Red State Rebels

Write a letter to the editor for Debbie

If you support Debbie Holmes for Congress in CD2 please write a letter to the editor of your local paper (and maybe others). Points to concentrate on might be that I am a main line democrat (if there is such a thing), health care reform, education, climate change, the housing crisis, the recession (OK its not official), the rising cost of energy and food, the war in Iraq. Obviously, pick one or two of your favorites when you write.

My campaign is a grass root low budget campaign and I believe letters to the editor would help me with name recognition for the May 27th primary. If you want to help the campaign further call 208-761-2551 or Email me at [email protected]. I am the progressive democrat in this primary. I need your help to promote the cause on my way to Washington. If you want a change help the Campaign.

I will be in Idaho Falls this weekend at Pancakes and Politics, on May 3, at 9:30 AM at:
Aussie Eats
Write a review
850 Lindsay Blvd
Idaho Falls, ID 83402
(208) 542-1609‎
aussieeats.com

I will be at the Truman Dinner on May 3, 2008
web link:
http://www.bonnevilledemocrats.org/Events/Event02.php

Hope to meet some new faces and supporters.

DNC hits '100 Years' McCain in new ad

This ad is the talk of the 'net - and even Fox has agreed to run it. Whoa. Bear in mind: More U.S. troops (including two Idahoans) have died in Iraq in April than any month since last fall.

Obama parts ways with Rev. Wright

My email box is filling up with Idahoans for Obama messages about the candidate's denunciation of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, so I thought I'd put up a thread here for anyone who cares to weigh in.

I spend my much of my days working on racial equity, so I can relate to much of what Wright has said, though I just as clearly understand how he was way over the top with some of his statements. It's hard to understand why, after laying low for weeks, Wright decided to start speaking out just over a week before what could be a decisive day of primaries (May 6) for his former parishioner.

Or - one theory goes - maybe Wright knew that by resurfacing now, he'd actually be doing Obama a favor in giving him another chance to distance himself from the pastor's more incendiary comments. "I cannot prevent him from continuing to make these outrageous remarks, but what I do want him to be very clear about...is that when I say I find these comments appalling, I mean it," Obama said today. "It contradicts everything that I'm about and who I am."

Will it work? I'm not watching CNN or Fox, so I don't know how this is being spun. I only hope that the media - and more importantly, Indiana and North Carolina voters - can take Obama at his word that Wright does not speak for his campaign. I also hope that Obama's statements today will be shown at least as many times as the cut-and-paste snippets of Wright's most inflammatory speeches. Yeah, right.

Our nation can only move forward if it can move beyond divisive rhetoric, no matter what the source. That is the hope and the promise of Obama's campaign. Are we ready as a nation to accept the challenge,  or do we prefer to endlessly wallow in the muck? We should know one week from tonight.

Bill Sali: The politics of fear

It was only a matter of time.

Bill Sali's opinion (Idaho Statesman, April 16) that the opening of a Mexican consulate in Boise would make it easier for illegal immigrants to evade U.S. law is just another instance of his politics of fear.

Other instances of his intolerance that come to mind are his statement that the framers of the Constitution did not envision a Muslim congressman. Or his view that providing children with health insurance promotes terrorism, gangs and illegal immigration. Or that abortion causes breast cancer.

These opinions, expressed by Congressman Sali, are designed, of course, to conjure up fear in the hearts of his constituents. So it was only a matter of time before some other group promoting fear and hate picked up on his views.

Sali's opinion on the Mexican consulate has now been approvingly published in full on a website called Stormfront.org. It is a white supremacist internet forum for the Stormfront White Nationalist Community. It is owned by Don Black, a former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan and a member of the American Nazi Party in the 1970s.

Idaho has had enough hate and fear.

Shame on you, Congressman Sali.

Camp Wellstone registration still open

If you are running for office this year, if you're working on a campaign, or if you are a progressive activist eager to learn new skills, Camp Wellstone is the place for you. The first Idaho Camp Wellstone - held two years ago this spring - produced several winning candidates and dozens of savvy volunteers. Registration is still open for this cycle's two-and-a-half-day event, set May 16-18 at the College of Idaho in Caldwell. Click here for more details.

"All politics is local", or do you have five friends?

From the record breaking caucus to the exciting State convention, Idaho Democrats are energized and ready for the historic elections of 2008.  Opportunities for participation and training abound.

Ada County State Convention Delegate Training, tomorrow, Tuesday, April 29th - prepare for your role in the convention and find out about running for national delegate. This free training is recommended for all delegates and alternates, and is open to the public. RSVP today if you have not already reserved your seat. Light refreshments will be offered, with time to meet and mingle with fellow delegates and local candidates. Please arrive early, the program begins at 6pm and will run to 8:30pm at the Boise Public Library Auditorium (back of building, west side) 715 S Capitol Blvd. (If you are a delegate and have not received your convention packet, you can download the information from the state website here.)

Precinct committeeman elections Tuesday, May 27th - yes, committeeman is the official, dated term listed on the ballot for the position of party precinct captain. Precinct captains are elected only in the primary elections, and serve to represent the Democratic voters of their precinct in the County Central Committee meetings. Precinct captains also elect the County and Legislative District Chairs, that then represent their Democratic constituents in the State Central Committee. The precinct captains are the first level of representation for individual Democrats at the local level, and can serve an important role in organizing and outreach for the party and for individual candidates. Yet even with headline grabbing turnout at the caucuses, and unprecedented interest in the Democratic presidential nomination, more than half of Ada county precinct positions remain unfilled. Of the 141 precincts in Ada county, only 57 had Democrats filed for the position by the March 21st deadline.

