Rusty Bliss (R-OH-Senate)

Russell P. “Rusty” Bliss, Jr. Candidate for Senate from Ohio

Biography of Rusty Bliss

Biography from Bliss 2012

FROM THE CANDIDATE

“I was born in northeast Ohio in 1968. I, as do most Americans, share a very deep concern for the future of our great state and our nation. The course we are on moves us further away from the fundamental values and principles that made this nation great the way our Founding Fathers envisioned it. This trend, if continued, could very well lead to the demise of the United States of America as we know it and quite possibly freedom as we’ve come to cherish it. I am a family man: an average, hard working American full of, I guess you’d call it built in patriotism. However I am also driven by the principles and values that built this nation.

I spent my youth in the Ford, Carter, and Reagan years, then experienced life in the business world. My father was a Marine between the Korean and Vietnam wars, my mother a secretary. I attended public schools until high school, when I attended St. Joseph High School in Cleveland. I am an athlete and have participated in many sports. I still coach high school football locally. I wanted to enter the Marine Corps as an aviator after college, but vision restrictions ended that dream. I did however achieve my goal of being a pilot and I am currently a captain with a cargo airline. I worked very hard to get where I am, both in school and working my way up the ladder. I have seen the very best life can give you, and the very worst. I have been very close to having nothing and now I have a great career and family. My wife is in the medical field, and we are the proud parents four children. We sadly lost our second child, our daughter Sydney, at birth in 2006. Through all of the highs and lows, hard work, perseverance and our faith have helped us to achieve what we have today.

My first experience with politics was as a child when Jimmy Carter became president. I can remember the fear and discontent that I noticed in my parents, actually Democrats at the time. How foretelling that would be looking at how far back that presidency set this country. During the time of Ronald Reagan I witnessed the United States truly become a SUPER power.

Not only did he take care of business at home, but he forged a foreign policy that drew the line between good and evil and also paved the way for the U.S. to be a global source of help and inspiration to nations that needed our help. Since then, the message of what we stand for has been contorted and twisted. The meaning of our Constitution has become lost.”

PERSONAL

Rusty was born in Willoughby, Ohio (Lake County) and spent most of his life growing up in Euclid (Cuyahoga County).

He graduated from St. Joseph High School in Cleveland in 1986. He enrolled at Ohio State University before entering the aviation industry and continued his aeronautics education between Ohio and Florida. He began flying during his sophomore year in high school.

Rusty has had a distinguished career in aviation for over twenty years and is currently an airline captain / check airman for a cargo airline. Throughout the 90s he had the honor of working closely with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and still maintains a very strong relationship with Navy and Marine Corps aviation. Rusty also coaches high school football.

Captain Bliss married his wife Brandy three days after September 11th, 2001. They reside in Willoughby, Ohio with their three children Noah, Summer and Owen. Their daughter Sydney passed away in 2006.

The Bliss family is very active in working with the Ohio SIDS Network as well as the Northeast Ohio Upside of Downs organization helping raise awareness to both causes. Rusty’s wife Brandy is an active participant in the annual “Race for the Cure” to combat breast cancer.

POLITICAL

Captain Bliss has never held public office but shares the concerns of every U.S. citizen that our elected officials must adhere to the principles of our Founding Fathers and the Constitution. He has considerable campaign experience which includes the 2000 McCain primary campaign, 2004 Bush/Cheney re-election campaign, the 2006 Mike DeWine U.S. Senate campaign and the 2008 McCain Presidential campaign effort. In 2005 Rusty even served as a pilot for both Ohio Senators Mike DeWine and George Voinovich.

Rusty participated in the 2010 U.S. Senate race in Maryland aiding challenger Dr. Eric Wargotz with his campaign against entrenched incumbent Democrat Barbara Mikulski. This effort was undertaken while also supporting local candidates in Ohio as well as gubernatorial winner John Kasich.

Currently Rusty maintains an active relationship with local and state Tea Party and 9/12 organizations and has made and is scheduled to be keynote speaker at several events in the coming months. He’s even been nicknamed “Captain America” by people around Ohio combining his occupation and his deep passion for American values and principles.

ORGANIZATIONS

Rusty is a proud member of the Ohio Republican Party, RNC, Tea Party Patriots, Lake County Tea Party, NE Ohio 9/12′s, the National Space Society (NSS), Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, the Heritage Foundation, the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the Tailhook Association.

FROM THE CANDIDATE:

“I am running to make a difference. I want our children and generations after them to have the same opportunities my generation had growing up. America needs to once again stand for limitless opportunity to build the best lives you can.

Ohioans need their voices to be heard in Washington by someone who has been right here with them. Sherrod Brown has been in political office for over 35 years and since 1993 he’s been a point man for the progressive-liberal agenda. Look at where that has gotten Ohio and America.

I have always been part of the middle class work force and I am not seeking an office, rather the duty and work that comes with the office unlike most career politicians.

I promise that the best interests of Ohio within the United States will be represented when I cast my votes in the Senate.”