About Me

      Hi, my name is Rod Lingsch and it would be my honor to serve you as your Representative!   We need to start electing people to political office who can actually solve America’s problems instead of those who continue to blame others for the problems they themselves create.   Take a look at my ideas on how we can work together to fix America’s problems.   If you like my solutions, then please consider voting for me.   Invite your family and friends to look at these ideas and have a conversation about them.   I’ll bet that you too have ideas on how we can make America better for everyone!

      I grew up poor, on welfare, with domestic violence.   By any standard, I should not have been successful in life.   While everyone struggles with life’s ups and downs, it’s what we learn and how we respond to those struggles that defines who we are.   When life is hard growing up, education does not seem to be as important as survival, but children still dream of their future.   My dream was to become a pilot.   It is not the lack of money that makes us poor, but the failure to follow through with our dreams and aspirations.

      When my teachers asked me what I was going to do with my life, I told them I was going to be a pilot.   They would snicker and say you do not have the money or aptitude to become a pilot so you would be better off as a laborer.   How do you motivate a teenager?   Tell them what they can’t do!   So, those words became my motivation to prove them wrong.   By not dwelling on the past, my eyes were opened to future possibilities, and it was God’s grace that showed me the path to my success.

      I worked hard and became an A student.   Within a few years after high school, I was working as an engineer in radio and TV.   Upon graduation from the University of Pittsburgh, I was selected for pilot training in the USAF.   I received my commission as a Second Lieutenant from Officer Training School (OTS) at Lackland AFB, Texas.   While at OTS, I went before a selection board and was awarded a pilot slot for the prestigious Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training at Sheppard AFB in Wichita Falls, Texas.   I met the love of my life in Wichita Falls and dragged her around the world with me where she worked as a Registered Nurse, and we raised our three wonderful children.   James, a Pharmacy Technician and 3rd year PharmD candidate; Jonathan, a 7th grade English teacher and esports coach; and Jennifer, a Master’s of Audiology certified educator for deaf children.   During my 22 years in the USAF, I was an aircraft commander of the amazing F-111D & F fighter jets and an AETC Instructor Pilot.   I was deployed into combat as a pilot and later on the ground with the Army as an Air Liaison Officer.   I thrived in mentoring junior officers in my leadership positions as a flight commander, operations officer, and Instructor Pilot.

      After 22 years in the USAF, I owned and operated a successful business.   I fulfilled another dream by graduating from the Central Texas College Police Academy and I worked as a Texas police officer.   From 2010 to 2021, I was employed as a government contractor in support of the U.S. Military, State Department, and Homeland Security.   My primary mission was flying overwatch in what is called Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) operations.   I worked with CBP agents in Texas and Arizona and the military and State Department in Iraq and Afghanistan.   During my last 6 years overseas, I worked at the Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) in Kabul, Afghanistan.   Contractors were ordered out of Afghanistan after a beloved Afghan Mi-17 crew that we trained was shot down on 16 March 2021 by the Taliban with an advanced Chinese laser-guided missile.   We were reluctant to leave our friends but also relieved since intel lost track of the missiles after they arrived in Kabul.   I left Kabul for the last time on 17 April 2021.

      As a pilot, I have worked with, trained, and met a lot of people from all across America and all around the world.   My passion for learning made research my main hobby for the last 50 years.   Since June of 2000, I have discussed my solutions for America’s problems with thousands of people from all walks of life.   Everyone loved my ideas and would tell me I should run for political office.   I told them I don’t know if I could ever be a politician because I would not be able to lie to my constituents.   So, I offered my solutions for America’s problems to hundreds of politicians from both parties all across the U.S. and none ever expressed any interest.   I can only speculate that they fear losing power more than they fear the consequences of the problems they created.

Why I’m Running for Congress

      I feel compelled to run for office because America has become so divided, and our elected officials are the reason why.   When politicians fear they are losing power they create narratives intended to divide people one against another.   They push lies they know their followers want to believe are true but are designed to distract from the problems they themselves have created.   America is spiraling down the rabbit hole to the point of no return unless we all decide to come together and work to fix America’s problems.

      I was raised as a Kennedy Democrat by my mother.   As a single parent, she worked two jobs and put herself through nursing school while taking care of her five children.   Throughout her life, I could never convince her that post-Kennedy Democrats were nothing like JFK.   While off at College, I had a chance meeting with Jimmy Carter and shook his hand.   He promised all Americans a better life, so I voted for him.   It did not take him long in office to see things go from bad to worse.   Double-digit unemployment, double-digit inflation, empty grocery store shelves, and long lines at gas stations.   The final straw for me that broke the proverbial donkey’s back was the EPA under President Carter.   The 1977 Clean Air Act shut down every steel mill in Pittsburgh, PA overnight, without any warning or regard.   The entire economy of Pittsburgh and surrounding communities collapsed.   All my relatives lost their jobs.   People were committing suicide every day because they lost their homes, their businesses, and could not handle the stress.   Where was the party of peace and justice then?   I studied the entire history of the Democratic party and vowed to never vote Democrat again.

      I am a Christian Conservative based on my values and I have voted that way since President Carter.   Others may conclude that I am closer to a moderate due to my opinions based on my life’s work of research.   I understand all issues from both a conservative and liberal perspective.   I also perceive the conservatives of today to be more like the liberals of the JFK and MLK era, and these are the values these virtuous men bestowed upon my generation:

      My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country; My fellow citizens of the world, ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. John F. Kennedy, 20 January 1962 (2:25).

      So even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.   It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.   I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.   I have a dream. . .the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.   I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.   I have a dream today. . . when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning: My country, ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.   And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. Martin Luther King, 28 August 1963 (1:53).

      While I am fiscally conservative and somewhat socially liberal, as a Christian, I do not support abortion or the death penalty; however, simply passing laws does not solve the many problems surrounding these issues.   I understand and support the premise of some liberal complaints, but their methods are completely the opposite of what must be done to fix the issues.   Liberals make matters worse by wanting change immediately without thinking through the consequences of their actions.   On the other hand, conservatives prefer the status quo and only want to make a change after thinking through all the potential problems.   When it comes to change, liberals are too fast and conservatives are too slow.   History has demonstrated that we humans do our best work and have the most success when we overcome our differences and work together.   If America is to survive as the last best hope of earth, then we too must endeavor to set aside our differences so we can work together with each other and for each other.

      I will work for you, and with you to restore America as the best hope for humanity, but we must fix our problems first.   My programs will ensure that our government works for all of us and not just the elitists who like to tell us how they think we should live our lives.   As your Representative, I make you this promise; I will not lie to you.   I will tell you the straightforward truth as I have learned through extensive research.   I do not want your money; I want your vote.   If you believe in me and what I relate to you then spread the word and vote for me.   Tell your family and friends about my reform ideas and ask them to consider voting for me.

      Please feel free to call or email me with any questions or concerns that you have.   May God bless you, and God bless America!

Read how my United States Citizen Fund will fix America’s problems for the benefit of all.