Thread: Idaho Bill Sali Losing In Polls HELP!!

We could sure use some help in the comment section of this article.

Walt Minnick leads Bill Sali, independent poll shows

Rocky Barker - rbarker@idahostatesman.com
Edition Date: 10/21/08

Comments (3 | Recommend (0)
Democratic businessman Walt Minnick is leading Republican U.S. Rep. Bill Sali 51-45 percent according to a poll released Monday by Roll Call Magazine.

The poll, conducted by Mountain West SurveyUSA, of 613 people, had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent. Sali had a favorable rating of only 33-47, compared to Minnick's 45-23. Twenty-one percent of conservative voters said they support Minnick.

He has an 80-16 percent margin with moderate voters and 94 to 5 percent lead with self-described liberals, the poll said.

Minnick's own internal polls showed similar results. But a poll by the Idaho Republican Party conducted earlier in the month showed Sali leading.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/newsupdat ... 44391.html

Thank you for letting me know about this. We will move to assist immediately.

W

I just posted in there, and will keep an eye on this. I'll also pull up Minnick's record to see if there is anything I can bring to light.

By the way, sign up to comment in this newspaper is fast and easy.

August 18, 2008

Walt Minnick's big benefactor

By Adam Graham

In Idaho's 1st District, Congressman Bill Sali (R-ID) is being challenged by Walt Minnick, a businessman and 1996 Senate Candidate. Minnick calls himself a "conservative Democrat" on his website, and, he expects to capture the seat and the Idaho media is doing everything they can to help.

The Idaho media reports on Minnick's fundraising advantage, but unlike with Congressman Sali's 2006 campaign's support from Club for Growth, the source of Minnick's cash (mostly out of State) has been left undiscussed.

Minnick campaigns as a conservative Democrat, but if elected to Congress how would he vote?

Follow the money.

One of Minnick's top contributors is National Leadership PAC, which has sent $10,000 to Minnick. A leadership PAC is set up by members of Congress to funnel funds into other Congressional races. This works great for powerful members of Congress, who receive donations from special interests wishing to curry favor with them through the PAC and then gain influence with incoming members of Congress by funding their campaigns.

National Leadership PAC is the leadership PAC of Congressman Charlie Rangel (D-NY), who boasts an American Conservative Union lifetime rating of 4% (the type of moderate leaders we need in Congress, eh?) There are some key issues to look at with the man who would have a great influence over the vote of Walt Minnick in Congress.

A key issue is immigration. In a campaign stop in liberal Sun Valley, Minnick laid out his views on immigration, comparing the border fence being built along the Southern Border to the Berlin Wall. He also called for a path to normalization of illegal immigrants in somewhat rambling answer that was captured by Sun Valley Online

(http://sunvalleyonline.com/news/article ... ticle=4718)

Minnick is running in a bedrock Republican district, so he has to couch his words. His benefactor, Mr. Rangel can be a little more straightforward in stating the same position as he did when he spoke to the Dominican Bar Association in New York (http://www.observer.com/2008/politics/r ... n-bad-guys ) He said there's a "one word" solution to the immigration problem: "Amnesty" which at a basic level was what Walt Minnick was trying to dance around advocating.

Rangel considered those who advocate a path to citizenship even with fines, etc. (such as Minnick) to be "the good guys." The bad guys, according to Rangel are small town sheriffs and mayors trying to enforce our immigration laws, who Rangel alleges only get on TV. Does Mr. Minnick share his benefactor's view that small town sheriff's are bad guys particularly much of the same district is made up of rural counties between Ada and Kootenai County?

In addition, Minnick taking Rangel's money leads one to legitimately question Minnick's dedication to fiscal responsibility. Walt Minnick has promised to work to prohibit earmarks. Listening to Minnick's campaign rhetoric sounds awful familiar.

It should.

In 2006, nearly every successful Democratic Candidate ran on the policy of reforming earmarks and the way Congress works, taking advantage of Republican unfaithfulness to fiscal conservative principles. They talked reform.

But talk is cheap.

In 2007, Club for Growth tracked votes on 50 anti-Pork Amendments. Congressman Sali supported 94% of all anti-pork Amendments. On average, house freshman Democrats voted for only 2% of anti-Pork Amendments.

One project that was targeted for elimination was a $1.95 million earmark to the Charlie B. Rangel Center for public service at the University of New York. Congressman Rangel's sponsorship of this vanity earmark earned him a "Narcissist Award" from the non-partisan Citizens Against Government.

He has since come under scrutiny for using his position as Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee for using his official position and Congressional letterhead to raise funds for the organizations from individuals and corporations with business before his committee.

The number of anti-earmark Democratic freshman Congressmen who opposed Rangel's "Monument to Me"?

Zero.

Congressman Bill Sali, however, did oppose this vanity earmark.

Now Charlie Rangel is coming after him and supporting Mr. Minnick.

It's now a fair question to ask what other pet ideas of Mr. Rangel might Minnick be open to supporting? Last session, Rangel authored a tax bill that, according to the office of ranking member of the Ways and Means Committee Jim McCrery, would increase taxes $3.5 trillion over the next ten years. Would this be the type of legislation Walt Minnick would back?

Also, there was a lot of fear mongering about the draft under George W. Bush. Voters who are concerned about this issue would be very interested to know that the chief congressional advocate of bringing back the draft is Mr. Minnick's benefactor, Congressman Charlie Rangel. (D-NY.) Would Mr. Minnick support that?

Idaho voters deserve answers about Walt Minnick's extremist out-of-state benefactor and whether Minnick shares his views. Idaho's liberal media is not asking these questions and merely taking Minnick at his word on a vaguely defined stance as a "conservative Democrat" while telling us, "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain."

© Adam Graham


http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/graham/080818

Minnick’s Un-Idahoan Values
Friday, October 10th, 2008
BOISE, IDAHO – The Sali campaign launched a new website aimed at exposing the truth about Walt Minnick’s un-Idahoan stances on the issues. Minnick is a liberal democrat with long associations with liberal groups which have sought to drastically alter the American way of life.

“Not only has Walt Minnick had a direct hand in causing the high energy prices and faltering economy we are all living with today, but he has consistently misrepresented his role with these groups to the public. To that end, my campaign has established a website, www.thetruthaboutwalt.com, which seeks to set the record straight about his liberal views,â€

Crap we have to start working on this guy, all the polls I have seen, Sali was ahead in, I thought he was the one that had it made...

I have been spending my time on Risch, Geodde and Hollingsworth.


We need Geodde and Hollingsworth at the state level and Geodde only won by less than 200 votes the last time...he is are best friend in the senate to work with us on immigration.