I want to take a moment to sincerely thank you for giving me the privilege of representing the First District in Washington. Representing our part of Maryland in the U.S. Congress has been the greatest honor of my life, and I have been deeply humbled by the friendship and support so many of you have shown to me over the past few years. In these challenging times, it was heartening to see so many people willing to become personally involved in our fight to preserve common sense and critical thinking in Washington.
While the ultimate result of the race was a disappointment, we can and should be proud of the values and ideas that formed the foundation of this campaign. These common sense principles -- fiscal responsibility, independent thinking, and bipartisan leadership -- are as important now as they have ever been, and I remain hopeful that our leaders in Washington will seek a return to these guiding principles in the months ahead.
In my remarks on Election Night, I cited a favorite quote from Teddy Roosevelt:
It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming.
We may have come up short on Election Day, but I was honored to have you at my side in the arena. I look forward to standing with you again in the future as we continue the fight for our nation's future.
Frank Kratovil