Abortion for sex selection is very unpopular with the American people. A 2006 poll showed 86 percent opposed to it, and I think its far past time that it be addressed. You shouldn’t die because you’re a boy or a girl.

Race abortions? I’m not sure I see it. I’m aware that Planned Parenthood was founded by a genocidal racist, but I can’t think of many cases where a woman would have an abortion because of race reasons. I suppose if she’d slept with someone of another race and didn’t want to have a baby that didn’t look like her or if she’d slept with someone of her own race and wanted her first child to be by someone of a different race that could be a race-based reason, but I’ve never heard of that as a reason for having an abortion.  In fact, it’s counterintuitive to suggest that would happen.

If I were a legislator, the inclusion of “race” in the bill wouldn’t stop me from supporting it, but I would probably suggest dropping it as it really does muddy the water.

The first thought on my tired brain is that Sali made his way down to the Capitol, so that he could show up to endorse Raul Labrador in the Republian Primary. And that remains my strongest bet.

At the same time, if Sali was filing for office, he’d have to go into the Secretary of State’s office to file his paperwork. My bet at the moment is on endorsement rather than an announcement because I’m also on the Sali campaign’s e-mail list. And if you were about to announce for office, you’d want as many supporters, friends, etc. present as possible, and Bill Sali didn’t send anything out. 

Regardless, today is the day when we’ll see a lot of intrigue and a few last minute surprised. When I first ran for the legislature in 2004,  I remained unopposed in the Republican Primary until about five minutes until five. A lot will change. A local politico told me that the eager people file early, and the strategic ones file at the last minute, so by the end of today, I think there will be a few surprised and we’ll have a firm grasp of what the Fall looks like.

The party has two candidates for State legislator last time the Secretary of State Office posted a list that included State legislative candidates. (Hopefully, the Idaho Secretary of State will get the full list up tomorrow, don’t know what the list including just candidate for statewide office and Congress is all about.) Under Idaho State Code, the Constitution Party can continue to be party

 (a)  By having three (3) or more candidates for state or national office
    listed under the party name at the last general election...

As of this afternoon, they were one candidate short, which means come 2012, the Constitution Party could be off the ballot. Could Idaho become a three party state?

It’ll be interesting to see. I think to some extent the “Ron Paul Revolution” has co-opted the Constitution Party, leading a lot of CPers to become Republicans or Libertarians. I think the CP has also lost its edge of being a party that stands up strongly and unapologetically for the unborn, so there’s not a huge difference between the CP and the Libertarian Party.

In 2 years, Idaho could be a three party state, and only the geeks would know the difference.

What would a Sali entry into the primary mean?  Sali’s big in-district supporters have gone over to Labrador for the most part, most of Sali’s biggest out of district backers have gone to Ward. How he would get a campaign together at this point is iffy.

On the other hand, while the political types have committed, many of the people haven’t. And a Sali entry would put us into the same type of six-person field that got him nominated in 2006. (Albeit, this would be a weaker six person field. I could only imagine Sali, Labrador, or Ward winning. Last time around, five of the six candidates were feasible primary winners.)

However, it’d be an incredibly bad play. It’d be doubtful that Sali could win given the lack of political capital. Even if he did, he’d be stepping on some folks, notably Raul Labrador, who has left his state house seat. I don’t think Sali would do that. I think Sali won’t run for Congress.

However, that’s not to say Sali couldn’t run for something else. Governor Sali has a nice ring to it, so does Lieutenant Governor Sali. In the Governor’s race, there’s been a lot of conservative concern about how Governor Otter’s been doing his job, and no big name has come forward to challenge Lieutenant Governor Brad Little. Either of these could be a real opportunity for Sali to catch fire without burning a friend.

If Sali doesn’t run this year, that doesn’t mean that Sali’s gone forever from Idaho politics. Consider that J.D. Hayworth waited 4 years after his congressional defeat to launch his comeback bid. Sali could do the same.  Like Hayworth, Sali faced some absolutely revolting attempts at character assassination and may just need some type to get ready to roll.

Under the Hidden Gavel Trick, the U.S. House will not meet in its normal chambers and opponents or undecideds on the President’s health care plan will not be told where it id meeting. Instead, Democratic members of the House will go incognitio to a secret location somewhere the Washington DC metro area. Three Democratic members of the House will hire actors to create decoy Congresses to throw Republicans and Bart Stupak off the trail.

However, House rules require a quorum to be present, which is unlikely if the Hidden Gavel Trick is used. Democrats say they will implement what’s known as a Reverse Roll Call where the roll is called of members who are “Not There.”

“If you don’t answer the roll call, you’re assumed to be there,” explained House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Larson (D-CT.)

Republicans blasted the procedure as “unprecedented, insane, unconstitutional, and illegal.”

Speaker Pelosi dismissed the complaints, saying, “They can’t argue the substance,  so they’re arguing procedure.”

Larson said, “I don’t think the American people care how we pass this.” He added, “Americans desperately want us to pass this health care reform that they overwhelmingly despise. Americans support this plan, they just don’t know it.” Asked what he would tell Americans who think they opposed comprehensive health care reform and what Republican call extraordinary measures to pass it, Larson replied, “I’d quote that great detective, Monk. You’ll thank us later.”

