In response to NathanRudy's diary, Totally Selfish Request: No Mitt Romney!!!!! I just have to say...

sigh I need a drink.  There are more and more rumors of Mitt being named Veep for McCain and this disturbs me, and not just because he tied his dog to the roof of his car.  This changes a lot of races in my area.

I am FAR more selfish then NathanRudy in proclaiming "NO MITT ROMNEY!!!!"

There hasn't been a diary on this yet, it seems; I just have a couple links I'd like to share, but here's the punchline:

Bill Sali, one of the most embarrassing folks to hold a seat in Idaho's congressional delegation (beating out Chenoweth, et al), still has $126,000 in debt from his narrow victory in 2006 over netroots candidate Larry Grant. He has $250,000 CoH.

Walt Minnick, his Democratic challenger for Idaho's first congressional seat, has raised $286,000 in the last quarter, has $444,000 CoH and carries no debt. The DCCC has added $349,000 to Minnick's campaign for media. For the more schadenfreude-inclined, it may be noted that Sali didn't meet the filing deadline, and has issued nine amendments to earlier reports since June 1.

In Idaho, the state that gave Obama his largest margin of victory, where Al Gore booked one of the state's largest venues to capacity to give a slideshow, where the state's largest city has a Democratic mayor, where Bill Sali won with a margin of less than 6% of the vote in 2006.

Every State. Every race. Right here.

This is Number 24 in a planned series of 50 entries between now and November, looking at each of the 50 states in terms of every race on that state's ticket--Presidential, Gubernatorial, Senate, House, State legislatures—the whole baked potato bar! Special attention paid to identifying and promoting the most important contests per state.

Every state means looking at the red as well as the blue, and the small as well as the large.  We’ve already suffered through Utah and Wyoming; today, let’s complete the red rockies trifecta and look at Friggin’ IDAHO!

I'm Debbie Holmes, and I'm running against Mike Simpson as the Democrat in Idaho's Second Congressional District. I encourage you all to read 'Earnest Earmarks', co-written by Senator Larry Craig and Representative Mike Simpson several years ago, as well as the response from Reason Magazine. I agree with Congressman Simpson that earmarks have a place in our system. And I notice that Craig and Simpson concede that some reform is necessary. But they continue to tear down every possible mechanism of reform as 'unconstitutional', effectively upholding unlimited and unregulated earmarking as the only legal option.

Today, at 3pm ET / 12pm PT, I'm holding my second live online video town hall meeting to talk about the race of U.S. Senate in Idaho, and I want you to join me -- right here through my DailyKos diary!

UPDATE:  Thanks to everyone who participated in today's online town hall!  I really enjoyed our discussion.  I've embedded the video from today's town hall below.  Thanks again!

While everyone on here and in the blogosphere is having a temper tantrum slamming the red side while their own party is doing exactly the same.  Let's actually look at what needs to be done.

-by Barack Obama.

Larry LaRocco, who is running for the open seat vacated by Larry Craig, is liveblogging here on Kos right now.

Rec his diary please! Ask him questions and of course donate to him on ActBlue.

http://www.actblue.com/...

I am very pleased to be back on DailyKos.  Since I was last here I have been fighting to represent the forgotten working families of Idaho.  

I have campaigned non-stop since April 2007.          

My "Working for the Senate" campaign continues to grab Idaho voters and media. Tomorrow will be my 27th job and I will work side by side with members of Local 296 Plumbers and Pipefitters Union in Boise at a dairy processing plant in Jerome.  Next week, I will work with roofers in Boise.

As we head down the home stretch with 119 days remaining a clear path to victory is emerging.  

I know there have been other diaries about Joseph Dwyerm, but IGTNT, and some mornings I remember what is really important. Today is one of them.  This isn't about Joseph, this is about Tom, patriotism, and sacrifice.

It all started with the quote "Joseph never came home."

Much has been written the last few days about abortion.  I guess I started the newest wave with Obama Swings Right on Abortion.  John Campanelli wrote a well-reasoned Response to "Obama swings right on abortion".  Then it was off to the races, with "Clinton swung right on abortion!," "Obama's faith-based mental abortion of FISA's women," and more. [links make the intro too long. Look for the "abortion" tag.]

Then the conversation changed from Obama to abortion laws in general, with Obama Does the Right Thing on Abortion, Mercy Abortions: Let me preach to the choir,abortion and democrats, The Most Radioactive of Topics - Abortion, Debunking The Abortion Reduction Plank Proposal, Pro-Choice Leaders Refuse to Work With Pro-Life Democrats.

