Do letters to the editor count when you work for the paper?

[jmowreader]

Here's the deal: This place is full of people who are more conservative than Walt Minnick. Until I got up here I didn't realize that was possible, but it seems to be. Anyway, I just got tired of printing letters claiming Walt Minnick's a liberal, and wrote this--which we printed:

I have read many letters from passionate Republicans who believe leaving Representative Walt Minnick in Congress will, as Post Falls' John Cross puts it, "help Nancy Pelosi for the following two years." I don't think so. I'm a Democrat, but I'm not sure Walt Minnick is.

According to Open Congress, our Tea Party-endorsed representative (the only Tea Party-approved Democrat in Congress!) votes with the Democrats only 65 percent of the time. That's an F. Mr. Minnick earned his F by voting no on HR 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act; HR 31, the Lumbee Recognition Act; HR 626, the Federal Employees Paid Paternal Leave Act; HR 911, the Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs Act; HR 1018, the Restore Our American Mustangs Act; HR 1299, the Capitol Police Administrative Technical Corrections Act, which passed on a 416-1 vote; HR 1575, the End Government Reimbursement of Excessive Executive Disbursements Act; HR 1586, the To impose an additional tax on bonuses received from certain TARP recipients Act; HR 1664, the Pay for Performance Act; HR 1886, the Pakistan Enduring Assistance and Cooperation Enhancement Act; HR 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act; HR 2749, the Food Safety Enhancement Act; the December 2009 Affordable Health Care for America Act and the March 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. (The last one is the infamous "Obamacare" bill, which no rank-and-file Democrat likes.) Go through that list carefully, my Republican friends: that's an itemized list of the Democratic agenda, and Walt Minnick voted against it all. He also voted against the speakership of Nancy Pelosi.

He's very consistent in his votes against agency and department appropriations and he's a fearless fighter of pork-barrel spending, which earned him a perfect score on the Club for Growth's RePork Scorecard. A recent review of Congressmen's voting records reveals Walt Minnick is the most conservative House member from the Northwest--more conservative than any Northwest Republican. That long laundry list of Minnick nays? Representative Simpson, Eastern Idaho's congressman and a Republican, voted Yea on three of them, the Lumbee Recognition Act, Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs Act and the Capitol Police act everyone except Walt Minnick voted for.

Walt Minnick's campaign slogan is "Right for Idaho," and he's not kidding: he's about as far to the right as you can get. Forget the (D) behind Walt Minnick's name, and think: do you really want to vote for someone who's more liberal than what you already have?

[Sherman A1]

1. I believe

that if they make you feel better, write them.

If not, don't waste your time.

I have done so in the past and I can't see where they make much difference in any event.

[Wickerman]

2. It's a good editorial

You make your point well and a good point it is. Would your average Republican be able to read it? Doubtful. No slogans.

[jmowreader]

4. I know they DIDN'T read it...

or at least some of them didn't, because last night I printed this LTTE...

http://www.cdapress.com/news/political/article_49993a89-c758-53d3-a088-eb4da0446aa4.html

The author gives a list of the things Minnick must do to redeem himself in this guy's eyes, including repealing "Obamacare" and rescinding his vote for the "radical leader of the House." Oh God...you know, I didn't spend all the time looking up all the shit Minnick voted against (like "Obamacare" and Nancy Pelosi's speakership) to be having people call Mr. Walt Minnick, who has been permanently disqualified from Free Republic membership for being too far to the right, a liberal.

[rucky]

3. Great, now they're going to want to name a day after him.

[jmowreader]

5. Just as long as they VOTE for him...

In ID-1 we've got two choices: Walt Minnick, who's endorsed by the national Tea Party, and Raul Labrador, who's endorsed by the Boise Tea Party. The only real difference between the two is Minnick is a little squishy on abortion, while Labrador would eagerly co-sponsor a bill to put abortion doctors before a firing squad.

[rucky]

6. I feel for ya.

I'm in Boehner's district. At least we have a legit Dem challanger. If only he could break double digits in the polls.

[jmowreader]

7. You should see some of the other wonderful politicians we have to deal with

Take my state House member, Phil Hart. Mr. Hart is on the House Tax Committee, which would be okay if it weren't for his example of penmanship:

http://constitutionalincome.com/

Now check it out: This man thinks the income tax is unconstitutional. So, he decided to follow his interpretation of the Constitution and not pay any income tax. Well...the federal government convinced him he really should do so, and now he's paying off a $145,000--don't quote me on that exact figure, but it's well over $100,000--tax lien. The head of the Idaho Democratic Party put out an editorial says Phil should resign because of his tax troubles. Needless to say, we published a LTTE claiming the Dem leader should be calling for all the Democrats to resign because they all have "tax trouble." Said something about the president not paying unemployment tax on a domestic servant--I hadn't heard that one, it might be true. But this is the thing: I don't call running up a six-figure tax bill because you think wages and salaries aren't income--yes, this is part of his argument--"tax trouble" but a felony.