On the big issues, Crapo has been where Idahoans needed him.  For me, the watershed moment in recent years in the U.S. Senate was the TARP vote and while John McCain was leading most of the Republicans over the clift, Senator Crapo stood tough, did the right thing, and refused to back a bailout.

In a much smaller but important gesture, Senator Crapo stood up for the Lynn Moses who was prosecuted in a miscarriage of justice by the EPA. I think that what we ought to expect from our public officials is that they stand up for justice.

Crapo boasts an American Conservative Union rating of 92% and his National Taxpayers Union ratings have been solid. This isn’t to say that he’s been perfect.

I’ve disagreed with his backing of Amtrak in Southern Idaho, which while it might be nice, shows a cognitive dissonance about our national debt, his encourage of Bieter’s trolley folly, and his opposition to the DC opportunity scholarships. Yet, in the grand scheme of the issues that come before the U.S. Senate, to borrow a phrase from Humphrey Bogart, my differences with Senator Crapo don’t amount to a hill of beans. At the end of the day with Mike Crapo in the U.S. Senate the past six years, I feel like I’ve been well-represented, and no candidate has emerged that I believe could do a better job.  In addition, conservatives would not be well-advised to expend time and energy trying to knock off someone with as strong a record as Mike Crapo has.

While, I get nervous about giving U.S. Senators a third term, I think if Crapo continues on the path he’s been on during his first twelve years in the Senate, we won’t regret it come 2016, and so I’m pleased to give my support for a third term.

With  all the garbage Stupak has taken, this is a pretty nice fringe benefit. If Carly Fiorina weren’t running for Senate, this would be a finalist for political web ad of the year.

(Hat Tip: Jill Stanek.)

He’s a former U.S. Marine with service in Iraq, a Security guard, and a student at BSU. He formerly worked in the Corrections industry.

He’s pro-life, a fan of idaho Public Television, and ice cold beer. How do I know all this about Mr. Blessinger? His Facebook profile told me so (though the Iraq war service I picked up from his MySpace profile.)

Blessinger is about a year and a half older than me, but hardly the first person from my generation to run for office. Blessinger is the first one I know of with a Facebook profile that provides so much of a feel for who he is from the get go.

There’s nothing I would consider “embarassing” on Blessinger’s profile, but I’ve never actually gotten so much insight into a candidate I’ve never heard of before so easily. Facebook could be a great tool for journalists. I do wonder how long it will be before someone has a “Facebookgate” occur when they leave really embarassing information up on their Facebook page that derails their candidacy.

For Mr. Blessinger, I think it’s much more of a plus. “I’m not an ordinary politician. Don’t believe me? Check out my profile on Facebook!”

However, I’ve just gotten word that Labrador is having an event in the next couple week and a half with  Speaker Lawrence Denney, Majority Leader Moyle, Caucus Chairman Ken Roberts, and several others. I tend to think the value of legislative endorsements is small, but probably larger than a group most Idahoans haven’t heard of.

While Conservatives have been disenchanted with government, in general. There’s not a whole lot of reason to be angry at the State House from a conservative perspective. They’d held the line on taxes and spending, approved pro-life legislation, even took some baby steps forward on education.

In a Republican Primary, it’ll help quite a bit to have so many of them in your corner.

Debra Medina was charging hard in the Texas governor’s race, closing in on three-term U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson in a three-way contest. A second-place finish would have put Medina in a run-off against incumbent Governor Rick Perry for the Republican nomination for the governorship of the second largest state in the country.

Then she went on Glenn Beck’s radio show. When asked whether the federal government had a role in 9/11, she responded, “I think some very good questions have been raised in that regard. There are some very good arguments, and I think the American people have not seen all of the evidence there, so I have not taken a position on that.”

Glenn Beck summed up the aftermath of the interview when he said Medina was heading back to single digits. Medina finished a distant third in the Texas gubenatorial primary with 19% of the vote, well behind the top two contenders. Medina is not the only one. Many well-intentioned newcomers are in danger of politically spazzing themselves to death.

Americans are tired of politicians’ smooth answers, refusal to follow principles, and slick campaign talk. However, some campaigns are doomed to defeat because they’re making basic errors.

As a former candidate, I made a couple big mistakes that I wish someone would have told me to avoid.

If people want to make a difference, they should avoid giving their money and energy to campaigns that have doomed themselves to political oblivion. Here are the warning signs.

1. Going off-message

Medina’s truther answer is a prime example. After the interview, Medina pleaded that questions about 9/11 have nothing to do with the issues facing the state of Texas. Exactly. That’s why she never should have said there have been “very good questions” raised about whether the government was behind 9/11 .

Good candidates run for office for a reason, but there are constant distractions. Candidates should avoid opining on issues that are irrelevant to winning the election.

For example, while there’s merit in returning to the original Constitution and ending the direct election of senators, it’s never going to happen. Candidates who raise the issue are doing their political chances harm because it distracts from the message they want to communicate.

