6degrees PoliticsBlog

Larry LaRocco Meets With Local Democrats

By Irwin Horowitz, 4-21-08

Last evening, Idaho senatorial candidate and former congressman Larry LaRocco met with Democrats from the 20th legislative district at the Library Coffee House in Meridian.  He began his campaign for the seat currently held by Sen. Larry Craig over one year ago.  During his 2006 campaign for Idaho’s Lieutenant Governor he shook over 22,000 hands across the entire state, demonstrating a commitment to retail politics that can make a noticeable impact in a state like Idaho.

This year, he believes that we are approaching a threshold of change, comparable to the Reagan revolution of 1980.  As such, 2008 is the year for Democrats to go out and win all across the state as well as around the country.

His “working for the Senate” campaign, which has seen him complete his 20th job this past Friday, is the centerpiece of how he plans to upset the political landscape and return a semblance of bipartisanship to the Idaho congressional delegation.  He performed this latest job at Bear Mechanical Service in Bonners Ferry, Idaho, joining a highly varied list of employers from around the state.  He expects to complete another ten to fifteen day jobs over the remaining months of the campaign.  These experiences have provided him with a golden opportunity to listen and interact with everyday Idahoans and find out what are the issues and concerns that are uppermost in their minds.

He spoke last night of the “wisdom of the break room,” where members of a forgotten middle class are expressing their worry about some of the actions of the Bush administration.  They remember that back in the 1990s the federal government managed to balance the budget and even generate a surplus.  These achievements, of which the congressman claims some of the credit due to his support for the 1993 budget bill, were squandered by President Bush and the Republican-led congress during the early years of this decade via a series of tax breaks that disproportionately favored the wealthiest Americans while leaving a mountain of debt to future generations.

The issue of health care has certainly been one of the major issues facing working Americans.  Many individuals are working at multiple jobs which don’t offer access to affordable health insurance, while others are afraid to leave undesirable employment for fear of losing their coverage.  Lt. Gov. Jim Risch has stated that he supports “whatever plan John McCain is proposing.” According to LaRocco, that plan can be summarized in three words: don’t get sick.

LaRocco has just released his proposal for affordable access to health care and it is available on his campaign website.  His plan features a two-prong approach to deal with both the costs of care as well as access to quality care and prescription drug coverage.

LaRocco has stated that he is proud of his fundraising numbers, with over 1600 individual contributors donating nearly $600,000 dollars since he began this campaign.  The DSCC has been very impressed with this aspect of the campaign and it is anticipated that they will kick in money in the coming months.  In contrast, Jim Risch has donated $380,000 of his own money to his campaign, a number apparently chosen to avoid triggering the “millionaire’s amendment” provision of the McCain-Feingold finance reform bill.

Earlier this month, the congressman was a keynote speaker at Caldwell High School when they held their mock presidential caucuses.  He was very impressed by both the numbers as well as the enthusiasm of the students who caucused as Democrats in heavily Republican Canyon County.  He likened the atmosphere that day to the one experienced by over 14,000 Idahoans back in February when Senator Barack Obama visited the Taco Bell Arena at Boise State University.

He is looking forward to working with Senator Mike Crapo in a bipartisan fashion for the betterment of all Idahoans and said that one of the greatest frustrations of the voters he has spoken with is the partisan gridlock that has paralyzed government at all levels.  If elected, he would also be able to bring some much needed seniority to Idaho’s congressional delegation as a member of the majority party.  His four years of service in the early 1990s would give him an advantage relative to other members of the Senate class of 2008 who have not served previously in Congress.  This will help him earn more prestigious committee assignments.  None of the other candidates for this race in Idaho have any seniority and if elected, would begin their Senate service at the bottom rung of the ladder.

One area where this issue is relevant concerns congressional earmarks.  Over the past few years, the Idaho National Laboratory has lost over $100 million which was to be used in cleaning up the waste material located over the Snake River aquifer.  These funds have been diverted into the war effort in Iraq, as the Pentagon has been scrapping many such programs nationally to feed this insatiable beast.  A senator with some seniority could do a better job protecting these funds and preventing them from being redirected towards other areas.

With regards to Iraq, LaRocco has read over the proposal generated by Washington congressional candidate Darcy Burner for a responsible plan to end the war (PDF).  He is in general agreement with the proposal but expressed caution about publicly supporting it due to concerns that some minor provisions may provide his general election opponent with ammunition for attacks in the fall.  He believes that the proposals put forth by the Iraq Study Group were a sound foundation for a just and responsible end to the conflict and once again castigated the Bush administration for ignoring those recommendations.

While discussing the situation in Iraq, LaRocco pointed out that our veterans are receiving fewer benefits than those from previous conflicts.  He noted that the costs of benefits for veterans of the first Gulf War now exceed the actual cost of that war.  Given how quickly that conflict was concluded and the limited number of casualties sustained by U.S. forces, one can only imagine how much future cost has already been incurred by our society to properly provide for the veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.  He does support Senator Jim Webb’s G.I. bill, a bill for which John McCain has not expressed support.

In a humorous moment while discussing the GI bill, LaRocco’s cell phone rang.  After turning it off, he told the audience that he was tempted to answer it in a manner reminiscent of former GOP presidential candidate Rudy Guiliani by saying “Hi, honey.” But since his wife Chris was sitting right there, he didn’t think that would go over too well.

Lastly, in response to one of the questions asked regarding the assault on the Bill of Rights and our Constitutional freedoms, LaRocco stated that he was planning on writing a DailyKos diary in the near future addressing his positions with special emphasis on the shift in the power balance between the executive and legislative branches that has occurred since the start of the decade.  He stated that regardless who ends up as our next Commander-in-Chief, he would push for a return to effective Congressional oversight of the executive branch.

UPDATE: I have just spoken with Larry LaRocco, who has pointed me to the following comment posted today at Senate Guru 2008:
Shocker, I know, but Republican Jim Risch is a bit of a fraud.  Reports the Idaho Statesman’s Kevin Richert:

Then, of course, Risch would have lots to say about his energy policy ideas on his website, no?  Nope.  Risch’s website’s sparse Issues section has one single sentence that makes any reference to energy.  Granted, Risch’s entire Issues section has only eleven sentences.  Compare that utter thoughtlessness with Larry LaRocco’s thorough webpage devoted to energy policy, discussing his ideas on energy independence, ethanol, nuclear energy, renewables like solar, wind and geothermal, global warming, and the role of energy in national security.  Larry LaRocco is worlds more prepared than the empty cupboard that is Jim Risch to represent Idaho in the U.S. Senate.

Of course, those of us from the Idaho blogosphere are well aware of Jim Risch’s attitude towards modern methods of communication.  I’d be interested in knowing if he has managed to locate the power button on his office computer.

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