You can still file for these and other positions as a write-in candidate. Forms are available from your county elections office (Ada county here) and can be filed until May 13th. To be elected at the precinct or county level, a write-in candidate must receive a minimum of five votes in total.  Precinct vacancies may also be filled by appointment from the County Central Committee between elections, but you won’t get the groovy certificate from the Secretary of State unless you go through the election process. Consider serving as a precinct captain and help build a winning team for the Democrats in Ada county, statewide and nationally.

Summer events like the Eagle Island Experience, Meridian Dairy Days, the Western Idaho Fair and more are also on the horizon and have spots for a volunteer just like you. Contact the Ada County Democrats at 331-2128 or on the web at adademocrats.org to participate or for more information.

LaRocco pitches in for veterans

Anyone who's ever caught Larry LaRocco as the guest auctioneer at an Idaho Democratic event knows that he has a real talent for it. (Remember when he drove up the bids for a roll of George W. Bush toilet paper at the '06 state convention?)

Not many Idahoans know that LaRocco has put that skill to wider - and notable - use as the volunteer auctioneer for Fisher House Foundation, a group that shelters families of military service members. According to its website, Fisher House supports military families with airline tickets and "homes away from home" that help family members remain close by when a service member must be hospitalized for illness or injury. Tonight's charity auction, in Lansdowne, Virginia, caps the Fisher House Charity Golf Tournament, an event recognized by the Department of Defense program, “America Supports You.”

By contrast, LaRocco's likely opponent this fall, Republican Jim Risch, was also back East last week to cash in at a party thrown by Washington, D.C., lobbyists Jeffrey Kimbell and Rick Murphy of R.B. Murphy & Associates, known for their work on behalf of such corporate giants as Altria (formerly Philip Morris). As a LaRocco campaign press release noted today, former congressman LaRocco’s "charity work contrasts with Risch’s favorite charity—himself."

LaRocco is a Vietnam-era vet of the U.S. Army, while Risch - three years older - somehow managed to avoid military service during that tumultuous time. Also worth noting: LaRocco has been endorsed by Gen. Wes Clark and a host of Idaho veterans.

Volunteer at the Idaho Green Expo

It's not too late to volunteer at the Idaho Green Expo, set for May 17-18 at Boise Centre on the Grove. The two-day event is going to be big fun, with a Saturday-night concert, a "green is the new black" fashion show, activities for kids, alternative vehicle displays, and dozens of informative displays, seminars, and workshops. If you'd like to lend a hand,  click here to get volunteer info.

Weekend edition 4/25-27 and open thread

Welcome to another weekend! Here are a few events happening this weekend and beyond. Add more in the comments.

The forecast for Saturday morning looks perfect for a spring hike in the Boise Foothills. Join the preservation team behind Hillside to the Hollow for a 2.5-mile amble into this as-yet-unprotected area. Meet at 10:30 a.m. on the trail beside Hillside Junior High, 36th Street and Hill Road in Boise. From the coalition's website: "The difficulty level of the hike is moderate, with short strenuous pitches in the first mile, and then it’s pretty much a level or downhill cruise for the next 1.5 miles to the finish. Please plan on bringing a water bottle for the hike. A shuttle service will be available to take folks back to Hillside Junior High."

On Saturday afternoon, the Idaho Peace Coalition will hold a Compassion Walk and Peace Tea in Kathryn Albertson Park on Americana Boulevard in Boise (just west of Ann Morrison Park). The Compassion Walk is a slow, quiet, meditative group walk through the park. As Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh says, “We shall walk in such a way that each step we make becomes a realization of peace; each step becomes a prayer for peace and harmony.” Immediately following the walk, Toni Hodge of Shangri La Teas will perform a Peace Tea Ceremony.   This free family event is open to everyone.

The Peace Coalition also holds a weekly "Walk Away from War" every Sunday at 1 p.m. Meet at the Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial (9th Street at the Boise River) and walk the Greenbelt to Broadway and back (1 mile each way). These are not silent walks, and all ages are welcome.

Next Thursday (May 1), Joanna Macy will be the special guest for the 2008 Kessler-Keener Lecture, set for 7:30 at the Cathedral Of The Rockies (11th and Hays in Boise). Her topic will be  “The Great Turning to a Life Sustaining Society." Tickets are $10.

Do you have any friends or family in Oregon who want to vote in our neighboring state's upcoming May 20 primary? They need to be registered by Tuesday, April 29. Click here for more info.

GOP riding to Sali's rescue

As reported Thursday on BoiseWeekly.com, the Republican establishment seems to be waking up to the fact that Bill Sali is lagging in the moolah department. Buddies led by House Majority Leader John Boehner and the elephants' Regain Our Majority Program (ROMP) raised a cool $66K in one night this week for Sad Sack Sali's coffers. Bear in mind that Sali raised only $107,000 last quarter - and apparently Boehner et al don't care that he's been ranked among the least-effective members of Congress.

The Walt Minnick campaign issued this statement last night: "In less than 18 months, Sali went from someone who campaigned against the pitfalls of Washington to basking in the attention and money that broke Washington in the first place. Sali is now part of a cult of influence where special interests reward the powerful. The average Idahoan has no place in Bill Sali's Washington. That's one reason why his campaign has little support here in Idaho." Minnick's campaign is urging Idaho supporters to counter the GOP relief work and "Send Sali a Message" by donating at a new ActBlue page.