Entertaining conspiracy notions — whether it be from the 9/11 truthers, birthers, or from people who believe aliens landed at Roswell – also distracts from the campaign’s message and ultimately sabotages the campaign.

A campaign should not be a stream of consciousness expressing whatever random thoughts and fancies come into the candidate’s head. The candidate is asking people to spend their time and money to dedicate themselves to a cause. It’s not unreasonable to expect that candidates will dodge attempts to distract with fringe “issues.”

A gaffe like Medina’s raises another question. When people elect a political leader, particularly an executive, they’re looking for a decision-maker. They’re not electing an ideological set of positions. When a disaster hits, people expect the governor to make the right call. They want their governor to have the discretion not to embarrass the state.

Texas voters wanted to know whether Medina would make good decisions if elected and if she could be trusted to be the face of Texas. Lincoln said it best when he declared, “It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt.”

• We have a conservative stepping forward to run for Lieutenant Governor. Steve Pankey is the only filed Republican Candidate for Lieutenant Governor. It appears from this cached website that Pankey was planning on running for Governor but switched to the #2 job. His platform for Governor was kind of general including core values and traditional values, but he sounds far more promising than Brad Little.
• Is Id. Rep. Russ Matthews trying to help Mike Simpson get renominated? Let me be clear. Matthews has a bang up of Conservative record, but I’ve seen very little evidence of any serious support for him while Chick Heilseson has been doing the required organizational work for months. Knocking off Simpson is a tough challenge. It’s made even harder when a candidate who hasn’t done the necessary work is splitting the anti-Simpson vote.
• I think the district of Rep. George Sayler (D-4) is going to flip GOP with Sayler’s retirement.  While former Pocatello Mayor Greg Anderson has got to be favored to help retiring Rep. James Ruchti’s State House Seat, District 29’s other representative is Republican Ken Andrus, so this is a potential loss for the Democrats. The seat of retiring State Rep. Donna Boe (D-30) should be safe for the Democrats.
• If I was an Idaho Democrat, my top priority this year would be getting Anderson elected in District 29. If Anderson is elected to the State House, he instantly becomes the Democratic Gubenatorial frontrunner in 2014 in the incredibly likely event that Keith Allred isn’t elected Governor. Democrats may have a great opportunity in 2014 to retake the Governor’s mansion, but they’ll need a big dog with executive experience. Anderson is it. But if Anderson can’t even win a State House race, it’ll dim his prospects.
• If there’s one Treasure Valley legislator who deserves a primary challenge this year, it’s Senator John Andreason (R-15) who is currently running without opposition. Andreason voted against the Conscience Clause and against the Idaho Health Freedom Act. He’s the most liberal GOP member of the Ada County delegation, and it’s past time for him to be retired. Yet, for some reason, the only primary challenge in that district is directed at Rep. Lynn Luker (R-15) who is really not that bad.
• Speaking of Luker’s district, right now it looks like the Democrats’ best chance for a pick up in what’s going to be a rocky election year. In addition to the primary challenge, Luker faces an Independent and a Libertarian which could drain votes from him in the Fall. As of yet, though, the Democrats haven’t got a challenger to file. It’ll be interesting to see if they can produce one by the end of the filing period. If not, the seat will stay GOP. However, with a strong Democratic challenger, this could be one of the premier races to watch this fall.
• Another great primary match up is in Twin Falls where Vice Mayor Lee Heider is running for the legislature against Senator Chuck Coiner (R-24). Heider says Coiner’s not a conservative. That’s the understatement of the year. This could be a great opportunity for conservatives to move the State Senate to the right by replacing a left of Center Republican with someone more conservative.

I’ve been to some Hawks games, and love it when I get a chance to go. I went four times in 2008, but didn’t ge to go last year due to money being tight. I think Memorial Stadium does need to be improved because the parking is not in great shape, and the seating isn’t all that hot.

I think 30th Street in Boise would be a great location for a ballpark. I don’t think Meridian is all that great a choice. Driving into Meridian tends to be the most nerve-racking experience because the city doesn’t seem well-laid out and has really outgrown its infrastructure. Putting another 1,000 or so cars on Meridian roads right before and after the Hawks game seems a good way to make a challenging problem even worse.

But should taxpayers anywhere shell out money for the new ballpark? No.  A baseball stadium should be funded through private dollars or not at all. Wherever the Hawks end up playing, I’ll be happy to pay to get in if I want to see a game. But those who aren’t going to go shouldn’t have to pay.

School spending, it’s even more than you think.

Does All State care more about teenagers than Planned Parenthood?

Planned distributes sex guides at girl scout meeting

Planned Parenthood parenthood 1952: Abortion kills babies.

Planned Parenthood attacks pro-life display.  (Hat Tip: Jill Stanek.)

Is Scientology cult practicing coerced abortion? (Hat Tip: Jill Stanek.)

Second Amendment update from Gun Watch.

Jews with Guns, not just for the IDF anymore.

Illinois legislator proposed forced organ donations.

6 World Vision workers killed in Pakistan.

Christian persecution hits Nigeria.

Sweden wants to ban homeschooling

Music by Take No Glory via Music Alley

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