Every single diary contributed something to the conversation.  Unfortunately, every single diary also missed the essential truth of abortion laws- they function in real life, not theory, and they are intended to chill all abortions, not merely define some as unlawful.

Enjoy people and pay close attention to the part where it says, 'we need to stop worrying about electing Republicans or Democrats because they are all a part of this." Partisanship is not the answer. It never has been and never will be and in this race I am the only answer to this problem because I refuse to take money from Big Oil (like Bill Sali has and does) and/or Financials. I refuse to be owned by Special Interest. So put your political bias aside and vote for the right person on November 4th. Your future depends on it. Literally.

(Pardon the grammar and poor spelling, I did not write this.)

The Republican party and the Republican brand are in trouble.  Big trouble.  We all already know this with the anti-Republican sentiment nearly as high as the pro-Democratic sentiment nationwide.  

Our Presidential candidate is up nearly six points in polling averages.  Nearly all of our national groups are outfunding their Republican counterparts (where are you, DNC?) and the Republicans are retiring at a record rate rather than attempt to serve in the minority after a hard-fought battle -- if they even win back their seats.

And if you want more evidence, look below the fold for the changes by the Cook Political Report released today.

I'm Debbie Holmes and I am the Democratic nominee for Congress in Idaho's 2nd District. In a couple days, we will be celebrating Independence Day. We must not let it escape us how amazing it is that, after 232 years, the great experiment of our Founding Fathers is still here; we, in fact, have a far more perfect union than that of our predecessors. This is because we have understood that one of the greatest things about our system is its ability to adapt when change is obviously needed.

George Bush has lost Idaho:

The Larry LaRocco for Senate poll surveyed 500 likely Idaho voters and was conducted from May 20 to May 25 by Celinda Lake of Lake Research Partners.

Idaho has the most Republican-dominated state legislature of all the 50 states, and the GOP holds all the top-level statewide offices. So it’s more than surprising that 54% of 500 likely voters polled said they disapproved of the job President Bush is doing - it could be telling.

The closest Idaho poll readily available for comparison is a Survey USA poll done in August 2007 which had a 49% disapproval rating for Bush. So LaRocco’s poll could signal a five percent jump in disapproval for Bush, and the first time a majority of likely-voting Idahoans disapprove of the president.

I've written at my New West gig about how Idaho is one of several Western state where the Republican party brand is damaged and where a Ron Paul-inspired rebellion within the party is causing serious headaches. In Idaho specifically, the hangover of the Larry Craig mess has added to the general sense of "meh" among Republicans.

When you add in a very determined Independent Senate candidate, who has an abiding and deep hatred for the Republican in the race, it's no wonder that even the Wall Street Journal is speculating that our friend and fellow Kossack Larry LaRocco could pull this one out.

Race tracker wiki: ID-Sen

Please help me reach my fundraising goal of $10,000 so that we can run an effective campaign in Idaho's Second District. We all know that it will be incredibly difficult to beat a five-term incumbent like my opponent. But we have to try; if our party tries everywhere and every time there is an opening then somewhere, we will win. My opponent is a conservative Republican who has voted with the Bush White House 89% of the time. We need your help to take his seat and show East Idaho that the Democratic party is a real option and the better option.

It is crucial that the public understand that the Democratic Party is the party of civil rights, especially in this time, with the Republican Party's numerous violations of the most important tenets of our law.

One of the most important civil rights issues facing our country today is the question of "coercive interrogation." To me, this is a relatively simple question: Will we be a nation that tortures its prisoners, or will we be a nation that follows due process? What with the atrocities at Abu Ghraib and black sites across Europe, combined with the Bush administration's recent assertion that waterboarding, a practice which amounts to controlled drowning, has been used on detainees, it is clear that the GOP and the current president are veering in the other direction. I will do my utmost to restore America to the strong anti-torture stance that, until recently, was generally accepted by all parties.

It is, of course, no surprise that Representative Simpson is not an advocate of a single-payer health care system, or any sort of system based on the principle that physical wellbeing is not just another business commodity. However, there are certain measures that even a well meaning opponent of such reform should support. If one is working from a purely business model of health care, surely existing government programs should include drug price negotiation, so that the least expensive medication package is going to those in need?

Apparently you weren't paying attention.  The party politics, or 'choose a side' is the problem.  (response from my last diary entry).