Idaho GOP gives Labrador camp less than promised

[ccharles000]

BOISE, Idaho — U.S. House hopeful Raul Labrador hasn't exactly gotten the help that the Idaho Republican Party promised in June when it announced the hiring of two full-time staffers to help his campaign.

Idaho GOP Executive Director Jonathan Parker said Wednesday that one of the staffers is spending most of his time working on state races instead of Labrador's race against Democratic U.S. Rep. Walt Minnick.

That's a shift from earlier plans.

The state GOP announced in June they had requested money from Republican National Committee to hire two people, based at GOP victory offices in Coeur d'Alene and Boise, with the chief task of unseating Minnick.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/08/25/1314807/idaho-gop-gives-labrador-camp.html

[LAGC]

1. Yep, I'm on the ground here in Idaho.

The Republican primary race between Labrador and Ward was a joke. I love how Sarah Palin gave Ward the "kiss of death" with her endorsement. Labrador has his own skeletons in the closet. I have no doubt Minnick will be re-elected easily. Even though he's a Blue Dog Democrat, he's still a far better choice than Labrador. Idaho, even though its a very red state, has a strong libertarian bent. So Minnick's social liberalism doesn't hurt him as much, since the fiscal conservatism is what most Idahoans are interested in.

The Republicans won't be picking up a seat here, that's for sure.

[jmowreader]

2. Good points...

I think Labrador is going to be the kiss of death for the tea party in Idaho. He's their favored candidate. The thing is, most of the people Labrador needs to take the district are more scared of the tea party than they are of Walt Minnick, the most conservative congressman in the Pacific Northwest. Plus, the Idaho Republican Party has this neat little litmus test for its candidates: they have to support the whole Idaho Republican Party platform, and that platform includes repeal of the 17th Amendment among other whackjob ideas.

The Republicans have another problem in the 2nd Congressional District: Mike Simpson, the incumbent, voted for the Troubled Assets Relief Program bill in 2008, and the voters there are pissed about it. Okay, it only prevented the country from completely collapsing, but that's not the point: bailing out the banks, even though it was the Republicans who allowed them to get to the point of needing it (does ANYONE remember a bank needing to be bailed out before Gramm-Leach-Bliley?), is bad.