Last week I announced my candidacy as an Independent for the U.S. Senate from Maryland because I believe in my heart something is terribly wrong with the political system in America. We face immense economic challenges and are running out of time to correct them. I believe partisan politics must be replaced by common-sense solutions so that we may afford our children the same opportunity most of us were bestowed – the opportunity for a better life!
Pointing blame at each other, while courting special interest money to fund campaigns seems to be the main thrust of the two political parties.
I reject the partisanship that is strangling our children’s future and invite you to join me to help declare our independence from the current political gridlock held-up in Washington.
My Candidacy
I have committed a significant portion of my personal resources to this race, to ensure one of the most credible campaigns by an American of Iranian-descent.
Right now, we have a significant advertisement presence on television throughout the state in which I am making the case for fixing our broken system, proposing bold new initiatives to make our economy more competitive, and to put people back to work. Already, positive feedback is coming our way, telling us that our message is refreshing and one people have been waiting to hear.
In recent years voters have been formally changing their political affiliation to Independent. I too did the same because both political parties are bereft of constructive ideas to solve our nations’ problems and lack leadership to tackle our myriad challenges. Reflective of this growing sentiment, the voters who make the difference in elections want less ideology and more common sense. That is exactly why I’ve structured this campaign around solutions articulated on my campaign websitehttp://www.sobhani2012.com.
Personal Background
Born in Kansas to parents who eventually fled Iran due to the upheaval of 1979, my early youth was spent living in Tehran where I attended the Iranzamin International School. My early years in Iran exposed me to a glorious heritage deeply rooted in my parent’s homeland that has offered the world visionary statesmen like Cyrus the Great who is prominently praised in the Bible as a visionary, humanist and a reformer of his time.
The late 1970’s brought me back to America, my country of birth. That is when I choose Maryland as my permanent residence, some 34 years ago. Spending the next decade studying and eventually lecturing at Georgetown University, I earned a Bachelor, Masters and a Doctorate in Political Economy, much of it through night-school, as I had to work during the day.
I have been blessed to find financial success by promoting American business and focusing on innovative American technology and know-how in the energy sector, both in the renewable energy and oil and gas space.
Years ago I was the first American of Iranian descent to offer myself as a candidate for political office and I take great pleasure to see so many within the community pursue this very noble field of public service.
My Positions
I am fully aware of skeptics who will immediately say we can’t win due to the monopoly of the two party system or even the fact that Maryland has traditionally been a one-party (Democrat) state. They will say, an Independent can’t win and can only split the vote. They will say a person of my heritage can’t win. Indeed, they will have a hundred more reasons to support a negative disposition of surrender and cynicism, one that I have found fundamentally counter-intuitive all my life. But we will win because our message is in-line with the dreams and hopes of many Americans here in Maryland and throughout the country.
While most of the issues relevant to my immediate Maryland constituency can be found on my website, some Americans of Iranian descent regularly pose the following questions.
* My Political Orientation – As a centrist, I am a fiscal conservative and a moderate / progressive on social issues. I regard the out-of-hand deficit spending the biggest challenge to our national security.
* My Faith – Raised in a secular and progressive family my parents taught me the value of religious tolerance at an early age. Indeed, an individual’s faith is a personal choice, one between ourselves and our Creator. I am a member of the Episcopal Church in Potomac and serve as an usher.
* My position on Iran – For over three decades, I have been an unapologetic advocate and proponent of freedom and democracy in Iran. Never in my writings or public appearances have I advocated a military attack on Iran, because of two fundamental reasons a) It is against American national security interests; and, b) It will ultimately be a crippling set-back to the vibrant democratic movement that I am convinced will inevitably replace the existing theocracy and return Iran to its rightful place among the community of nations.
I am convinced our campaign will succeed, but I can’t do it alone. I will continue to provide the level of resources required for a credible candidacy, but the truth is that as we approach Election Day, there will be an even greater need. The Democratic establishment has taken note of our campaign and we expect that in the weeks ahead, their machinery will use every dirty trick in the book. Already informal hints of racially and culturally charged attacks have raised their unattractive head. So, added support from you, in any form will make all the difference. This is the time to unite.
I am reaching out and extending my hand to you to ask for your help because when we do pass this mark, it will not only be an occasion of pride we can all share, but the beginning of a positive change for America.
I would be honored to have your support, whether in the form of financial contributions, easily done on my site, or your requesting my sign for your yards, or my bumper sticker for your cars, or simply joining my social media sites and spreading the good word and wishing our campaign well.
Rob Sobhani
Independent Candidate for the U.S. Senate, Maryland
www.Sobhani2012.com
