Just before he had to vacate the Gov's office, there was a little scandal about some state gov. department heads giving bonuses to their top workers at the end of the year. Risch jumped on them for doing that, saying it was the wrong thing to do (wrong to reward best workers, you know he has been a politician too long when he says things like that dontcha?) So what did little Jimmy do? Check out where his staff went. He "ordered" the commerce dept. to hire his secretary at the highest pay level possible. Never mind there were no job openings and the dept. had been trying to get the legislature to authorize more people for years - he just ordered that she be hired at a certain salary, period. Little Lyin Jimmy figures the public is never, ever gonna hear about what he did for his own staff, so he can go to the press and scream about how unfair it was for other dept. heads to give out those little bonuses of a few hundred dollars while he orders the creation of a totally new job for his secretary at about $40,000 a year for however long she wants to keep working! Thats Jim Risch. Screw the people - I'll do what I damn well please, no matter how crooked it is, and I'll burn anyone under me who tries to do the same. Hypocrit. Liar. Bad for Idaho.

Iwas wondering if I was the only one who, in mind, hadn't left for the weekend.

I

I even agree with you tonight. Risch will not get my vote.

Lighten up a little, sometimes it's just nice to discuss other ideas with people. The paper does report on more than just politics. Also, Mali would be surprised to find out that she is a pube.

Hey, ronlea... this is off-topic, but ALL CAPS is the equivalent of SHOUTING out here in the make-believe Binary Land.

You are certainly free to continue your SHOUTING, but you should be aware that lots of folks tend to tune out the shouters.

(No offense intended. I'm not pickin' a fight.)

On topic: Risch has never been a congressman.

If you actually want to read and listen to what Larry LaRocco believes then I would suggest checking out his website rather than the blatherings of occams_chainsaw. Yesterday, he held an online town hall with over 100 attendees in which he addressed a broad range of issues of concern to Idahoans. If you click on the townhall link on the front page of the website, you can find an online version of yesterday's meeting (note video lasts about one hour). An informed electorate is a powerful force in our country and you owe it to yourself and to your fellow citizens to inform yourself about the different candidates.

I doubt Jim Risch would ever put himself in front of the citizens of Idaho the way that Larry LaRocco has been doing for over a year now. His "working for the Senate" campaign has already had nearly two dozen different jobs across Idaho in which he meets with the employees and discusses the issues of relevance to them in their daily lives. LaRocco has done several online Q&As at a number of progressive blogs and will continue this practice throughout the campaign. Jim Risch spends his time flying around the state on corporate jets and hobnobbing with the wealthy elites. Jim Risch loans his own campaign $380,000 because he thinks he can buy a Senate seat. Larry LaRocco has raised funds from nearly 2000 individuals across our state. It is time for Idahoans to wake up and realize that just because a Senatorial candidate gets the (R) seal of approval does not mean he will actually represent our interests in DC.

Democrats don't CLAIM to be fiscally responsible, don't claim moral and ethical superiority, the Republicans like Risch DO. It's not the lies so much as the hypocricy behind those lies.

Raising the sales tax and cutting the property tax shifts money from the poor to the more affluent. That observation aside, this was an extremely poor way of providing property tax relief to homeowners. This was bad legislation and a bad idea from the start. His actions resulted in all Idaho residents paying 16% more on all purchases including food through the sales tax while only those Idaho residents who owned property got some relief on taxes. All those out-of-state property owners who own Idaho real estate and big corporate landowners were the real beneficiaries of this boondoggle. If you want to provide relief to Idaho homeowners increase the HO exemption, you don't cut taxes on all other catergories of real estate unless you are trying to cater to the big corporate interests. Nice job Risch- you screwed Idaho once again. Larocco has lot a problems granted, but Risch is a snake.

Dems don't lie, but I would suggest that lies about BJ's and Doobies are minor (and utterly unrelated to YOUR tax burden, I might add), compared to lies that take us to war, well, you do the math...

These are comparable, aren't they? The fact that Clinton has been out of office for 8 years, or the fact that these lies did not directly effect the voters, or the fact that evidence directly contradicts the claims, well- don't let those factorss get in the way of your absurd thinking processes........

hell, I WAS a Republican until 1996, when the party ran the corpse of Bob Dole against Clinton, and I took a good look at Newt and the other hypocrites and realized that party of Goldwater was gone. I voted for Clinton in his second run because I looked OBJECTIVELY at the issues that effected me and found that the Democrats had done better for me, done better for America. I am sorry to say that the Republican party has degenerated EVEN farther since 1996, I could have voted for the 2000 McCain, I don't know this guy running as him today. Democrats may be Tax and Spend, but the Bush Admin spends FAR more (you can google it) and borrows to make tax cuts for the highest brackets and corporate welfare. I might have a positive word for a Republican, but none have deserved one for the last decade and a half.

Honestly now...

The states controlled by democrats are such a mess that they sent the federal government more tax money then they receive.

Like California that sent some 50 billion more then they received in federal programs, along with Washington and Oregon.

Of the 10 states that send the federal government more money then they receive only 3 are red states.

Of the top 10 states that got more money then they receives (welfare states) only 2 were Red (if you count DC and New Mexico who flipped in 2004)
see bigpicture.typepad.com/writing/2004/11_states_feed.htmt

(Idaho by the way is a welfare state)

The reality is:

Republican states can't make it with reaching in the pockets of hard working Democrats..

Parto

There are many other factors to explain those observations besides party affiliation

I have made positive statements about R's when they deserve it. I have even voted for an R here in Idaho. No, they are not all evil. However, the R party in Idaho is unlike any I have seen in other states. Ok to your points of what the R's do for us - Low Crime? My god man, do you read the paper or watch the news. This is about the "sickest" crime state I have ever lived in. I fear more for my life here then when I lived in Boston!!! Lower unemployment? What a joke. The going wage to work at a fast food place in Boise is about $6 per hour. In Helena, Montana you can start at McDonald's for $12 an hour (Montana is a Dem state now). The low utilities one may be true as far as electric, but the gas prices make up for it. Montana use to have low utilities until the R's there screwed it up. A few years back when they were in power they sold the dams and Montana Power went private. The price of power is now astronomical. Even the R's having been trying to reverse their screw up. Nope. I will remain independent and vote for the BEST candidate. I don't give a hoot what letter they have after there name. They need to "walk the walk, not just talk the talk." I will not call you a name. No point in that. You are trying to make a point as I am. However, the truth of the matter is where you find a person in office with integrity (like Gov. Marc Roscoe was in Montana) you will find good things happening - no matter the letter after their name.

Originally his goal was Governor but the handwriting was on the wall -- he couldn't beat Otter -- so with Craig's political demise he made a second choice. Wouldn't trust Risch -- he's been for business over taxpayers for toooooo many years.

Why would you conclude a private out of court settlement with a woman who he had an affair with automatically destroyed her career and destroyed her reputation. I've lived here my whole life and I don't know her identity or what her position was. Actually LaRocco's career and reputation took a hit as it should. But if this is your reason for voting for Risch, it is a poor reason. Hey LaRocco is not the ideal candidate and he has some baggage, but take it from some one who been around here awhile, Risch will not look out for you and me. Risch was voted out by the voters and put back by political appointment. He will be great for big corporations like Idaho Power and Simplot etc. He is a slick hardball playin backroom Republican Idaho power broker that is not at all concerned about the average joe