MINNICK: TV ad is simply shameful
I have had several disagreements with Raul Labrador over the past four years with respect to legislation in the Idaho Legislature. Many of my comments toward him have reflected the passion I hold for fighting the terrible scourge of illegal immigration in our nation and in the great state of Idaho. I openly supported his challenger in the primary. While I have not spoken with Rep. Labrador in many months, if he were elected to Congress I would probably still disagree with some elements of how he would fight illegal immigration. I would certainly hope he considers some of my positions on the subject.
However, none of the passion I have reserved for my disagreement with Rep. Labrador can compare with how appalled and disappointed I was when I viewed the attack ad that Walt Minnick released against him. While the Minnick campaign will undoubtedly say many things about Raul Labrador it claims to be true, the assertion or insinuation that amount to Raul Labrador being pro-amnesty is a deliberate mischaracterization. I cannot condemn it enough.
Raul Labrador is an immigration attorney. Being an attorney is not a sign of any moral failing. Walt Minnick himself is a lawyer. Being an immigration attorney is an honorable profession, but like all honorable professions, there can be those who are purely unscrupulous or give the profession a bad name. I do not believe Raul Labrador is the individual this ad accuses or implies him to be.
People of the world admire our system of government for its application of laws that protect all the people within our borders. But our system for the control and administration of immigration is bankrupt. The lack of desire on the part of the federal government to enforce our own laws borders on the criminal and has created dissension between the states and Washington, D.C. The Obama Administration has done nothing but provide window dressing to the problem and I believe it and the Democratic Party craves amnesty.
Where is Walt Minnick on this issue? His campaign seemed to think contacting me two months ago seeking my support attacking Raul Labrador would be a good substitute for having a policy of his own. I rejected their advances. Let me tell you Walt Minnick's policy. Walt Minnick is on record stating crossing the U.S. border illegally is no worse a crime than being cited for speeding in a school zone. This is condescending and outrageous. He is part of the problem. I reject him and his representations. I urge all voters who share my views on illegal immigration to know Walt Minnick for who he is on this issue.
Whatever my differences with Raul Labrador in the past, whatever doubts I may have had about his sincerity, these are in the past and immaterial now in comparison to the reality that the problem illegal immigration presents to our state and nation and how little the Democratic Party has in common with the majority of Americans on this issue. Should Raul be elected to Congress I do not believe he will be part of the problem with illegal immigration, like Walt Minnick, but instead that he would be part of the solution.
SEN. MIKE JORGENSON
Hayden Lake