Denney, Otter, but not Moyle: Driving M. Romney

Please, print and post this list of corrupted Idaho politicians. Although Idahoans think that most republicans are good, there are republicans who are not as conservative as their campaign literature. These politicians claim to be champions of conservatives and some even claim tea-party credentials. But, when these men tell you they are not on your side, and they sometimes slip up, do you believe them? Yes! You should always believe a man when he tells you who he really is, especially by who he officially associates with. Obama would tell you not to judge him on his fundraising parties in domestic terrorist, Bill Ayers’, home. But, if you don’t, you’re awfully naive and overly generous with your good opinion.

It’s a strange behavior among voters, the tendency to be overly gracious on election day. That’s where the primary comes in handy. Voters can always pick more-conservative candidates in the primary. But, let’s get back to the hunt for Republicans In Name Only (RINOs).

The following politicians are maneuvering behind the scenes with Mitt Romney. They are cavorting with a presidential candidate who invented a socialist healthcare system that is bankrupting Massachusetts. They are playing the political game: classic quid pro quo. They support Romney, and they expect favors down the road.

By supporting a big-government, East-coast, child of a politician, these Idaho politicians are selling themselves and your future. This should be on their campaign literature: “I will sell myself, my virtue, my vote to lobbyists and power-obsessed politicians in exchange for money and influence.”

This is fancy talk for, “If he looks like a duck and quacks like a duck but is wearing camoflague and carrying a shotgun, he’s not a duck. And, if you’re a duck you should watch your backside!”

Let’s get back to naming names. Idaho’s Speaker of the House, Lawrence Denney, quacks like a conservative. He’s supposedly better than any recent speaker. But when you’re comparing credentials with liberal Mike Simpson, almost anyone looks conservative. But, what’s the truth about Denney? Idaho has had the opportunity to be a leader in State’s Rights legislation and failed more than not. This soft-spoken “leader” could have led a movement to help save Idaho and America. But, he didn’t.

Many political reformists like to blame the liberal Republicans in the State Senate for Idaho’s woes, but maybe there’s an increasingly evident lack of backbone in House leadership. The biggest indicator of corruption in the House is that three of four house republican leaders are Romney supporters. The following short-list of House leaders don’t just give Mitt Romney moral support and high-fives, they are on his steering committee: House Speaker Lawrence Denney, Ken Roberts and Scott Bedke. I’ve had my doubts about these men, because of failed opportunities to fight for Idaho’s sovereignty. But, I was gracious with my good opinion, thinking that good leadership involved a negative attitude and indifference to conservative legislation. How silly I was!

But, now back to the original irony. Let’s compare the steering-committee list for the Idaho House and the Idaho Senate. There are just as many Republican leaders steering Romney in the House as are steering him in the Senate. The “conservative” lineup of the house looks just like the “liberal” State Senate. Brent Hill, Bart Davis, Chuck Winder had a chance to be the conservative ones for a change. Chuck Winder is especially disappointing. He is supposed to be a christian man. And, no christian should support a man who instituted government health insurance mandates. The first two senators are from liberal Mike Simpson’s neighborhood, eastern Idaho. I am waiting for the day when that part of the state sends a real conservative to Boise.

This equivalency between the house and senate should not surprise voters however. All men are corruptible. Thomas Jefferson recommended that the Tree of Liberty be frequently refreshed with the removal of corrupted politicians. They need to be removed. Here longsuffering and grace are not appropriate. With your leaders you should not be as gracious as you are with your children. This is true, if only because your leaders are supposed to be grown-up.

The only house leader not on this list of infamy is Mike Moyle. Although Moyle has taken a pro-debt stance on Garvee bonding to overbuild Idaho’s roads and fatten the illegal-alien-prone road building companies, he is a genial man who says he is a Ron Paul supporter. Maybe Moyle would be a better choice for the top spot in the House of Representatives. Maybe…

Three cheers for Raul Labrador, who also decided to forego the socialist healthcare proponent. Raul earns another term for good behavior. His vacillation on the debt ceiling and bizarre position on amending the constitution with a “balanced budget” provision is concerning. But, at least he is not so arrogant as to support Mitt Romney.

Honorable mention goes to John McGee, who is not on Romney’s steering committee, luckily for Romney. A drunken Senator, like McGee, would probably just drive the Romney campaign into a ditch. McGee is attached to the hip with Butch Otter. So, by extension it is probably safe to infer that McGee would be on the Romney gravy train, if he could. Despite the shameful absence of McGee at the RINO table, the RINO fest will go on. Despite the unfortunate political disconnect, Romney has one thing in common with the recently urine-covered, state legislator. Romney has just as much chance of winning the jackpot in 2012, as flip-flop-free McGee does in finding paradise via a celestial family bacchanalia. That thought begs the question: Who wears flip flops to a golf tournament anyway? What really happened the night of Senator McGee’s drunk-driving, car-stealing incident?

