Working to Win

The 2008 Idaho Senate race is in the national news this week. But it's been on my mind since April 11. That was the day I announced my candidacy for the seat now held by Larry Craig. Ever since then, I've been running for the Senate, but I've been working for it, too. Let me explain.

I first ran against Larry Craig (then a one-term incumbent) for the House of Representatives in 1982. I was 35 at the time. I'd started my public service career in 1969 as a military intelligence officer in the U.S. Army and then working with the great Senator Frank Church. He was my mentor, my role model and my inspiration to enter politics.

In the 1982 race for the U.S. House, I worked 22 jobs over an eight-month period, doing everything from milking cows to building logging roads. I had very little name recognition and no help from national party sources, but I still came very close to winning. In 1990 I was victorious when Craig moved on to the Senate.

Now I'm running again, this time for the U.S. Senate. I'm working again, too. One June morning, I showed up at 6 a.m. to work a shift hauling garbage in Orofino, Idaho. A week later, I shadowed a Certified Nursing Assistant in a nursing home and rehabilitation center in Pocatello. The week after that, I pulled a shift in a cheese factory in Twin Falls. And so on...I've packed cargo parachutes for smokejumpers fighting forest fires; I've worked on a farm; I've accompanied parole officers on their rounds; and I've hawked peanuts at a minor-league baseball game. (You can read about all of these at my website.)

It's definitely been an interesting summer, although with Labor Day here, I feel I've just begun. I am committed to keep working these next 14 months so that when I go to the U.S. Senate, I will have a real understanding of the tremendous pressures people face to raise their families, pay for housing, health care and education, plan for retirement and keep up with the rising cost of living. I am committed to addressing these issues. I want to give working families a voice that they haven't had for a long time. I also know that until Congress authorizes a responsible withdrawal from Iraq, we won't have the energy or the will to get much anything else done.

I have another job that will last from now until Election Day -- and that's to tell everyone that the conventional wisdom about Idaho is wrong. Yes, the ultra-conservatives have been dominant here for more than a decade. But it wasn't that long ago -- in the early 1990s, in fact -- that Idaho elected Democrats on a regular basis. I was one of them. And although Idaho narrowly missed sending another Democrat to Congress last year, the state's voters did elect six new Democratic state legislators (including one in Idaho Falls, which had not elected a Democrat for decades) and came very close in three state senate races. The pendulum is swinging here, too, like in Montana and Colorado.

I entered this race not knowing who my Republican opponent would be. I still don't know. But I don't care. I wake up every day believing in myself and working hard -- because I know now that's what families across Idaho and across our nation do, day after day. People want integrity and accountability. People want a new direction. Most of all, people want results. I will honor them by running a campaign that's light on partisan rancor and heavy on hard work. I invite your comments and your support.

Have a great Labor Day. Let's make political history together.

Larry

www.laroccoforsenate.com

Comments

[swkidder]

Larry: I don't really care if the uniform you wear says Democrat or Republican - but I do care about what kind of person does the job for which you're running. You sound like exactly the kind of human being whom I would feel proud and grateful to have represent me in the Legislature .. should I not be fortunate enough to already be blessed with Lynn Woolsey and Barbara Boxer. I'm a little more ambivalent about Diane Feinstein, but she has her good moments.

You are doing the one thing that I believe would have the power to change the way those in both the Senate and the House choose to represent their constituents, and, therefore, the way this country is governed.

You are making the effort to learn first hand about the reality of what it's like to work for a living out there in the United States of Corporate Dominance. You're learning about how it feels to work a 12-hour day and not be able to feed your kids and buy them clothes. And you're probably learning what it also feels like to have one or two of them who suffer from medical issues you can't get treated because your 3 part-time jobs don't provide you with insurance and/or your insurance refuses to provide you with appropriate medical care.

You, and the handful of others like you, are our best chance for a real voice in Congress. Bravissimo.

