NFIB

If you're within earshot of a television or radio, you know that the media is filled with pundits and politicians battling for air time, filling our ears with political spin predicting what the country will look like after Election Day.

But don't let the partisanship in Washington deter you from seeking the truth behind what's at stake this fall. Once you cut through the million-dollar ads, 30-second sound bites, and what seems like endless political posturing, it's clear that no group has more on the line on Election Day than America's job creators.

The midterm elections next week are critical to small-business owners. Ask yourself if you stand for a fair and level playing field for all businesses in this country? Do you stand for equal access to health care, at a fair cost? For lower taxes, so that businesses can reinvest its profits and create more jobs? Do you stand for an end to burdensome, intrusive government regulations?

Will it matter if you don't stand up? Well, yes, it does. American history is full of examples where just a single vote or handful of votes determined the outcome of an important election.

Small-business opponents have tried to define this election on wedge issues that divide the electorate into red states and blue states. But you know that day to day, taxes, regulations and health care have a much bigger impact on you, your business and your family.

America agrees. Not only do more than 41 million Americans work for a small business, but come election time, Americans like to support the candidates who support small business. It's critical to act Tuesday to make the voice of small business heard at the ballot box and ensure a pro-small-business legislative majority on Capitol Hill and in the states.

We need to define this year's election and cut through the clutter and noise of political distractions and misrepresentations. That's why we publish the NFIB Voting Record. You can see for yourself which candidates support small business by going to NFIB.com/politics and clicking on the 2006 Election Monitor.

While your vote is essential on Nov. 7, you can multiply the power of the small-business voice by urging your employees, family members, customers and vendors to support candidates and issues that will improve the regulatory and economic environment for small business.

You can't afford to sit this election out. We must defend free enterprise where it matters most…at the ballot box. Your right to own, operate and grow your business depends on it.

Todd Stottlemyer is president and CEO of the National Federation of Independent Business in Washington, D.C.