should vote. The next time you are in Jamestown on the square, take a moment and walk over to The Doughboy and read the names. These are the names of citizens like you and I who gave their lives to protect our rights! One of those rights is the right to vote!

Another big winner Tuesday was Dr. Rand Paul. Senator Elect Paul will be taking the seat vacated by Jim Bunning who has served as one of our Senators since 1999. I believe that Dr. Paul will bring a form of "common sense" thinking to the floor of the Senate that has been lost to most serving in our Congress today.

On Tuesday, Paul basically said to CNN that nobody is poor. We all (like it not) work for rich people. Why are we punishing the very people that are providing us our lively hood? The time has come for us to give small businesses the freedom and security they require to invest in our futures. The money is out there, but our leaders must instill confidence in our businesses so that they are willing to expand and create new jobs. This seemly endless spending must stop immediately!

The biggest winner on Tuesday however was the American people. Now that the Republicans will regain control of the House of Representatives, we will happily say goodbye to Queen Pelosi. As I stated in my article last week, our economy headed downward in 2007 and it is still spiraling downward. Ms. Pelosi has been successful since 2007 at creating a climate of mistrust among most businesses and investors in our nation and hopefully having a new Speaker of the House will help build a new foundation of trust that has clearly been lost for the past for years.

A clear message was sent by the American People on Tuesday that we are now awake! We are paying close attention to what our lawmakers are doing and things must change.

The current administration promised change and we started giving them just what they campaigned for. The good news is that we are only getting started and the best is yet to come in 2012. Our next big challenge is to find a candidate with Ronald Reagan values that will reverse course and get this great Republic back on course. It has been told that when Benjamin Franklin walked away from the Second Continental Congress after signing the U.S. Constitution, a woman walked up to him and said, "Mr. Franklin, what have you given us?" Franklin answered, "A republic, if you can keep it." So, here we are, 295 years later and the question still remains, "Can we keep it?"  Only "We the People" can answer that question!  Please, encourage everyone you know to stay involved. It is our Republics and our children's only hope! Remember, if you put God first in your life, all things are possible.

May God Bless…

Ron Phillips