Oh, and I do not like two-faced Jim Risch either. He is a typical, self-aggrandizing politician. His ego is so big that he makes Otter and Meme McGee put together look humble. God save Idaho, if Risch ever becomes governor again. We’ll see more than a 1% sales tax increase, maybe 1% per year next time. The Risch definition of conservative makes liberals mad, because it infringes on their territory. His continuous, statist belief that private property can be taken to protect government property reveals his government-first mentality. I was hoping that his bad attitude would be a plague to Obama and Pelosi, but his recent vote to extend the debt ceiling and his stories about how we need more debt to solve the debt problem show that he only wants Idahoans to believe he has a spine. He has none, except when it comes to eliminating property rights and saying the budget answer is higher taxes. France put Napoleon in prison, Idaho should treat its napoleons the same way. The teenie weenie strong man is not the right bromide for Idaho’s bad regulation and statist tendencies.

Did I forget anyone? Even if I did, I need to rest my hand. There’s just too much to write. I’ll probably never get to it all.

Members of Mitt Romney’s Statewide Steering Committee:
Butch Otter, Co-chairman
Jim Risch, Co-chairman
U.S. Representative Mike Simpson
Lieutenant Governor Brad Little
Secretary of State Ben Ysursa
Superintendent of Public Schools Tom Luna
State Controller Donna Jones
Attorney General Lawrence Wasden
Senate Pro Tempore Brent Hill
Speaker of the House Lawerence Denney
Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis
Assistant Senate Majority Leader Chuck Winder
House Assistant Majority Leader Scott Bedke
House Caucus Chairman Ken Roberts

http://www.mittromney.com/press/2011/06/mitt-romney-announces-idaho-statewide-steering-committee

O’BARTO-GATE

by Lucas Baumbach

LABRADOR AND F-35
Congressional candidate, Ward has become infamous for his incessant attacks on Democrat, Walter Minnick. But now Ward’s campaign manager, Ryan O’Barto, turns his guns on Republican Legislator, Raul Labrador. Taking my advice to learn local politics first, Ward is getting behind the Idaho Lockheed Martin F-35 program. I first heard of F-35 last week from a Boise Democrat, who swore he was not lobbying for the program as he handed out F-35 postcards. The program would bring more military jobs to Idaho. In a press-release O’Barto accuses Labrador of not supporting the program.

DOES WARD ABANDON IDAHO CHILDREN?
The accusation is unreasonable. O’Barto strains to portray Labrador in error, finding hardly a speck in Labrador’s eye. When was the last time Ward submitted legislation to promote jobs in Idaho? Never. Has Ward recently been to the legislature? Ward missed a key joint committee on education today, where Tom Luna unconvincingly presented his budget to the Legislature. Senator Monty Pearce pointed out that the budget failed to find cuts for $80+ million in missing revenues. Luna, Ward’s campaign chair, said he “might” instead be able to get $50 million from an obscure slush fund. What does Ward think should be done? Does his absence signal that his campaign has abandoned children? To accuse Ward of bad education policy because he didn’t attend today’s meeting is as absurd as the accusation O’Barto leveled at Labrador.

A CALL FOR DECORUM
There’s something very off-color about a press release that calls Labrador to abandon the legislature. When Labrador announced, Vaughn supporter, Mike Jorgensen called Labrador to abandon his campaign for US Congress. There is a fever-pitched tone to the rhetoric. I don’t mind using sleazy hyperbole against Democrats. Fighting fire with fire makes sense. But, a modicum of decorum should be preserved among Republicans. With a federal government that is run by a bunch of veritable chimpanzees, you’d think Republicans would save their most scathing attacks for the Geithners, Bernankes, and Emanuels of the world. Burning through the rhetoric at this rate, Ward would get to DC on empty. But, he could always call patron McCain for a gas card.

BYE BYE O’BARTO
One political insider says this press release is O’Barto’s swan song. “It’s not Vaughn’s style.” But, if O’Barto does not know Vaughn’s style after nearly a year as campaign manager, I don’t know who does. O’Barto has sent out many press releases without a glitch. If O’Barto is acting without approval from Ward, Ward should immediately condemn and retract the press release. And, Ward is ultimately responsible for the damage. But we must still question Ward’s judgement in hiring O’Barto to run the campaign. My view is that the pressure is getting to Ward and O’Barto. We need people who can lead under pressure.

PRESSURE
There have been questions swirling around Vaughn Ward’s residency. Ward is renting a home in Eagle, Idaho. He does not own a house in Idaho. The only record of ownership by Vaughn Ward is a house in Alexandria Virginia. What does this mean for the election? Idahoans will demand to know how a renter will be able to represent their interests, and Minnick will win again. A US Congressman should at least own a home in the district he wishes to represent. I was gobsmacked to learn of this glaring lack of qualification. If I were a Ward contributor, I would demand my money back. The campaign is based on a deception that Republicans can’t afford.

VAUGHN WARD for BOISE 2011
I wish Ward the best. I think he was pushed by McCain to run for this seat. The run was ill-conceived. Ward should have bought a house and sent down roots. He started off strong and has now petered out. I expect him to return to DC to work as a staffer. But, it would do him good to stay in Idaho and start a business. His kids could grow up here. He is young and has a lot of passion. We need that passion. I just hope this is not the end of the line for him locally. Boise needs a few good city councilmen and a mayor. Maybe someday soon I’ll be campaigning side-by-side with Vaughn Ward to TAKE BACK BOISE in 2011.