[mick3]

Well, a day or two in the shoes of someone who works 8-5, or likely more, for a living makes good PR but unless you have the pressures that go with it day in and day out, it isn't quite real, is it? And then, to keep on doing it with worker after worker...f­or what? Can only be for more PR, since if the candidate hasn't gotten it by now, why bother these folks with more photo ops or whatever? I am heartily sick of political showboaters, and if the candidate had only shown a bit of taste or judgment would have been supportive. But this is too much. I hope it is just a misjudgment rather than what it seems like.

[HurryUp1212009]

Dear Larry:

Just stay out of fudge factories, airport bathrooms and (blasphemous) Evangelical Christian churches, and you should be good-to-go for the Senate in 01/2009.

The people of Idaho just got another view of Repulsblican hypocracy, with a closet queer railing (and voting) against Gay Rights - probably more out of self-loathing than out of any sort of moral convictions.

I can't want to hear from the guy who gave him a blowjob - or was it the other way around - in the Washington, DC train station...­.

[Balloonman]

LARRY LAROCCO. Most encouraging.

[LoriAnn]

Thank you Mr Larocco!!! Thank you for knowing your constituents and understanding what the American dream really is these days. I am so heartened to know that Idaho has been evolving much like my much loved Montana home. Now if the collective ignorance of the state I live in today could boast such gains....i­t starts with each and every one of us. Our Pres. seems to think he is our Decider and our Instructor since he begins every sentence with "the american people hafta' undastand" after all its "so hard" its all so "hard". You already have tapped the huge resource that your citizenry provide. You can find no better representatives of diligence and integrity than those you serve. You honor them by carrying them in every decision you make and debate you participate in. Kudos to you sir.

[daniel155]

Senator Craig resigns. Governor Otter appoints a replacement and the replacement defeats the author in what is one of the reddest states in the U.S.

I salute the author for running because it gives the voters a choice. It is always disappointing to see how many House of Representive members run unopposed for re-election.

[researcher]

responsible withdrawal? put bush and family (please include Cheney in the mix) in a humvee and make them ride around Iraq until all troops are home and watch how responsible the withdrawal will be.

All troops home in a week guaranteed. When it is his family that is dying then the war mongering changes direction fast very fast.

Here is my view of you politicians. Neo cons are chicken hawks and demos are deceptive and spineless. Demos want this war to continue far into 2008 to win it all in that self centered city called wash dc.

See we care about American lives but not Iraqis. How much sleep have Americans lost due to our killing over a million Vietnamese? We should ask the Vietnamese for forgiveness for that illegal war under false pretense, then we are on our way to becoming a Christian nation.

We have become an imperialist nation based on war for profits to feed our industrial military complex.

[nutty4tahoe]

Dear Mr. Larocco: Do you have a twin brother (or sister) who could move to this ruby red state, Kansas, and run against Pat Roberts in 2008? Or Brownback, Tiahrt, Moran, etc.? I wish I could say change was happening here, but at least Kansas wasn't one of the four remaining states with a majority still supporting Bush like Idaho is (also included in that bunch: Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah). With that kind of denial, it'll be an uphill battle for you.

[imusintheevening]

Best of luck Mr. Larocco. Senator Church was a great senator and I hope that you will have the opportunity to fill those shoes. I am sure you will appeal to the individualistic attitudes of the people of Idaho.

[valsagem]

Good Luck you sound like the kind of Democrat the country needs.

[Dogvane]

"I pulled a shift in a cheese factory in Twin Falls"
OUCH!

[MrMike513]

As a fellow Idahoan, I wish I could share your optimism for the Democratic party in Idaho. In the summer of 2004, I was honored to be a part of the "We the People" forum in Boise held by our local PBS station. Over 200 people were there expressing their opinions about the upcoming election and the important issues framing the election. I expected to be a lone progressive voice at this forum, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the progressives seemed to be the majority, not the minority. I left that forum with a new sense of hope, that if people in Idaho were fed up with Bush and his policies, then I was sure Kerry would win no problem. But the election came, and Bush carried Idaho by a 2:1 margin, and in my district, Bill Sali won the congressional seat (yes, the Bill Sali who rebuked the Hindu prayer a few weeks ago).

