[Vision2020] Idaho's First District Takes Rare Spotlight

[Tom Hansen]

Courtesy of today's (July 12, 2009) Spokesman Review.

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As eyes turn toward Minnick, Idaho district takes rare spotlight
Jim Camden, The Spokesman-Review

Most years, Idaho’s congressional races inspire yawns among the nation’s
political cognoscenti. It’s likely 2010 will not be one of those years.

Idaho’s sprawling 1st District House race is at or near the top of several
lists of races to watch in the midterm election. Publications like
Congress Daily and the Hill both flagged it last month, as did the
Rothenburg Report, and it’s on top of the “Swing State Prospect” list of
races featuring a Democrat – Walt Minnick – in a Republican-leaning
district.

This comes as no surprise, considering the Hill put Minnick at the top of
its “most vulnerable” list the day he was sworn in. No points, apparently,
for beating freshman Republican Bill Sali in 2008 and becoming the first
Democrat to hold the seat in bright red Idaho since 1994.

In the six months since, Minnick has put as much distance as possible
between himself and House Democratic leadership. He voted against the
stimulus package in February, the AIG package in March and cap-and-trade
last month. As of last week, he was at the top of another list, the
Washington Post’s tabulation of Democrats who don’t vote with their party
leadership.

His earliest and best-organized Republican challenger is Vaughn Ward, a
candidate with so much going for him one might think the National
Republican Congressional Committee ordered him from central casting. He’s
a photogenic 40, with an attractive wife and two cute kids; grew up in
Twin Falls, worked on the family farm in Shoshone, is a Marine Corps
Reserves major, and worked for the CIA in the Middle East and Africa, as a
legislative aide for Dirk Kempthorne and as Nevada state campaign official
for John McCain’s presidential run. He’s already snagged McCain’s
endorsement.

Ward is understandably happy to find Minnick on the lists of most
vulnerable, as he is ardently unimpressed by the lack of Democratic
party-line votes. As he campaigns around Idaho, expect Ward to make much
of a specific party-line vote.

That would be the vote at the start of the current session to elect Nancy
Pelosi as speaker. Minnick voted for her, and he should not have, Ward
said in a recent interview.

While this may sound like an interesting idea to toss out, and might even
make for an interesting diatribe on talk radio, it sounds a bit naïve or
facetious for anyone with any familiarity with Congress. And Ward does
have some familiarity, having worked in D.C. for Kempthorne.

Members of a political party cast their votes for their party’s leader at
the outset of the session. It has nothing to do with whether one likes his
candidate or dislikes the opposition party’s candidate; it’s just part of
the process.

Or so it was explained to Central Washington voters some 20 years ago by
Washington Republican Sid Morrison, after he voted for Bob Michel of
Illinois rather than Tom Foley for speaker. It didn’t matter that he and
Foley were personal friends and allies on many pieces of legislation that
touched both their districts, or that Foley clearly was going to win,
Morrison said. It’s just part of the process.

Ward conceded it would be unusual, but not historically unprecedented, and
insisted Minnick should have done it, adding that he should also do more
than simply vote no on Democratic bills he doesn’t like; he should offer
amendments, use tactics to block or derail them and make floor speeches
against the president.

This line of argument comes straight from the National Republican
Congressional Committee, whose job it is to turn as many seats from blue
to red as possible next year. The first big test of a possible
Ward-Minnick matchup comes this week, when campaign finance reports for
the second quarter of the year should be posted with the Federal Elections
Commission. When the first-quarter filing period closed, Minnick had
raised about $266,000, about two-thirds of it from political action
committees. Ward, who’d only just begun the campaign, had $50,000, most of
it from individuals, but relatively few from Idaho.

Campaigns are about more than raising money – spending it well is actually
more important. But the upcoming reports of contributions could be the
best early barometer of how strong this challenge will be.

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Vaughn Ward's website
http://www.vaughnward.com/

Rep. Minnick's website
http://www.waltforcongress.org/

Rep. Minnick's voting record
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?id=412300&tab=votes

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change
and the Realist adjusts his sails."

- Unknown