Good Luck to you, Mr. LaRocco - I will be supporting you. But one thing I've come to realize here in Idaho, is that nothing really matters to the majority of voters in this state except for one thing - guns. No matter what you stand for, or what your opponent does, Mr. LaRocco; all they have to do is say that "you're a Democrat and Democrats want to take away our guns!", and the gun nuts here will come out in droves to vote against you.

I hope that doesn't happen, and I'll be voting for you no matter what they say.

[blu2purple]

You know...it doesn't matter what party you are in you will NEVER agree with 100% of the issues. This is America. Republicans forget that we are not damn cookies and Bush is not a friggin cookie cutter. Dems have guns. Some of them. Maybe most do not. I would venture to say that not all Republicans can say that they are not "Choice". Some people actually DO think for themselves­...that is in my opinion why the Dems have the biggest problem trying to jell on ANYTHING. At least we keep it intresting. It's not always about the money.....­chomp on this.....

Had Al Gore took his rightful place as president when he should have....th­ink hard....wh­ere would this country be right now.....wh­at would be different.­....If that doesn't make you sick......

[TankerRat]

Oh quit with the Al Gore crap will you. Pining for Mr. Turnip will accomplish nothing. As to guns, the lefties in the D party (and who control it) will never let that issue rest since they seem to believe that it violates some poor criminal's rights if you defend yourself. Besides, one of the first steps in turning a people into cowed sheep is disarming them. Imagine if every Jew had met Hitler's minions with a gun. Would there have been a holocaust. No way to be sure anymore but I wonder. All goes back to the liberal standard which is "We have no Standards.­" You are quite correct in your statement concerning 100% agreement and thank Heaven for that.

[littleblackcat]

Every time anyone gets on the message boards, we need to remember to get in touch with news papers, etc. by snail-mail if necessary, to make sure voting machines are in place that give a paper receipt with your vote on it. You will have one to keep and there should be one on a roll held within the machine. Cash registers all over the world work on this basis so there is no reason for this not to happen. The electronic machines can be programmed to switch votes and I will go to my grave believing this is why John Dean suddenly went away, why gwb "won" Ohio, and why the repukes can make sure people win the nominations against whom they (repubs) they can make their apparent "win" plausible. Remember "Who would you rather have a beer with?" Frankly, being an older woman, I would rather have a glass of wine with someone who could talk to me intelligently than a beer with a jackass who talked about Iran's "nookyooler" aspirations. Make no mistake, karl rove will be working his particular brand of evil against an honest election and it behooves every American to add to the uproar about a non-verifiable voting system. There are high school kids who could program a machine to have Santa Claus win, with Roseanne Barr as VP.

[gallery]

Good luck to you sir.
I hear that they're VERY worried about your race.
Now please define what a "responsible" exit from Iraq would be, and based on your answer, I would gladly support your campaign.
I do admire your willingness to experience the working mans daily life. I applaud you for gaining first hand knowledge.
Now about Iraq......­... ?

[maddogbitesback]

It's broke and it can't be fixed by America. The blood will flow and after that you can build schools and hospitals and houses. And let them keep the oil. So the responsible thing is to get out right away. Admit Bush lied to you and get pushing for publicly financed campaigns and stop the outrageous which constitue negative advertising. Make poor people understand their vote matters and help them get to the polls.

[dreamsmasher]

I wish you were able to run for office in the state of Texas, you would get my vote no matter what party you belong to, I do not believe in voting for someone simply because they are a Democrat or a Republican and anyone that does is a moron.

Are you sure you don't want to move to Texas?

[TankerRat]

dreamsmasher I'm aghast. Someone who actually thinks on his/her own. How can this be? Welcome to the planet and God Bless. Are you sure you're from Texas?

[outnow]

Larry,

Thank you for your post. I was in Idaho two years ago in Sun Valley with the Dali lama and Willie Nelson. My nephew and his wife teach in the ski school and live in Ketcham.

I am a huge fan of Frank Church and his work.

The tide in this country is turning. The fight for peace and freedom will never end. I hope that the Idaho voters will realize that the future is ours with support from men like you.